You surely have heard that the algorithm rewards creators who use new features. Does Instagram get something out of this deal? Oh, come on. If you use a brand new feature, chances are it will make your community more likely to give it a chance and test it out too. So it’s beneficial for both sides – your profile and the whole platform as well! How can you make it work FOR YOURSELF? As always, to majorly up your engagement, a great place to start is testing which features feel good to you. Try using new features once in a while, and watch your reach and engagement soar because even if it sounds a bit too good to be true, it’s not a rumor: Instagram will really reward you if you utilize their new features. Real-life example?

If you use Reels, Instagram will push your posts to more users.

The video keeps Instagram users on a platform for a longer amount of time, so they really care about prioritizing it. So if you’re creating video content, you’re basically supporting the platform’s growth, and you’re helping Adam Mosseri keep users on his platform. And yup, they need our help, and they’ll reward us for it. It sounds really fair, huh?

The best thing? Instagram won’t ever get stuck in the past, as some of the other platforms do – they’re still introducing new features and new formats. In addition, Instagram is transparent and communicative about all upcoming features, so they basically keep us all informed about new moves, and we can feel like we have all the updates.

Essential new features to test out right now?

Collabs: If you want to supercharge your posts reach, it’s time to start experimenting with this beneficial feature. It allows you to invite another creator to collaborate on a regular post or an Instagram Reel, and it works like co-authoring content. Both of your usernames will appear on the post and appear on both feeds. The best news? Two different audiences will see your post, which means double chances for likes, comments, and shares. That way, you can easily double your reach. Sounds good, huh?

Adding your custom stickers to instastories

They don’t just help you engage with your audience, they can give your instastories a totally new look and reframe your storytelling. Why would you even want to use other creators’ GIFs when you can come up with your own? The best part? That’s not as complicated as you may think – and we can help you with that! 

So, how to make your own Instagram GIF stickers?

All GIFs used in Instagram Stories are powered by the platform you’re probably familiar with: Giphy.com. The first step to create your own stickers: you’ll need to create an account and go through the process of verification. Then you’re ready to start your GIFs journey! With the platform’s help, you don’t need any pro badass animation and graphic design skills to create something impressive. To be honest – they have made the creation process extremely straightforward and intuitive. Giphy also offers pretty helpful analytics for each of your GIFs. This means you can track how many times users were viewing your creations. That’s some powerful stuff!

Schedule LIVE videos and practice performing live in advance.

Now you’re armed with a great feature to build up a bigger buzz for your upcoming Live session by scheduling it (up to 90 days in advance), then sharing info across Instagram to alert your followers. Instagram has also rolled out a feature, “Practice mode,” which allows you to test going live ahead of the scheduled one to try your connection, lighting options and rehearse any other pre-live activity you may want to prepare.

Let us tell you: testing new features is more important than ever because it’s your chance to get rewarded by Instagram’s algorithm. So that’s it – now is the perfect time to try how these new features can work for you: you can learn at your own pace and become comfortable with the new possibilities. And if the changes are a bit confusing, don’t worry – you’ll quickly become familiar with them (and the best part – Bien sur, we’ll help you, that’s more than obvious). 

New Instagram Features Q&A

As always, I’ve gathered the most burning questions right here! To give you easy access to the critical questions with answers, I will be creating a short FAQ at the end of almost every post, so look out for them!

How to make a collaboration post on Instagram?

Instagram Collabs give you an opportunity to invite another creator to collaborate on regular posts or Reels so that they can share the content with their audience as well. It’s like co-authoring a book! Essentially, you co-author post with another Instagram user, and the content will show up on both of your feeds. When you gain access to the Collabs feature, you’ll have a chance to send and accept requests to collaborate on co-authored content.

The good news is that it’s really easy-peasy to arrange a Collab on Instagram – the whole process is exceptionally similar to tagging someone in a post. Let’s dive in deeper!

How to land your first Instagram collaboration? And how to find a collab partner?

1. Find a creator you love and trust and you’d love to work with. A successful collab post starts with finding the right collab partner! You need to find someone who can be a good fit for your strategy.
2. Start by preparing a list of about 15-20 creators you’d love to collaborate with. Reach out to them all. Say hi, and ask them if they’d be interested in preparing a collab post with you. Pro tip? Introduce yourself and explain a little about your idea and why you wanted to collaborate with them. Throwing in an HONEST compliment is also a beneficial idea, so don’t hesitate to use it.
3.  Many of your dream collab partners might not respond. And that’s okay too, don’t take it personally – they might be too busy, overwhelmed with work or an important project they’re working on.
4. If someone says they’re in, prepare your Instagram collaboration idea in detail. Yass, once you’ve found your Instagram collab partner, it’s time to discuss the concept!

By the way – reaching out to people you don’t know yet can be a big challenge, so the next time you post a regular post or a Reel that you made with your good friend or a photographer you’re working with, why not make it a Collab post? That’s a great way to start with this feature! 

How to send a collab request?

1. After uploading your new content (Reels or a regular post), go to the next step of the process as usual, and find the option “Tag people.”
2.  Look at the bottom right corner – there, you should see the “Invite Collaborator” feature. After tapping on it, choose the creator you want to collaborate with.
3. After you’ve picked the user, you want to collaborate with, post the content as usual, and your collaborator will receive a request (right in their DMs inbox).
4. The content will not be posted on their feed until they’ve accepted the request.

Can I create collab post with more than one creator? Can I invite 2-3 users?

ATM, you can only collaborate with one creator! 

Why can’t I post collabs?

Collabs feature was rolled out to everybody (no matter where you live), so you should have it by now! Make sure you’re using the latest version of the ‘Gram (update it just in case), but if you have the latest version and you still can’t use the collab feature – unfortunately, all you can do is wait (or get in touch with IG’s helpdesk).

What other new features can be beneficial for MY account? How to tell if they’re going to work for me?

Which formats will be the best choices FOR YOU? Well, the most crucial thing: you need to experiment, test them all out, and then analyze the insights. If you’d like ME to help you, audit your current content strategy, find your strengths and obstacles you might unconsciously be facing + research which formats can work wonders for YOUR content creation, there’s still a chance. 

Right now, I want to make this 1:1 game-changing audit accessible to as many of you as possible. And hey, I have dropped its price from last year to prove my commitment. Book it now (for 29$) as this is the only way you can get this kind of 1:1 audit and my personalized insights 

Now, I would love to hear from you…

What questions do you have about Instagram strategy, new features, or hashtag research? Notice that I said question(s) plural. Ask a lot of them. Don’t be shy!

Your answers help me create better future blog content, ebooks, and guides. So what would you love to know? By the way- stay tuned for an entire post about the ways you can benefit from using Collabs feature! 

The post Use New Instagram Features To Explode Your Reach and Engagement appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

Don’t worry, in today’s article, we’ll show you exactly how to make these updates work in your favor. We’ll go over the juiciest and powerful ones to keep you informed about what REALLY matters. What do you need to know about all the new features? Let’s get started, here’s the summary of 5 powerful new updates that might impact your content strategy!

1. Link stickers to EVERYONE

Remember when the swipe-up feature was available only for profiles with over 10k on their follower count? You no longer need 10 000 followers, yay! “Finally!” you’d like to say, right? The time has come: we’re all getting the new, already pretty famous link sticker, and nobody has to wait for the prize for finally making it to 10k followers anymore. If you don’t have it yet, you’re going to have it soon!  

It gives you remarkably functional options, as you can use link stickers to share:

• links to your blog
• your other websites links
• your favorite resources, do you don’t have to answer hundreds of DMs anymore
• link to your services and products
• link to the articles you love
• link to your e-mail sign-up forms and lead magnets 

Drumroll, please! By the way, it’s it a bit weird that we’re going to hear “link in the bio” much more rarely now? We’re still getting used to it!

2. You can now post from your desktop!

Instagram added the option to create and publish new content straight from the desktop. We wanted to write that we know that SO MANY of you are obsessively excited about this feature – but the truth is, so are we! It makes the daily activities of all the creators, entrepreneurs growing brands’ accounts, and social media managers significantly easier.

Yass. We’ve been waiting for this moment! It’s a feature we all needed so badly. A massive part of importing and exporting files on the phone can be avoided – such a time saver. Goodbye airdropping all the time. 

Another advantage is that using this feature is entirely intuitive. All we need to do is open the Instagram website, log in, click on the plus icon in the top right corner, and… Choose photos or videos we want to upload. Voila, it’s that simple.

Writing captions from a full-size keyboard and choosing which photos to select on a regular-size screen: hello productivity!

3. Video format means “goodbye IGTV” 

We’ve already talked about this update (here: BIG video update: Will Instagram permanently scrap IGTV? All about the new video format!), but in case you’ve missed it – let’s have a quick reminder! IGTV and regular feed videos (except reels of course) are now combined into one universal format: Instagram video. They all come under one tab, the video tab. The Instagram team says it’s going to improve users’ experience, and we absolutely believe them.

We also got some new video features: 60seconds preview, trimming & location tag. 

4. You can edit your reels cover after posting

Why is it a big deal? Reels get boosted in the newsfeed much higher than standard videos, but creating them can turn out to be surprisingly time-consuming. Today we’ve heard one creator complain that she spent 3 hours polishing her reels! No wonder sometimes people don’t have the energy for creating that one perfect reels cover, and they’d prefer to do it later, maybe even a few hours after publishing. 

Now we can actually do it – and edit reels cover after posting, whenever we want to. In case we want to create something better or simply change our minds! Such a huge thing for everyone who was waiting for it.

5. Practice before going live

This one really caught our eye, and we guess it’s a really practical one and will make all the people that have never gone live happy! Before having the first LIVE, we can practice without anybody seeing it!

Think about this: less stress, less uncertainty, because you can check how it all looks for yourself before trying it with your audience for the first time. You gain more confidence with practice, they say – cliche, but in so many cases true as well!

Going live for the first time just got much better and less hectic, y’all. Thanks Instagram!

Food for thought: What can you do this week to test these new features out for yourself? Have you already been implementing some of them? Which update is your favorite? Tell us below and, needless to say, let us know if you have any questions! Many more surprising features are being tested now (including 60-second stories), so there’s a lot to wait for! Stay tuned for upcoming posts about all the exciting news!

The post 5 Instagram updates you NEED to know about! appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

It all looks like video format REALLY is the future of social media content marketing, and Adam was completely serious: the Instagram team is constantly working on it. Earlier this year, even Mark Zuckerberg revealed that video content accounts for almost half of the time spent on Facebook. That’s quite a lot. No wonder Instagram is powerfully concentrating more on its video format potential.

This week, new changes kept on coming. IGTV and feed videos are moving to one format: INSTAGRAM VIDEO. Did you catch it? In case you missed it, no worries. Today, we’re outlining our top takeaways and what you actually need to know about the video update to succeed on Instagram. 

Let’s go! Today we’ll break this update down, and discuss in detail:

• What is the big video update all about?
• How exactly is Instagram merging IGTV and feed videos into a single format?
• What does the video update mean for your content strategy?
• Will the new video tab make our content creators’ lives significantly easier?
• Will it improve our video content discoverability? 

Goodbye IGTV – why did Instagram decide to shut down this feature and introduce the new one?

* Time to say goodbye playing softly in the background *

Another day, another farewell. Oh, come on, not really!

Anyway, we have to say goodbye to IGTV, as it’s going away – basically the first extended feature for sharing high-quality long-form videos and the first official Instagram’s answer to Youtube’s format. It’s been functioning as a standalone feature as well, accessible not only from Instagram. The ephemeral format is shutting down due to low usage after launching in June 2020. 

It will be completely gone soon. 

Since no one cared about IGTV so much, Instagram is getting rid of it. Instagram’s decision to ax IGTV is sort of an admission that the feature didn’t work as well as expected, but also a clear sign that the platform needs to be simplified. We actually think that’s a strategic move since creators don’t really use IGTV that much anymore – and reels got the spotlight. 

They say that we don’t know what we’ve got ’til it’s gone.

Well, we don’t really think it will be like this with IGTV – mainly because we’re getting something better in return!

And, the thing is, IGTV won’t be REALLY dead. 

It will, and it won’t at the same time.

Let us explain!

Instagram has decided to merge IGTV and infeed videos into one video format. You can still upload videos that are longer than 60 seconds (actually, they can be up to 60 minutes!) – it just won’t be on IGTV anymore. Just no more IGTV tab, that’s all.

Sounds like they want to make our content creators’ lives easier and encourage us to use video format? We really think so! This update is meant to help users find new video posts that they can enjoy more easily. We guess we can admit it now: IGTV wasn’t the most intuitive format – it wasn’t really searchable, at least in our opinion. No wonder Instagram decided to clean up its features and enhance the video content scrolling experience! 

The new Instagram video tab – what can we expect from it? What does the update mean for your profile? 

So Instagram’s introduced Instagram Videos – as we already mentioned, it will consist of both infeed videos and IGTV format alike. “We hope Instagram videos will help more people feel comfortable joining the video content sharing and discovering” – they say. We hope so as well!

It looks like it’s a move to simplify the platform’s video formats. But hey, don’t worry: there will still be Reels, Live and Instagram stories. 

What else do we already know about the big video update? Here we come with the low-down on the first good news about the video update (the Instagram team’s announced that there’s even more, to come soon):

• IGTV & regular feed videos will be blended into one format: Instagram video
• video previews are being increased up to 60 seconds!
• Instagram stories will have a vertical like screen – similar to Tiktok
• Instagram videos will be easily accessible in their own tab on our profiles
• Instagram will introduce some new in-app editing options, like extra filters, trimming, and adding text 

What about extra options for business owners? Should we get really excited about the update? 

We’re excited, to be honest!

The new Instagram video tab offers a few features that can turn out to be total game-changers for creators and business owners – so it’s a loud yes from us!

What do we all need? More exposure and better visibility to reach and attract people from our target audiences, right? The new video tab can become immensely helpful. What are the main benefits of it? Let’s look at them once again:

• creators will have the option to tag people and locations in the video content
• we can edit, trim and add filters to our video content in separate video tab, which is really comfy. Double yay for in-app editing! 
• new format can have up to 60 second long previews
• it will be perfect for longer-form storytelling 

To wrap up – video update in a nutshell! 

IG video is replacing both IGTV and feed videos! A new video tab is coming soon – we have to say goodbye to IGTV, sort of. Instagram announced combining two formats: IGTV and feed videos into one simple format: Instagram video. They will also introduce a new, separate tab for this format: Video tab, which will make discovering video content much more intuitive and provide us with new playback functionality. We will also be able to tap anywhere on the video to enter the full-screen mode – that sounds really promising to us!

Instagram video will be the universal format for longer-form storytelling, as you can upload videos that are up to 60minutes long. 

That’s not the only good news we have – video preview will be up to 60 seconds, and we will get to tag people and locations in our video posts. 

What about reels? – you may want to ask. Nothing changes here: they will still have their OWN separate tab.

Do you already have the new video tab on your account? Are you excited or not really? 

If you’re new to this “video content thing” and you’re thinking “where do I even begin” – hey, we’re here to help! We will elaborate on how to make the most of video content in the upcoming articles – leave your questions in the comments! 

The post BIG video update: Will Instagram permanently scrap IGTV? All about the new video format! appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

Indeed, it is a challenge, but don’t panic.

We’ve done in-depth research for you and gathered the most practical solutions (AS ALWAYS).

Is Instagram good for driving traffic? How can you get traffic to your website?

We can’t deny it: Instagram isn’t the most link-friendly platform, but it’s evolving, and this approach is fortunately quick to fade. While you still can’t link a regular Instagram post, there are still several ways to earn organic website traffic directly from Instagram. Let’s dive into the most strategic ways to use all the clickable links! Actually, in today’s article, we will share some of the EASIEST and tested tips to increase your website traffic like a pro marketer – using Instagram link stickers and clickable link the BIO only! 

Ready? Let’s get started!

What clickable links do we have in our Instagram arsenal?

Regardless of the size of your tribe (and numbers on your follower count), the platform’s true potential isn’t FULLY unlocked until you bring at least some of those followers to your websites outside the Gram. In the following paragraphs, we’ll cover several proven ways of getting there. Let’s go! If you’re reading our tips and news regularly, chances are you already know some of the strategies. Still, we’re going to approach them from new angles so you can learn how to increase your website traffic without any worries or technical troubles along the way.

First pro tip: make sure you’re using a professional account to access all the features (if you’re still learning about differences between available account types: we’ve elaborated on this topic right there: What is the difference between a business account and a creator account on Instagram? The best pick!).

What options to use clickable links do we currently have?

• a link in the BIO
• creating a link tree to encourage followers to visit more than one website
• link stickers (unfortunately only if you can first meet two requirements)
• IGtv links (they deserve an individual post, that’s why we’ll elaborate on them in the next article)
• links in DMs (the same story right there – it’s a strategy that demands a comprehensive guide because many tricks may surprise you!)

You have to admit: that’s quite a nice package. But how EXACTLY can you use them to make them work in your favor more intensively? Keep reading; we’re heading there!

Use the full power of your BIO link.

Your Instagram bio is a really big deal. Mainly because, actually, it’s the first thing people notice when they check out your profile! The more good news? Everyone, EVERY single user can include a link in their bio: you don’t have to wait till 10k on the follower count to enjoy the power of this link and drive traffic to the website that is your current priority.

That’s it: your bio should ALWAYS contain a link to the website that is your number one at the moment, so you’re hoping to drive followers toward it. It doesn’t have to be your main homepage! That’s the mistake many people make: most creators and brand owners paste a link to their home pages and leave it that way forever.

When they initially set up their account, they likely added a link to their official page, and probably it’s been there EVER SINCE. Do we have to tell you it’s not the most strategic approach? The bio link is most beneficial when it’s frequently UPDATED.

Consider linking to a particular article, landing page, or product/service on your site instead. Because this little bio link can do so much more than just heading your followers to the official homepage! You can update this link AS OFTEN AS YOU NEED TO. Use it to guide your readers to:

• Your current campaign page
• A newly launched product or services 
• A new article/blog post 
• Your newsletter / landing page

Then, you can use CTAs like “link in my bio” in your posts. Believe us: it really is a smart way to increase the number of your followers who actually click on it! To speed up the process, even more, you can also add CTA directly to your Instagram bio. How? Easy peasy. Just consider writing a catchy line of copy, right before your link in bio, such as: “Click to download the free guide!”. It will make your link way more actionable.

One link in the bio is not enough? Use the link tree!

At the moment, Instagram lets you use only one link featured in the bio. But don’t sweat if the choice is challenging or almost impossible to make! There’s a solution! This is where link trees come in handy.

“A tree? Are you crazy? I don’t want to turn my profile into a garden,” you might want to say, but believe us: that’s a method you’ve been looking for. All kidding aside, let’s go back to the business and elaborate on how it works!

Linktree lets you build simple microsites that lead your followers to all your websites. You can encourage them to go wherever you can be found one-line through one link.

That’s how it looks like. You can fully customize the style of it: colors, fonts, layout, whatever you like. Let us say it’s really intuitive and comfy to use: and we’ve seen many popular creators use it, so give it a try! 

This can have a truly significant impact when it comes to driving more traffic from Instagram. 

Protip: don’t forget to use UTM tags on ALL LINKS from Instagram to your websites or blogs, so you have good reporting on which links were the best traffic providers!

Link stickers – the new swipe-up feature replacement

You remember it for sure: the swipe-up feature was an Instagram game-changer for many brands. It enabled us to send followers directly to the outside destinations, like the official website for example, when they swipe up or click on the “see more” CTA right at the bottom of the particular Instagram stories.

It was working remarkably well.

The only obstacle standing in the way was that this sexy feature was available if you had at least 10,000 followers. That’s a lot.

Recently, it was time for the winds of change – Instagram’s decided to retire the swipe up feature. Instead, they introduced us to the new link stickers. What’s the deal with them? Who gets to use them – is it precisely the same story as with the swipe-up option? Is it going to change the way we use clickable links? Let’s analyze the brief overview of this new feature that has replaced the swipe-up feature.

What exactly is the new Instagram link sticker? Nothing really complicated right there. We already know the rules because it replaces the swipe-up feature, letting creators add an external link to Instagram stories format.

The caveat? To unlock this feature you also have to have at least 10,000 followers. We’ve heard from some of you that Instagram is testing giving access to it to creators with less than 10k followers, but right now, it’s just testing, nothing official yet. What to do if you can’t have the feature yet? Don’t worry at all! If you don’t meet the “10k” criteria, you can still harness the power of Instagram stories by posting shareable content, creating thought-provoking discussions, and inviting your followers to engage. Why is it worth your time? Having outstanding Instagram stories content will encourage your tribe to take the next steps, get to know you better, interact and head over to your landing page / official website / online store or a blog. We can’t stress this enough: stories are also an effective way to tease new content. and alert your followers to recent posts in your feed that they may not have seen yet. 

To wrap-up!

Today’s easy-to-implement strategies can authentically help you use clickable links on Instagram and drive organic traffic from the platform STRAIGHT to your top-priority website, online store, or blog. That’s really important because the following you build on the platform can REALLY help you increase your conversion rates as well. We’ve discussed four ways to take advantage of Instagram to get more eyes on your top priority websites. The key takeaways?

• If you already have 10k on your follower count, or you’re just lucky and got access to this feature anyway: use the “link stickers” feature on Instagram stories to direct users towards your websites
• Don’t forget to use UTM tags (you can generate them right here: UTMs / campaign links builder) on all links from Instagram to your sites, so you have actionable reporting on which tactics were the best session drivers.
• Take note that you can update the link in your bio ANYTIME. When your business/brand has a marketing campaign, a new blog article, or a newly-launched collection, update your BIO  link to a specific landing page.

That’s it for today! You’re now armed with the knowledge to drive traffic to your website from Instagram. Hope this will help you on your way to getting more satisfying results and plenty of pleasant surprises! 

The post THE SMARTEST ways to use Instagram clickable links to drive traffic to your website or blog appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

The famous swipe-up link feature: the primary reason why so many Instagram users dream about reaching the magic number: 10k on their follower count! Once the number is over 10,000, they gain the possibility to add an active link to any Instagram stories slide so that everyone watching it can access external websites by swiping up. If you’re an established Instagram user, you probably know what a colossal game-changer it turned out to be! 

Rolled out to users worldwide in 2016, the swipe up feature has become a way to promote signup pages, official websites, landings, profiles on other platforms, personal shops, product pages, event pages, blog posts, podcast episodes, videos on Youtube, and actually – anything you want – right from Instagram stories. 

It was always one of the critical features for content creators and marketers to share their content outside the platform. With the right strategy, it’s a vital piece of the Instagram marketing puzzle to gain leads and increase conversions. Mainly when the accounts below 10k are officially limited to only ONE clickable link (in the bio), and it sucks at times when you want to show your community something outside the Gram. 

As the Instagram landscape continues to change, and it adapts with the times and the requests of users of the platform, here goes the wind of changes. After a few years since the swipe-up feature has been introduced to us, Instagram decided it’s time for a massive change.

Yes. There is a new feature on the horizon! The announcement means the company will shut down the swipe-up feature and introduce link stickers. It will be rolled out at the end of august, and you surely want to ask:

• Will it be available for everyone?!
• Will it completely replace swipe-up links?
• What can we expect from it?

We’re here to discuss these burning questions! Although we still don’t know many things about the upcoming sticker link feature (Instagram has not shared many in-depth details), it’s a strategic time to sum up, what we’ve already researched. The most important thing: the news is already confirmed by the platform. 

So let’s dive in and elaborate on everything you need to know about Instagram’s upcoming link stickers feature!

Swipe-up links will soon be… Stickers?

Will we say goodbye to swipe-up links? There is every indication that we will, as Instagram is going to retire this option.

The Verge wrote about it first, but we already have the official confirmation from Instagram’s team. Some users have also received an in-app notification about that change, with the announcement that the platform will start implementing the new feature from August 30. 

Instead of the swipe-up link, we’ll be armed with tappable link stickers, which will redirect viewers to external pages. Stickers will work almost the same way the swipe-up did, with one key difference: instead of swiping, we’ll be tapping. We’ll also be able to respond (and react) to stories that include link stickers – it’s worth mentioning that it’s impossible with stories including a swipe-up link.

What happened that the company decided to offer such a different solution?

They claim they wanted to implement more “creative control”, and the clickable stickers look like a more fun way to redirect users to external content. Plus, users will probably be able to change the look of those stickers and make them more custom-fit. Moreover, adding a swipe-up link was a simple process, but clickable link stickers are designed to be even more uncomplicated and intuitive to use. So yup, it has a couple of winning advantages over the old “swipe-up” link.

Sounds good to us! 

You don’t have to wait till 10k (on your follower count) anymore? Who will receive the new option?

With the swipe-up feature, the message was clear: Instagram wanted to keep this option exclusive. To access this solution, your profile had to be professional (switched to Creator or Business type), have at least 10, 000 followers, or be officially verified.

What about the new link stickers feature?

Opinions are divided, so we’re waiting for the official announcements. Good news: we’ve heard from TheSocialImpact.au that they have a few connections who already have an option to add these stickers, and what is even more promising: these people don’t have 10k followers! Time will tell, but it gives authentic hope that soon we’ll no longer have to worry about the limiting follower count.

The new feature has been already tested, but the test was small – as Vishal Shah, Instagram’s head of product says. Now it will be much broader, and officially, the wider tests (although, still with limited availability) start on August 30. Most probably, it will start mainly with the users who had the access to the swipe-up link, creators and businesses, to gather feedback and check out how they’re using the feature, but it seems like it’s not officially preordained yet.

There are also voices that the first tests started out in June. The platform has started testing linking stickers for profiles with different sizes of follower bases, not just users who already had 10k followers, and a swipe up privilege.

We’ve also found some unofficial statements that the link-stickers update doesn’t modify the criteria for who can use the feature, but the Gram’ will consider expanding access to this new solution to more profiles in the future. “This move requires extensive research because it opens up the door to misusing it to spread false information, and spam” – such was an explanation we found in the interview with Jane Manchun (app researcher). 

Time will tell, we suppose, so we’re waiting!

Is Instagram getting rid of the swipe up? To wrap-up!

It looks like we really can say goodbye to swipe-up links (*Time to say goodbye playing softly in the background*). The ephemeral feature is shutting down due to a new concept: link stickers! 

Starting on August 30, some of the Gram’s users will instead just see the active linking stickers option— at the top of their Instagram Stories features. 

Instagram’s decision to axe swipe-up links is not just an admission that the feature needed an update, but that the company still hasn’t figured out how to get people using stickers more often. That could be a working solution! 

While various changes and updates are constantly being made, this one has surprised us a bit – what about you? 

The post Is Instagram getting rid of swipe up links? Link stickers are the next big thing? appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

Today we’ll discuss the highly practical one. The one that has been launched July 2020. Can you already guess which one we’re talking about? This riddle can be a bit difficult without any further hints, so okay – this time, we’ll solve it for you. We have pinned comments feature in our minds!

Want to pin a comment or learn more about how you can use this feature to make it work in your favor? You’re at the right place!

What you’ll learn today?

• What exactly are pinned comments, and why Instagram implemented them?
• How to use them in practice (with a step-by-step tutorial, of course!)
• What type of comments should you pin?
• Why does Instagram focus on the community’s safety?
• Why can pinning comments be REALLY strategic?
• Can you unpin the comment later?
• How many comments can you pin?
• Do you need a business account or a particular number of followers to use this feature?

What exactly are pinned comments, and what is this feature about?

Here we go. Instagram’s pinned comments are a simple moderation tool – easy to use, user-friendly, and highly convenient. Why? It allows you to select and pin up to three most valuable comments – they’ll be visible at the top of the post’s comment section. 

You can’t pin your own comments (that’s not a huge surprise, but it’s worth mentioning as it can not be so obvious because this feature works differently on other social media platforms), but you can pick other users’ comments really consciously. What would we recommend? Focus primarily on precious insights, positive feedback, and conversation-starters. As you already know, comments are a crucial part of Instagram engagement — they allow you to deepen the connection with your tribe, get to know them better, and answer burning questions. And – that’s probably the best news – pinned comments can help you moderate the communication and make it more optimistic. By pinning the best comments, you often set the tone for future discussions!

So once again, this time in a nutshell: you can pin up to three comments which will appear instantly right under your post, with a “pinned” label underneath it, next to the “like” and “reply” labels. What makes it even more strategic? The three comments you pin can mask all other comments, which can only be seen by clicking on “view all comments,” so they make all other comments less visible. The pinned ones have the spotlight. 

Instagram focuses on the safety of the community. 

Let’s use this chance to remind (you and all of us!) that last year, Instagram released a few new options that limit hate speech, passive aggression, harassment, and bullying that – as you can easily guess – happens mainly in the comment section. Apart from pinned comments feature, you can bulk delete comments and choose who can tag and mention you in their content. It’s a game-changer for many creators who face attacks of haters all the time. 

The platform also uses Artificial intelligence to detect suspicious behaviors, block offensive comments automatically, so creators don’t have to do it manually, and warn the users about potentially offensive or harmful mentions. 

Effective communication is one of the keys to maintaining the profile reputation – and that’s why the pinned comments feature can make it easier to focus on the positive feedback and hide less agreeable comments – without the need to delete them permanently (which could make the authors angry or even more desperate for attention in some cases). 

How to use pin comments?

We don’t like this overused saying, but here it fits just perfectly: it’s a piece of cake! Just take a look at our visual step by step tutorial: 

Pinned comments let you moderate communication below the post – can we give you more reasons to use them? Sure thing!

#1 – It’s a great way to focus on the positive feedback

The three comments you pin can set the tone of the WHOLE discussion in the comment section as positive. Moreover, the rest of the comments, which can be harmful or abusive, will be much less visible. Win-win. Pinning a comment gives it immense visibility. So it’s the first thing that gets the attention of anyone diving into your post comment section! Yup. The feature can be used by everyone: social media managers, creators, influencers, brands, and business owners to spotlight positive feedback, combat hate speech, answer FAQs (and prevent answering the same questions all over again). 

#2 – Make the valuable voices easier to find!

Which comment provides unique insights? Which of them surprised you the most? Pin it to make it more visible, because there are high chances that most people will like it too and it can contain information that might help them too!

#3 When you use pinned comments feature, you give your followers the motivation to write longer, and more thoughtful feedback

Not only do pinned comments help strengthen positivity in your comment section, but they will also probably lead to a higher amount of exciting comments – your followers will write them with the sincere hope of seeing them pinned! We’ve also found some forecasts that brands will start gamifying pinned comments to maxify the encouragement. Sounds inspiring and invoking positivity, right?

Short FAQs about pinned comments!

Can I unpin the comment later?

Anytime, with one quick click.

Why can’t I pin comments?

If you are having trouble pinning comments, check if you have the updated Instagram app – that could be the case

How to view someone’s pinned comments? 

To view someone’s pinned comments, you need to scroll down to the comment section. The first three comments would be the pinned comments with the label “pinned”. If you find no label, that person hasn’t pinned any comments, then!

How many comments can I pin?

 You can pin only THREE comments. So, make sure that they have the maximum impact!

Do I need a business account or a particular number of followers to use this feature?

Sigh with relief. No! Anyone can use this feature, and it is not limited to popular creators and agency marketers.

To wrap-up!

Pinned comments are helpful to grab attention, and if used wisely, they could help you a LOT more than just unmoderated discussions. 

Here are a few things to remember!

• When you pin someone’s comment, they get a notification — just like when you’re tagging or mentioning them
• You can pin up to three comments 

Not only is it a practical moderation tool, but it’s an easy way to combat misinformation, spotlight the members of your community who are loving your profile, answer the crucial questions and make these key answers highly visible!

The post Pinned comments on Instagram: what are they, and how can you use them strategically? appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.