There’s no question that Instagram has been rolling out updates at an impressive rate lately. And they definitely don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. With Instagram Stories’ daily active users jumping to 200 million, most of the updates have been heavily focused around the Stories feature. This round is no different.
Instagram’s most recent update features two new story types and two new camera filters. Your stories will now be searchable through both the hashtags and location tags you use within them. And, the camera filters, now include face filters and a rewind feature.
So, here’s the rundown on how each of these features work, and how they can be utilized to promote your business.
Location-Based Stories
First, you were able to tag your location using stickers within stories. Then, you were able to click out to that location from stories. And now, you can search and browse stories given that location sticker tagged within them. It’s like everything has come full circle, and what does that mean for your business? More exposure.
Stories will now be sorted by the location sticker tagged within them. So, if a user is searching a city, town, landmark, or business, they will be able to browse the stories associated with that location. Side note: this doesn’t affect users whose Instagram accounts are private; their stories will not be sorted and visible under the location tags.
Now for the fun part: how can your business utilize this. So, this feature gives you the chance to reach users who may not necessarily be looking for you, or maybe just forgot about you. You can use it to highlight different locations where your storefront is, or where your products are sold. Letting users see who you are, and where you are, when they may have otherwise overlooked you.
This is also a useful tool when it comes to store openings, or products being launched in new locations.
Hashtag Stories
You can also now create hashtag stickers within stories. This feature will allow users the option to click out from the sticker to browse other content posted under this hashtag…which, again, is awesome for your business.
You can utilize this tool by promoting different, fun hashtags connected to your brand, and encouraging your followers to use them in their stories. And, like location-based stories, hashtag stories will be searchable on the explore page. So, by using hashtags within your brands stories, you’ll gain more exposure by showing up under the hashtag-ed story.
New Camera Filters
With this update, Instagram also released face filters and a rewind feature. You can now choose from eight different face filters. And, while branded face filters aren’t available yet, this feature’s still fun to get familiar with. Both face filters and the rewind effect provide you with the opportunity to show off some brand personality.
These are just a few of the most recent features Instagram has released. And, with how frequently they’ve been busting them out, we’ll definitely be on the lookout to see what’s next.
