In the Social Network world changes are cash money (and sometimes not!) and it’s now Instagram’s turn for renovations. The implemented modifications affect everything from usability to how Online Marketing is done on the platform. That’s why today I’m presenting you with the 3 Huge Instagram 2016 Changes.
Although Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 (for a small fee of one billion dollars), they are only now beginning to feel the effects of this acquisition. As we’ll see in continuation, there are essentially 3 important changes that modify different aspects ranging from the app’s appearance all the way down to user experience.
Additionally, towards the end of the post you’ll find some tips for successfully surviving these Instagram 2016 changes.
Instagram 2016: 3 Fundamental Changes You Must Know About in order to Update your Online Marketing Campaigns
1- New Instagram Logo and Complete Redesign of the App
One of the most notable changes (literally) of Instagram 2016 is its new logo. Inspired by the application’s classic icon, the renovated form and color pallet demonstrates a simplification of the original logo, and the implementation of vibrant colors. The news was announced by the Twitter team on their blog:
“Today we’re presenting you with a new appearance. You’ll see that the Instagram icon and application design have been updated. Inspired by the old logo, the new icon represents a simpler camera and the presence of a rainbow, included in gradient form.
You’ll also see new icons for our other creative applications: Layout, Boomerang and Hyperlapse”.
In addition to the renovation of Instagram’s logo, the team of developers presented a whole new design of the application, whose purpose is to focus (even more) on images and improve overall usability of all the features. this is what the developers had to say in regards to this:
“Likewise, we’ve made improvements in the way the application is seen. The simplified design puts more focus on photos and videos without changing the way in which users navigate the application”.
And concludes: “The Instagram community has evolved over the past five years, from sharing edited photos to much more than this. A global community of shared interests that shares more than 80 million photos and videos every day. Our updated appearance depicts how vibrant and diverse their content is”.
Nonetheless, numerous designers responded by offering alternatives to the icon. Similarly, a lot of the Social Network’s users seemed unhappy with Instagram’s new logo, and they made it known through their social accounts (especially on Twitter):
Be what it is, the truth is that Instagram’s new logo is now reality, so I advise that you renovate your content, applications, blog and websites to make sure you include the updated icon. Doing so is important for keeping your brand image up to date and professional.
Below you can see an official Instagram video in which it shows the logo’s evolution in detail:
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2- The Algorithm that will make Instagram like Facebook
Like we said before, Facebook’s impact on Instagram’s administration has already become more and more evident. It happens that the Social Network announced the implementation of an algorithm similar to the one used by Facebook in order to show content to users based on their behavior.
This means that you’ll no longer see your contacts’ photos and videos appear in chronological order, but instead Instagram will now decide what content interests you most based on how frequently you interact with the accounts you follow, the amount of Likes given and other similar parameters.
With the implementation of the new algorithm, Facebook’s management of the Instagram operation has been increasing.
Here’s what the Instagram team said in regards to this in their official announcement under the title “See the Moments You Care About First”:
“You’d be surprised to know that people miss around 70% of content in their newsfeed. With the growth on Instagram, keeping up with the photos and videos users share has become even more difficult nowadays. This just means that you’re most likely not seeing the posts that really interest you.
To improve user experience, the newsfeed will be reorganized to show the moments we believe to be most important to users. The order of photos and videos in user feeds will be based on the possibility that the content might interest them, their relation with the post’s author and the time in which the content appears”.
As you can image, this announcement wasn’t received well by the community of Instagram users, and the hashtag “#RIPInstagram” was created for this Social Network. The main complaint is that people want to have control over what they see in their feed instead of the app deciding this for them.
While wrapping up the last point of this post, I’m going to give you some tips on how to prepare yourself for the algorithm change on Instagram.
3- The Launch of Instagram for Business
Along the same lines as the previous point (which is, under the obvious influence of Facebook) another one of Instagram 2016 crucial changes have to do with the way in which businesses utilize the app. Up until now Instagram for Business was allowing advertisers to create advertisements through Facebook Ads.
However, the Instagram advertising services will offer more alternatives to businesses very soon, such as the possibility consult statistics and information from their followers through a tool very similar to Facebook Insights. And this is only the beginning.
In fact, recently leaked information revealed that Instagram is currently working on developing multiple characteristics based on or inspired by services from the Facebook advertising platform. These are the main keys:
- The creation of profiles specifically for businesses (it will be something equivalent to Facebook Pages).
- The offering of more information on the performance of each post created by a brand (even if it’s not a promotional post).
- The possibility to create advertisements on Instagram from a mobile device, whether it be through an external application or through the same Instagram app.
All this changes will most likely be launched officially over the next months. So, whats behind these modifications inspired by Facebook? No doubt, the challenge of Instagram 2016 is increasing earnings through the incorporating of a large amount of new announcements.
Yet there is a large risk that exists while encouraging companies to invest in advertising on Instagram, and this risk is annoying users by filling their Newsfeeds with advertisements. In Facebook’s case, so this didn’t occur they created an algorithm to moderate the display of advertisements. Thus, you can expect something similar on Instagram.
Tips for Successfully Surviving the Instagram 2016 Changes
1- Connect with Your Audience in order to Improve Your Content’s Reach
After the implementation of Instagram’s new algorithm, it won’t be enough to just raise the number of your followers in order to increase your content’s reach. Instead, so you can see your posts it will be necessary to interact with them, in a way that your publications appear in their newsfeed.
So, I advise creating an interaction strategy to ensure that your most relevant followers see your posts. For example, you can make friendly comments on your most important followers publications in order to generate real interactions and improve your exposure level.
2- Use Influential Users to Help Spread your Proposals
Another good way to boost your diffusion on Instagram 2016 is to use the effective strategy of working with influencers. This is basically finding the most popular users in your sector and offering them some type of benefit ( ex. A free subscription to your services or products at no cost) for them to spread your proposals.
This strategy can be a great alternative to maximizing your exposition without limiting yourself to just promoting your publications. You’ll get the most out of the largest companies that are somehow linked to your sector while these accounts can capitalize on their new found popularity.
3- Prioritize the Quality of your Content
Using Facebook as the role model for this type of algorithm, its fundamental that you avoid being a spammer at all costs. This is because, for example, if you request Likes or only publish promotional content it can be a penalizing factor or your account can be blocked (just like on Facebook).
Therefore, I advise focusing on generating or obtaining high quality content to share on Instagram instead of limiting yourself to asking for attention. This won’t only save you problems on the Social Network but will also help you to generate a real bound with your audience.
That’s all for today! If you want to know more on Instagram 2016 and learn more about the other themes we touched base on today, I suggest reading the following articles:
- Interview with Jenn Herman: Miss Instagram share with us her best advice on Social Media for Businesses
- How to schedule Instagram posts (Step by step!)
- 9 New Facebook Features you should take advantage of in 2016
- Downlaodable checklist to devise your social media plan
Did you like this blog post? What do you think about the Instagram 2016 changes? Do you like them, or prefer to go back to the old ones? And please, remember to share this blog post with your contacts. See you next time!