Instagram Reels is Instagram’s’ TikTok lookalike feature, which allows users to create short, fifteen-second long videos set to background music. Since its launch, Instagram reels have been known to be like Instagram stories, but on steroids! Since its launch, some users have found their reach increase via reels compared to any other type of posts, this is due to Instagram wanting to promote this new feature, and therefore are currently favouring reel posts over any other type of posts.
Creating Reels
Select Reels at the bottom of the Instagram camera. You will see a variety of creative editing tools on the left side of your screen that you can use to create your reel, including:
Reels can be recorded in a series of clips (one at a time),all at once, or using video uploads from your gallery. Record the first clip by pressing and holding the capture button. You’ll see a progress indicator at the top of the screen as you record. Stop recording to end each clip.
Sharing Reels
If your account is public, you can share your reel to a dedicated space in Explore, where it has the chance to be seen and discovered by the wider Instagram community. You can also share your reel with your followers by posting it to your Feed. When you share reels featuring certain audio, hashtags, or effects, your reel may also appear on dedicated pages whenever someone clicks on that audio, hashtag, or effect.
Facebook Pay is designed to be an instant-pay option, similar to Amazon Pay or PayPal checkouts that some users are already familiar with.
It’s a highly secure and seamless payment option, allowing users to make purchases and donations more easily within the Facebook app family.
Instagram Shop is a new tab on the mobile app. Instagram has designed this page to help users discover products and brands on-platform. Users can shop from different collections, which they can purchase in-app on Instagram without having to leave the app itself. This feature is currently being tested in the US.
On this page, users will see personalised recommendations based on the brands that they currently follow. They will also see collections that have been curated by Instagram’s own shop team, which is designed to promote “emerging businesses and the creators behind them.” Businesses have a chance to be featured here organically, which is something that all brands selling eCommerce products should take note of.
According to Instagram blog, it suggests that business setup as shops on Instagram can increase their chances of being featured on the Instagram shop tab by consistently tagging their products in their posts and creating collections of products in their shop on Instagram.
Instagram’s found a new way to keep you hooked on scrolling— the Suggested Posts feature!
Now when you reach the end of “new” content on your feed, you will begin to see posts from accounts you don’t follow, just like the Explore Page. The suggestions are “based on posts from accounts like the ones you follow and posts similar to the ones you like or save.”
What this means for brands/businesses/influencers/content creators, is that the chances of your content being seen outside of your following community will increase, therefore you reach will increase. To take advantage of this, ensure to include call to actions (i.e. follow @etc for more…) in the captions to ensure that the audience that your posts reach come and follow you.
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