Weekly Prompt: Instagram's new features and other news

Instagram is adding new features to enhance user experience

Instagram is rolling out a series of new features aimed at enhancing user experience and giving creators more tools to engage their audience. These updates focus on Reels, Carousel posts, and Broadcast Channels.

Reels Feedback and Testing: Instagram is experimenting with new options for creators to gather feedback on their Reels before posting them publicly. Selected users can now share draft Reels with friends to receive input on their creations. Additionally, a new testing feature allows creators to share their Reels with a group of non-followers to gauge reactions without officially publishing the content. The aim is to help creators refine their concepts and avoid sharing less successful ideas broadly.

Enhanced Carousel Posts: For Carousel posts, Instagram is testing text overlays and new image formatting options. Users can now add text directly onto images within a carousel, offering more creative possibilities for explainers and how-tos. The feature will include three image presentation formats—Original, Portrait, and Square—allowing for varied visual displays. These updates provide more flexibility in showcasing different content types, benefiting both casual users and brands looking to highlight their products effectively.

Broadcast Channels Updates: Instagram has also updated its Broadcast Channels feature, which is available to creators with over 10,000 followers. This feature enables a private, one-way chat stream, allowing creators to keep their audience informed about important updates. Broadcast Channels help maintain a direct connection with dedicated fans, offering a streamlined way to share crucial information.

Sources: Social Media Today, Swipe Insight

Additional prompts

LinkedIn is adding a new ad placement option, to tap into rising video consumption in the app. It is also adding more AI capabilities into its ad tools, via new elements for its fully automated “Accelerate” ad option. Read more

Meta is adding AI-powered features for WhatsApp Business apps, such as helping with the creation of click-to-WhatsApp ads and generating responses to frequent customer messages. In addition to building consumer-facing bots on its platform, Meta wants to build AI agents that could help businesses in their conversations with customers. Read more

Meta is also quietly rolling out a new “Communities” feature on Messenger, designed to help organizations, schools and other private groups communicate in a more organized and structured way. The feature lets people connect with others without needing an associated Facebook Group to do so and follows Meta’s introduction of Communities on WhatsApp back in 2022. Read more

TikTok is testing DM streaks to prompt more engagement.  Streaks are activated when users maintain daily messaging interaction and very similar to the feature that is very popular on Snap. Read more