Who doesn’t love every time a social platform makes changes!?!? It’s the little things that matter most – and in business, those little things add up in terms of your time and money. You can now thank Instagram for helping get those little things out of the way and giving you value added tools. Check it out:
1. Drafts: If you begin working on a photo in Instagram and you then select the arrow backward, Instagram will ask you if you want to save your current work as a draft. This is helpful if you aren’t sure about the post and might want to use it later, but even more so for a quasi-scheduling tool. At this time, it looks like only the person who created the draft can see it (i.e., if it’s a draft on your phone, it won’t appear as a draft on your other team member’s accounts).
2. Stories: You essentially have two places to post content on Instagram now with your regular feed and with the similar-to-Snapchat Instagram feature, Stories. This brings up many questions: Do you need Snapchat with this new feature? Which content should you post in your regular Instagram feed and which content should go in Instagram Stories? The upside: Instagram Stories have more visibility in Instagram than photos, since they are posted chronologically, not by an algorithm.
3. Business account: This feature rolled out during the Summer, but as with new updates, it can be better to wait until the bugs have been worked out. At this time, everything appears to be good, so simply use the prompt at the top of your Instagram account (if it provides one), or go to gear icon on the upper right side and select “switch to business profile” at the bottom of the list. Switching allows you to access Instagram Insights (analytics) and ties your business Facebook page and business Instagram account together (e.g., helpful for ads).
All together now – Thank you, Instagram.
Want help navigating these changes, or ramping up your small business social media for 2017? We’re here to help provide you with new changes (like these) and break down the basics of what you need to know. (Join us or schedule your sessions now!)
