Instagram features have been developed and rolled out since it was bought by Facebook several years ago. These new features may take brand awareness to a new level and also improve the user experience. Keep reading to see what’s new with the Instagram platform.
1. The New Shopping Options on the Image
This is mostly used by creators to earn money from brands. Most creators were used to referring customers to their inbox or websites. However this process becomes disadvantageous in cases where there is a need to track sales because the increased clicks might reduce the conversion rates.
The creators are now able to tag their photos with the product name, price, and description and have a checkout link so that people can buy them directly.
2. Polls on Sponsored Stories
This is my favorite update because it has brought interactions to an ad that was only limited to the click or swipe option. When creating a sponsored story, the advertisers can now add polls which may include either asking the targeted Instagram users a question or giving them two options to choose from.
A survey indicates that most users who use the polls on sponsored stories say they are glad to interact since they have had up to 80% response rates from the targeted audience. This is, therefore, a perfect way for businesses to start building relationships with their audiences
Note: They are only good for brand awareness and not for conversion purposes.
3. A New Donation Sticker for Instagram Stories
This new donation sticker will help you start a fundraiser and collect funds through Instagram stories. When your audience sees the donate sticker, they can always tap on it and donate by entering the amount they want to donate.
If you want to see your donations, you just swipe up and see the amounts plus their usernames. You can go through the list of non-profits organizations, customize your donation sticker and later make it live.
Note: According to Instagram, the funds you raise will be used to improve the global functionality. This means that all the funds will go to the nonprofit you support and available in the US to carry out its intended function.
4. Sharing Feed Posts on Stories
Instagram stories allow you to engage with your audience. You can share the original post which will also include your username. This is an advantage to businesses since they can easily drive attention and traffic to their posts, it is an easy way to promote their latest posts daily and boost your reach and engagement.
The feed posts you share to your stories will automatically direct you to your original post. You should also use location and hashtag stickers when sharing your posts to reach a large audience and increase the traffic to your posts. Try giving your fans a shout-out when you are running a campaign to make them feel noticed and appreciated.
5. The New “Countdown” Sticker
Businesses can use the countdown sticker to share countdown for a special event, create teasers, or a countdown for a special discount day. On your Instagram stories, you can add the countdown sticker to help boost the urgency about anything and to inspire action.
