8 New Instagram Updates That you Need to Know – Sarah Gav Social

A breakdown of the newest features from January 2022 – May 2022 and what you need to know about them

Subscriptions, Tags, NFTs, oh my!

It’s no secret that Instagram has been very busy with creating and rolling out new updates.

If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, you are NOT alone.

In fact, it seems as though there have been hundreds of new updates in the past few months.

Instagram’s main focus for 2022 is on 2 things in particular:

CREATORS
VIDEO

So be prepared for some more announcements that help the platform grow in these directions.

Without any further ado, here is a quick overview of the recent changes, announcements, and updates on Instagram:

1) Feed Views

Announced: January 5, 2022

Status: Active

As you may have seen, Instagram has introduced 3 different ways to view your home feed:

Home, Following, and Favorites

Home (Default): See posts from the accounts you follow, and suggested accounts, ranked by the algorithm (Exactly how you’ve been seeing your home feed for the past few years)

Following: See posts from all of the accounts you follow in chronological order

Favorites: See posts from your favorite accounts (chosen by you) in chronological order

According to a recent Reel, Mosseri recommends that you continue to consume content using the default “Home” feed. He states, “The average account reaches 50% more followers [when in an ranked feed] than in a chronological feed”

This feature simply changes how YOU decide to view your home feed. You do not need to do anything differently when posting.

You can test out these new feeds by heading to your Instagram homepage and tapping the large “Instagram” button on the top left.

2) Ranking Change

Announced: April 20, 2022

Status: Active

Instagram will now be prioritizing “Original” Content. In his recent Reel discussing the matter, Mosseri states, “If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you are re-sharing something that you found from someone else.”

Because of this, Instagram will be taking even more measures to value Original Content over anything that is reposted.

To learn more about what is considered “Original,” read our blog post here:

Read the Full Post

3) Product Tags

Announced: April 20, 2022

Status: Active

In years past, it was common practice to tag companies in your photos when you were featuring one of their products. Now, with the recent push of the Instagram “Shop” tab, the platform has announced the addition of Product Tags for all users.

This means that you can continue to tag your own IG Shop products in your posts, as well as IG Shop products from other businesses.

Credit: @UrbanClimbr via @Mosseri on Instagram

Product tags will be extremely beneficial to companies that work with Influencers. The Influencer will now be able to directly tag the product they’re promoting, allowing viewers to easily buy it without leaving the app.

4) Enhanced People Tags

Announced: April 20, 2022

Status: Active

This new update will display your chosen category when someone tags you in a post. For example, if your category is set to “Entrepreneur,” that title will appear under your username in any tagged photo or video.

Credit: @Photosbyean via @Mosseri on Instagram

According to a recent post from the official Instagram Creators account, “Enhanced tags are a way for you to credit your creative collaborators in Feed and Reels content on Instagram”

You can change your category by clicking “Edit Profile” (underneath your bio) and scrolling down to “Category”

5) Subscriptions

Announced: January 19, 2022

Status: Active

Subscriptions are one of the best ways to create a predictable income as a Creator. And Instagram has recently announced that Creators will have the ability to launch a subscription right inside of the app!

Credit: @Donalleniii via @Creators on Instagram

As explained by Mosseri in a recent Reel, subscribers will have access to exclusive stories and lives. They will also get a purple subscriber badge to allow the Creator, and audience, to know that they are subscribed.

Credit: @AlizaKelly via @Creators on Instagram

Creators will be able to set their own monthly price and will have a subscribe button appear on their profile.

Check out these Creators who already have access to the feature:

6) Reel Templates

Announced: April-May 2022

Status: Active

If you’ve been scrolling through the Reels tab this week, you may have seen this brand new tool. Some Reels have a “Use Template” button which allows you to use another Creator’s video as the framework to build your own.

This button will automatically appear on your Reel whenever you’ve included multiple clips in your video.

Check out This Reel to see if you can use the template! The button will appear right above the username. (If you do use it, make sure to tag me @SarahGav_ so I can check it out!)

7) Full-Screen Photos

Announced: May 3, 2022

Status: In Testing

Coming soon, photos on Instagram will be seen in full-screen, just like Reels.

In a recent Reel, Mosseri explains that, “We know the future of video and the future of photos are mobile-first. They are 9×16.” Because of this, Instagram is looking to create a more immersive viewing experience where both photos and videos take up your full screen.

Credit: @Pualo.Amoda1 via @Mosseri on Instagram

It is important to recognize this upcoming change and prepare your content accordingly. We may see a rise in single-image infographics, rather than carousels, due to the sizing of posts and this new viewing experience. We may also see a decrease in long captions, since they will not be as easy to read.

But one thing is for certain, Reels will continue to be king on Instagram. It was even stated in the full-screen announcement post, that video will be brought more “front and center”

To learn more about this update, read our blog post here:

Read the Full Post

8) NFTs on Instagram

Announced: May 9, 2022

Status: In Testing

Last, but certainly not least, let’s chat about NFTs. First of all, if you do not know what an NFT is, I would recommend that you do some independent research on the topic, since it’s a bit too complex to describe in this post.

To put it simply, NFT stands for “Non-Fungible Token.”

Non-Fungible refers to something that is unique and cannot be replaced.

Token, in this case, refers to anything digital – artwork, graphics, music, etc.

But again, I would really recommend that you do your own research.

NFTs will soon be able to be shared by Creators on Instagram.

Credit: @Stellas_gr00v3 and @Frenchie_fry39 via @Creators on Instagram

Mosseri stated in a recent Reel that they will be “starting small” with this feature in order to “learn from the community.” And that one of Instagram’s goals is to “Make Web3 technologies accessible to a much broader range of people.”

This feature will include:

The ability to connect your digital wallet and choose which NFTs you would like to share

The ability to share your digital collectibles.

And automatic tagging of both the creator and the collector of each NFT.

An NFT will stand out on your feed with a shimmer effect. When you click on the post, you will be able to view the description, the creator, and the current owner of the NFT.

According to a post on the Creators account, there will be no fees to post or share any digital collectibles on Instagram and so far, only a select group of Creators are part of the test.

Are you overwhelmed yet?

Instagram has been releasing more and more new features every week, so make sure to sign up for our email list to help you stay up-to-date.

As always, keep keeping Instagram fun and I’ll see you on the ‘gram!

Xo, Sarah

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