Social media is constantly changing and as a busy small business owner, it’s hard to keep up and make sure you’re getting the most out of your social media presence. In today’s Tech News Tuesday episode, we’re talking about some recent Instagram updates and how these features can benefit you!
The Latest on Instagram
Buffer has a recent article outlining a bunch of changes, and we want to highlight some of them.
Broadcast to Your Followers
If you have an Instagram Creator account, Broadcast Channels let you send mass messages to your followers who’ve opted in. Messages can be text, photos, videos, voice notes, and even polls. Followers can read the messages, react with emojis, and vote in polls but can’t reply.
Send mass messages to your followers with Broadcast Channels
It’s Great to Collaborate
Collab posts have been around a while, but now you can have up to three partner accounts on a single post. What’s great about this feature is that it means your content will appear in the feeds of your collaborators’ following, too. The post will also be visible on all the collaborators’ profile grids, and all the engagement on the post will be shared by the accounts.
There are even more opportunities for collaboration
Insights are Now Available on Desktop
If you prefer to look at your account analytics on desktop, the good news is that Insights can be viewed on your computer in addition to the app.
Reels Templates Make Creating Videos Easier Than Ever
Are you doing Reels yet? Meta wants to help you with templates. They recently updated the process to make it even easier to use the templates. Head over to the templates tab when creating a new reel, or if you find another reel you like, you’ll see a little button above the creator’s name that says Use Template if they’ve opted in to that feature.
If you’ve found a Reel you like, simply hit Use Template to recreate it with your content
Liven Up Your Social Content with Custom AI Stickers
Stickers have been around for awhile and are always fun, but instead of searching for the perfect sticker you can have AI generate a custom sticker for you. Another new sticker feature is photo stickers. Create a sticker from any photo in your camera roll.
You don’t need to find the perfect sticker, have AI create one for you
Meta Verified Subscription Service
On the maybe costly front, Meta is expanding its Meta Verified program to businesses and is currently testing it in a number of countries. This subscription offering will include business authentication with a verified badge, impersonation protection, access to account support, and features to help your business stand out. We don’t yet know if that will include enhanced visibility on the platform. The cost is $34.99 per month for both your Facebook and Instagram pages. Stay tuned in this space to see if this is something that will be worth it for local businesses.
Do you prefer to listen in to our podcast? Tune in below:
Links in this episode:
9 New Instagram Features and How to Use Them
What Are Your Customers Really Doing On Social Media?
