May was a busy month for Instagram. The photo-sharing platform, which has enjoyed tremendous growth in the past year (recently crossing the billion user mark) doesn’t seem to be resting on their laurels anytime soon. This past month, they’ve added a flurry of new features, many of which are relevant to influencer marketers. Here’s a look:
IGTV Gets Horizontal
Originally conceived and implemented as a vertical-only platform, IGTV finally changed its policy to allow traditional, horizontal content. This may open the floodgates to a stream of new videos, as the inability to cross-post to other platforms was reportedly a hurdle for some influencers. While IGTV is still missing a dedicated search feature, their next update aims to tackle this problem from a different angle:
New Explore Tab
Insta’s Explore tab got a makeover, including a sporty new Navigation Bar that pins the company’s two biggest endeavors, Shopping and IGTV, to the top. These pins are followed by topics of interest based on your search and follow history, resulting in a more focused lean-back experience – as opposed to the more shotgun-approach we’re used to currently.
The new Explore tab will also receive an injection of Stories content. This is a smart move, as Stories are the fastest growing feature the platform has ever released (with 500 million daily users).
Pride Month 2019 Updates Incoming
June is Pride Month 2019. As per usual, Instagram will participate with temporary features that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. This year, users can add a rainbow ring around their profile picture, which indicates a new Story is available, by using relevant hashtags such as #LoveisLove.
