By Andy Beohar If you can recall correctly, Instagram let us schedule posts in advance earlier this year. There is no doubt that this has been a life-saver for social media marketers. This summer has seen a myriad of Instagram updates and features in the service better storytelling and user experience. What could be better?
According to Corporate Business Solutions Reviews, the following 7 updates have recently been rolled out to Instagram’s more than 800 million users. Take a couple minutes to read through them in order to upgrade your social media strategy.
“Do Not Disturb” Feature
Instagram is now testing a “Do Not Disturb” feature that will curtail notifications for blocks of 30 minutes, one hour, two hours, or eight hours. In February, Google, Mozilla, and Facebook teamed up to launch a “time well spent” movement that helps others use social media responsibly. Part of this was the ability to set your mobile device to a do not disturb feature.
New Notification: You’re All Caught Up with Posts
Have you ever been scrolling through your Instagram feed and haven’t been sure what you’ve already seen and what’s new? As of early July, users receive a message letting them know that they’re all caught up whenever they’ve seen all posts from the last two days.
Usage Stats
An additional outcome of the “time well spent” initiative is forthcoming usage stats that will let users know how and when they’re using Instagram. Instagram is building tools that will help its community know more about the time they spend on Instagram. Ultimately, any time should be positive and intentional.
Ask Open-Ended Questions in Instagram Stories
This summer has also shown us the ability to ask open-ended questions on your Instagram story. Although it’s still in beta mode, many users have exploited this feature. Previously, the only options were yes-or-no polls, multiple choice questions, and emoji-based slider answers.
Shop for Products Directly On Instagram
For anyone selling products, this feature is the most useful out of all this summer’s Instagram updates. The ability to click to shop from any Instagram post is a top-notch update. With an approved business account, you can now tag products on each and every post.
Add Music to Instagram Stories
Earlier this summer, Instagram introduced the ability to add music to stories. Amazing, right? With 400 million Instagram story users and counting, music seemed like a natural next step to help people better share their stories. When you open a story, you’ll see a tab that says “music.” Once you click into it, you’ll be able to add a soundtrack. Conveniently, you can search by artist, mood or genre.
Instagram Lite for Users with Low-End Devices
In June, Instagram released Instagram Lite, a lightweight version of Instagram that takes up a mere just under 600 KB of data (for reference, Instagram takes up over 30 MB of data). Instagram Lite is ideal for users with low storage space or poor Internet connections.
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