Important Changes Are Coming to Instagram

Instagram is no longer just the square photo-sharing app that everyone has grown to love. In the latest announcement from Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, the company is moving away from institutional content and giving more power to individual creators. The plan is to become more of a video and entertainment company and to improve the app in four areas: creators, video, shopping and messaging.

What are the expected changes?

With an ability to share content through a post to your feed, Reels, IGTV or Stories, Instagram provides a plethora of options as a creative outlet. Mosseri stated that the changes will provide a way for creators to make a sustainable living amid a “shift in power from institutions to individuals across industries.” The pandemic has seen a trend in more consumers shopping on social media platforms, often interacting with product sellers and creators.

Along with creators, shopping and messaging, the Facebook-owned social media giant will focus heavily on video. TikTok has revolutionized how video is shared because of its advanced algorithm and short video length. Based on a recommendation tool, Instagram plans to show content outside of the users you follow.

The “Reels” tab will link to short-form videos, and the “Shop” tab will give users a quick path to brands they like. Ads will continue to show up in Reels but increase in number and frequency.

What does this mean for the future of social media marketing on Instagram?

While the full impact is unknown, we can guess that the primary focus for marketing will need to be on the creation of engaging video content. Marketers can no longer rely on a grid full of photos to be enough content to get traction. Video ads will most likely far outperform static ads as they appear between Reels.

At Eleven, we can work with you to develop, execute and manage a video-based campaign strategy to help you get noticed as Instagram and social media continue to evolve.