Hey Instagram! Stop trying to be TikTok

When social media royalty, including sisters Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian, hit out at social media juggernaut Instagram last week it made the company stop and roll back some of the recent changes they had made.

Recent changes to the platform included full screen photos and videos as well as introducing recommended posts, which enraged users, who were very vocal (visually of course) creating a meme stating ‘Make Instagram Instagram Again (stop trying to be like tiktok, I just want to see cute photos of my friends.)’.

So why would Instagram, who has 1 billion active users, bother competing with TikTok who has a mere 680 million active users (stats according to earthweb.com July 2022)? It’s the growth of TikTok and the popularity of videos vs still photos.

Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s head said “I’m glad we took a risk – if we’re not failing every once in a while, we’re not thinking big enough or bold enough. But we definitely need to take a big step back and regroup.”

These are not the only changes that Instagram have made to their platform in recent months, they have also made all videos (that are less than 15 minutes) become reels. In doing so, they have also created come templates to help users who need a little more inspiration for their posts. You can also utilise the front and back camera of your phone at the same time to record reaction content, this is by activating the Dual Feature.

With these new features you may need to tweak some of the Instagram marketing for your business, moving away from beautifully curated shots, to more videos.

There has also been a significant increase in how we shop through Instagram, this is since the pandemic and continues with a steady increase. It is still important to have a website as well, but the lead generation and showcasing of products has significantly increased the drive to purchase.

So, what is the moral of the story? Well there are multiple actually:
A: Don’t get on the wrong side of a Kardashian or Jenner
B: Try new things, but be prepared to make adjustments
C: Don’t be afraid to listen to feedback even if its not complementary, it’s how we grow
D: Introduce video content into your feed
E: BE YOURSELF

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