5 things social media needs to know about the new Instagram update

Practically every day there are changes on Instagram, with new tools and features emerging, but the vast majority of them go unnoticed.

by Reagan Twigo – 09/20/2021

Instagram is constantly evolving. Unlike other social networks like Facebook and Twitter, for example, which have changed quite a bit over time, Instagram is constantly introducing new tools and updates.

The goal is to strive to improve the user experience, while creating new features with a focus on the competition. Being aware of these changes is essential, especially for those who work in social media.

After all, Instagram tends to “reward” with more participation those who use its original tools and functions. The best example we can give is the bobbins, which are organically great to have on hand.

But there have been other updates that Instagram provided recently, which I present below!

#1. Updating is ongoing
The first thing that social media should know is that there has actually been a big update on Instagram lately. But it is not isolated: changes are constantly occurring.

Practically every day there are changes on Instagram, with the introduction of new tools and features, but the vast majority of them go unnoticed. However, others draw a lot of attention.

Generally, these updates occur when the application evaluates user behaviors. At the same time, we also “teach” Instagram how to become better through our behaviour.

All this information is received by the algorithm, which is an artificial intelligence, and it updates itself as this new information is used in the way the application is used.

Looking for news is always important to social media. After all, like the Reels example I mentioned above, Instagram tends to deliver more content organically when using new tools.

#two. Change in the stories link
It is enough to say “drag” in stories! Now, the so-called link stickers are turned on, where the link will be in a clickable form that we have to add to the stories.

The purpose of the change was to make people’s lives easier, because the “pull up” was a bit confusing and not everyone was able to perform the procedure, and they didn’t offer the same amount of participation. On the other hand, stickers are already very popular and make the experience a lot easier, both for those who create and click.

This is where social media comes in: place this link in an engaging and visible way in Stories, so your audience will want to click on that poster.

#3. Connect in stories for everyone
The third big change is the democratization of links in stories. Until then, only accounts with more than 10,000 followers could add links to Stories, and with the new Instagram update, that will be allowed for everyone.

And this is excellent news for micro-influencers, who will be able to use this feature in their stories. In this sense, social media must also adapt and create stories and artwork so that micro influencers can move their followers to other pages as well.

Social media should welcome this change. After all, there will be more work requirements for small entrepreneurs, who will need help and planning to improve these Instagram functions to bring their customers to their website.

#4. The End of IGTV
Instagram has ended IGTV with new updates. Until then, IGTV had a parallel feed, where videos were posted, which now no longer exist: they all go straight to the main feed.

With this change, there is now only the ability to post videos, either in full screen size, or in the standard Instagram feed format. Also, all videos posted will now be in one tab for this type of material.

Now in Profiles there is a Feed tab, Reels tab and Videos tab, where all posted videos can be found, regardless of their size and duration.

#5. The end of the stock
The fifth change that has already been announced, but not yet implemented across all profiles, is the end of post sharing. Until then, we can click the plane and share posts to our stories. With the new update, this functionality will no longer be present.

There is still no clear explanation from Instagram about this change, but what you can understand is that they want feed posts to stay in the feed, and stories to stay like stories.

It remains to be seen how users will react to this change. After all, sharing has been a way for us to discover new content and accounts that our friends have shared.

dynamic tool
It’s important to say that these updates are still in the works, and not all accounts actually have these new features. But the thing to be clear is that Instagram is the platform that changes a lot. It is constantly updating, following trends and creating new experiences for users.

This also affects social media, which has to reinvent itself all the time, studying and taking advantage of new opportunities that arise – such as the possibility to start serving micro-accounts thanks to the democratization of links in stories.

In my opinion, these updates are always necessary, and they do so to improve the user experience. And if that’s their intent, so should our social media destinations.

Therefore, we must constantly study these updates, follow user trends, and thus better serve customers, offer new possibilities and increase their participation on social networks.