November 30, 2018
You know that stage, post break-up, where you change your hair or your clothes to make yourself feel better? Well it seems Instagram is doing just that, with new changes being disclosed every week. Just last week we saw the announcement of fake followers being removed from the platform and now they’re changing the layout for both business and personal accounts. But how are these changes going to benefit brands?
Let’s start with fake followers.
Instagram have said they’ve created ‘machine learning tools’ which will remove any bots and external apps from the platform. For this process to be implemented, they will also send a message to users who have paid for these services to change their password, and if they don’t then they may be penalised.
So, how is this a positive for brands?
To start it is expected that some companies may lose followers because of this, however, by only having genuine followers your engagement rates are likely to increase. Fake followers ultimately create illusions to show that your business is thriving on Instagram, when realistically this is not the case. If no-one is engaging with your content, then it is difficult to draw in new followers and target new audiences. It is also likely that you will be pulling incorrect marketing data, leading you to false understandings about your audience and not fulfilling your brands potential.
Another new change Instagram has announced is the layout. Now, it isn’t drastically different, as they are only rearranging the top of your profile and the buttons, but the revamped look will allow for easier navigation.
If confirmed and reciprocated across business accounts, one change that’ll be a god send to brands is how they are splitting followers – your followers, who you’re following and mutual followers. Yes, that’s right, your life could just get a whole lot simpler when choosing audiences to target. By adding in this feature, businesses will have the ability to gain a greater understanding about their follower’s interests, clarity of their main audience and also ideas for potential collaborations.
The other change Instagram is trialling with the layout is the buttons on your profile. As previously mentioned, this adaption will allow for easier navigation on the app. But, for businesses, they’re about to see a rise in engagements and traffic to websites, with ‘shop’ and ‘contact’ buttons, meaning businesses and consumers are literally just one click away.
So, keep your eyes peeled, changes may be coming your way, and in the meantime maybe think how can this help you in the long run?