Instagram – the fun, colorful social network that we always tap on when we unlock our phones. 

Founded in 2010, the app’s main purpose was to connect people around the world by posting each user’s check-ins and status updates when they travelled somewhere new onto their Instagram feed. Not long after this idea and an influx of funding, Instagram transformed into an app for communication through photos, stealing the hearts of photographers and aesthetic-loving people everywhere.

The social platform started off extremely simple: posting pictures, following users, and communicating with comments or the “like” button. Eventually, it went on to add one-touch camera rotation, effects, and filters. By 2012, there were 50 million users on the platform.

After SnapChat got hold of Millennials and Gen Z, Instagram needed to catch up with the hype of the abilities on those apps – so they did. Not only can you share images, but now you can edit them within 1-10 seconds, create stories, go live, add music, add hashtags for searches and reach, and most recently, create Reels (which was Instagram’s way of playing catch-up to TikTok’s popularity).

The newest feature Instagram has given us as of late are ways to share your thoughts – sort of like status updates. You can add up to 60 characters to your profile to let your followers know what’s on your mind. To do this, just go to the top of your inbox and you’ll see your profile picture with a plus sign to “leave a note.” You’ll also be able to see your friends’ notes once you tap on the inbox button. You do NOT want to miss what Kelly had for dinner, right?

If you’re an avid Instagram user, you know about all of these features that make the app as popular as it is. However, there are more changes coming.

In February 2023, Instagram is making a major change to the navigation bar. The create button will no longer be on the top of the app, but it will now be on the bottom in the center, and the Reels shortcut will shift to the right, replacing the Shop button.

Don’t worry if you or your business utilizes the Shop feature. Instagram users will be able to access the shops through ‘Discover’ or other channels on Instagram like in ads, feed posts, Reels, and Stories. So, instead of the Shop button being in one place, it’ll be spread around the app. You can’t escape the shop button – muahahaha!

Remember the MySpace days? (This is a question for Millennials, of course). You know, when you clicked on your friends’ personal profile and music started to play? If you were a fan of that, you’re in luck because Instagram is working on the ability for you to add music to your personal profile.

Now, you won’t be able to make an entire playlist like MySpace allowed you to, but you’ll be able to choose your favorite song to add to your profile for you and your followers to listen to!

Instagram is also working on the ability to add 90-seconds of a song to in-feed photo posts as well. For example, if you just travelled to an island and wanted to share a picture of you enjoying a burger on the beach, your top choice of music to add to this photo post would be “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” How’s that for background music? Are we right or are we right?

If you’re in charge of your business’ Instagram account, Instagram is working on adding a scheduling tool to the app so you can create the posts you want and schedule them for the days you want.

As a marketing agency, we schedule out all of our clients’ social posts and we use an advanced platform for that, but if you’re a business owner and need to keep up with your social media presence along with your day-to-day work, this might make your job easier. Or, just hire us to do it. It’s as simple as that.

As of right now, you’re allowed to choose one link to add to your Instagram profile. Whether it’s your personal profile or your business profile, you’re able to just choose one link only. That’s though, especially if your business blogs and you want to post about the blog, directing your followers to “follow the link in the bio.”

If Instagram is able to figure this out, this enables users to add multiple links to your profile. So, you can add your website, the current blog that was just posted, and anything else you so desire.

Say goodbye to group chats – the Instagram app just got cooler. Soon, users will be able to create and join this new type of profile to share posts and stories in a dedicated, shared profile with friends.

Once you share content to the Group Profile, that content will only be seen by the group members instead of your followers

Collaborative Collections is also something Instagram is testing within the Group Profile abilities. This would allow your members to share their interests by saving posts to a collaborative collection in your group or through direct messages. You’ll be able to start or add to a collection by saving a post directly from your feed or sharing a post to a friend via DM and saving it from there.

Why are we most excited about this update? Because it opens so many possibilities for us as a company but for our clients as well. For example, we can create a Three Summers Creative group specifically for our team to share marketing news, updates, memes, and collaborate on ideas.

If you’re part of a non-profit like an addiction recovery program, you will be able to create a group and allow your staff, volunteers, and those in recovery to join. This will be a great platform for sharing inspiring stories, posts, news, and more.

According to a recent Instagram survey, the amount of users on the platform is expected to hit 1.35 billion worldwide in 2023. As of 2022, Instagram has 1.28 billion registered users, which is one eighth of the world’s population, and the average time spend on the platform is 30 minutes per day.

Most businesses benefit from Instagram in more ways than one. Between Reels, Stories, photos, highlights, and shops, there’s something for everyone that lives on this app.

Social networking sites have been taking the world by storm. We all know that every business should be on some type of social network platform that makes sense to their niche. If you sell a product, you should be on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. If you own a non-profit, you need to be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. It all depends on where your specific audience hangs out in the social networking world.

Instagram has done a lot “right” since it’s birth, but one thing that is the most impressive is the fact that everything on the app from the beginning until now is relevant. Meaning, features that were introduced back in 2011 are still relevant today. For example, the hashtag. Hashtags were brought to the app in 2011 as a way to search and reach more users on the platform. Today, it’s still very much useful, especially if you’re marketing your business.

When you use a hashtag, your post will appear on the page for that hashtag – even if you add one to your story. Instagram users can also choose to follow hashtags, which means they could see your hashtagged post in their feed, even if they don’t follow you…yet.

Currently, the top 10 hashtags on Instagram are:

1. #love (1.835B)
2. #instagood (1.150B)
3. #fashion (812.7M)
4. #photooftheday (797.3M)
5. #beautiful (661.0M)
6. #art (649.9M)
7. #photography (583.1M)
8. #happy (578.8M)
9. #picoftheday (#570.8M)
10. #cute (569.1M)

However, Instagram did update their Sensitive Content Control by adding warnings that pop up on the screen. For example, if you’re searching for a sensitive topic like #eatingdisorders, Instagram will prompt you to answer a question before viewing the posts.

Instagram’s message will read: “Can we help? Words you’re searching for are often associated with sensitive content. If you’re going through a difficult time, we’ve gathered some resources from experts that we hope can help.” Followed by an option to either “get support” or “see results anyway.”

This is a smart and responsible move for Instagram, as there are many young users or users that are actively looking for help and can find the resources that they need.

There’s more to social media marketing than just being on social media. You need a strategy, content creation, community engagement, and social media lead generation. Does that sound like a different language to you? If it does, our talented team works together to provide eye-catching, engaging social media posts that will attract social users to your page, turning them into fans and customers.

Our social media marketing includes a customized strategy with many moving parts to get your business thriving on Instagram and other social networking sites. We start by checking out your competitors’ social profiles, allowing us to see what is working, what isn’t, and come up with a strategy that will outperform them.

Hashtag/keyword/industry research is our chance to take a deep dive into your industry to see which keywords should be implemented in your content as well as which hashtags are performing well. See, we told you hashtags are still relevant. After that, we can come up with a content plan and schedule your posts on specific days and times – according to the social platform’s analyzed suggestions. 

Content creation is comprised of two big elements: strong copywriting and creative graphics/video. The copywriting will pull social media users in and encourage them to want to read more or reach out to your company. The graphics/photography will be eye-catching and provide a sense of attraction, and if you’re really ready to impress, your video content should be entertaining and visually appealing. 

As far as the community engagement goes, we’ll take care of that for you as well. Oh, and all of your social media lead generation that’ll be ramped up with results-driven advertising, funnel development, and chatbot development.

Yes, we CAN do it all.

All YOU have to do is reach out.