Recent Instagram Updates and How to Take Advantage of Them

November 14, 2022 Allysa Larson

Hi babes,

It seems like IG is constantly changing these days with so many updates and tests being rolled out… Let’s cover some of those updates and how you can use them to your advantage!

Listen to the podcast episode HERE

NEW IG UPDATES AND HOW TO USE THEM TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Whenever IG rolls out a new feature, they seem to prioritize / push content for those who are using the feature – so use the new features!!

Scheduling Posts
- HOW TO: Have to have a business/creator account.
  - Go to Advanced settings while creating your post > Schedule this post
  - Can do it up to 75 days in advance
- Super helpful for those managing other accounts / have other jobs - good way to stay consistent!
- Helpful if you have a 9-5, now you can schedule your weekly content ahead of time
- Thought: Interested to see if there’s a diff in engagement with scheduled vs. organically posted. But this is a new feature so we will see!
- Cons?
  - Minor trust issues? As creators - timing is important for us - if it doesn’t work, then we miss posting for a day
  - What if IG randomly deletes your drafts/scheduled posts because of a glitch?
Longer IG Stories - 15 to 60 seconds
- Doesn’t cut your stories into 4 15-sec slides
- Pros: Now music will flow easily
- Cons: Instead of someone tapping through to see the final point, they may miss the whole thing if they don’t want to watch 60sec straight
- I wish there was an option!
Creator Marketplace
- Really developing this out recently
- They recently took away affiliate, and are focusing on this instead
- Projects are sent in messages in prioritized partnership inbox
- They show the rates and you can choose if you are interested or not
- It’s interesting to see how brands will be using this
Creator Portfolio
- This is your “IG Resume” / Media kit ON IG
- New way to share your brand/who you are for brands to see
- Overview of who you are, highlight previous content + past brand partners
- Only share your strengths! Highlight what you do well (Can be engagement, top posts, past partnerships, etc)
Branded Content Ad Code for Creators
- Makes it easier for businesses to promote organic creator content, brands will use this unique code to run creator content as ads
- Under paid partnership label > Generate branded content ad code
  - Can also “Add brand from a project” directly from your creator marketplace collab to be counted toward that project
- Seems very similar to how tiktok works if you’ve ever done a partnership on tiktok.
Adding music to in-feed photos
- Creates a vibe for the photo
- Can only do 1 photo right now, not a carousel
- Reminds me of MySpace (also said that they are experimenting with adding music to your profile)
- Competing with TikTok again (music is key element on that platform) + incorporating more music elements to IG
- More stressful? I can barely think of a caption and now I need to think of a song too !
Shopping feature is back
- Suggested/Predicted products that IG detects from your photo
- No commission
Add message button
- Seems like this is a create business tool
- Very interested on how this will benefit creators

That’s the recap! It’s definitely a lot more than what I expected. What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below! What’s your favorite new feature?

Have a great week!

Xx, Allysa