The Gram is outdoing itself right now with new Instagram features (and it’s only March of 2023)! Let’s get right to it so that you can start using them (provided they’re rolled out to you-these often get slowly rolled out) right away! Listen, Instagram rewards people who use the latest features that their algorithm likes, so it behooves you to get on board.
Top 10 Instagram Features You Didn’t Know About (Until Now!)
- Broadcast Channels. These are one to many group chats where you can send messages, photos, links posts and others can receive the broadcast but can’t respond.
- Meta Verified. This is the new subscription Facebook and Instagram are rolling out to provide extra security to accounts. For about $15 you can get the special blue badge that protects against hackers, and gets you extra reach and new Instagram features before others. (Coming soon; it’s currently being tested in a few countries).
- Dual Profile Picture With Your Avatar. The avatar is a tiny cartoon character of yourself along with your profile photo.
- Interactive Map. This has been around for awhile, but they improved the interactive nature. You can now search something general, like “barber shop” and see local spots with photos, similar to how Yelp works. This helps brick and mortar businesses. So optimize and use this new Instagram feature to help your local business, or to search things nearby.
- Creator Marketplace. This allows brands to get in touch with creators and vice versa for things like UGC content.
- Reels Templates. IG allows you to use other people’s Reels as your own template. When you click on “use template” you can tap on blank segments and insert your own video and it’ll be pre-cut to match with the trending audio. This makes it even easier to create Reels.
- Reels Grooves. Premade templates based off of music. You get snippets of video that lines up with songs.
- NFT Sharing. They’re allow people to share/post NFT’s to your feed. Basically, it’s a digital display case in a verified way.
- Reactive Audio. The is a filter when you’re recording your Reel, certain sounds will play in response to various bodily movement. For example, if your right arm shoots out to the right, you might hear a horn sound.
- Import Audios. Instead of relying on IG’s audios, you can import your very own. Here’s how to do it…open up the audio menu, then click the button that says “import audio” and you can select the a video and the audio will populate for your use. As long as it isn’t copyrighted, you’re good to go for your Reels.
Dive Deeper
If you’d like to hear all about these recommendations in a podcast, be sure to check out this episode of Build Your Tribe. Instagram is testing out all kinds of features constantly, so be sure to listen to the podcast since we love to be the first ones to inform you!
For more juicy content all about Instagram features, check out these resources:
Does Trending Audio Really Matter
How to Build a Strong Community on Instagram
How to Boost Instagram Engagement in 2023
Don’t forget to subscribe to BYT for weekly shows dedicated to business growth and social media success!
