7 Important 2020 Instagram Trends
With the world at a bit of a standstill right now, we don’t have to tell you that small businesses are bearing the brunt of the economic pain. That’s why it’s so great to see Instagram develop new features designed to support small businesses during these tough times. Here are seven of the most important new features:
- Instagram Shops
Instagram recently rolled out its updated Instagram Shops for businesses, making it easier than ever to set up an online store. These shops are full-screen virtual storefronts that you can link to your Instagram profile. You can also connect to your shop through your profile, in user feeds, and in Stories. Users can then view collections of products just like they would on your website.
- Shopping Tags in Post Captions
Currently, Instagram only offers the ability to tag a product in your image or story, but they’re working on a new feature that will enable you to tag products right in the caption. Tagging a product in an Instagram caption will give you more ways to talk about that product and drive more clicks and conversions, either to your Instagram Shop or your website.
- #SupportSmallBusiness
With Instagram’s new “Support Small Business” sticker, people can easily show their love for your floral business in their Instagram story. They can mention your business directly in the sticker, and add the sticker to their shared Instagram Story. The #supportsmallbusiness sticker is a great way to help you reach new customers while also staying connected with current customers.
- Ability to Offer Gift Cards in your Profile and on Stories
Many people are supporting their local small businesses through this pandemic by purchasing gift cards. Now you can add a digital gift card to your Instagram profile and use new interactive stickers in Stories. You select a partner, such as Gift Up! or Kabbage, and add their gift card to your profile and Instagram Story. Customers can then click on the gift card to purchase right there, plus they can share the sticker and your content in their own Stories to help spread the word.
- Paid “Badges” for Creators (Influencers) on IGTV
IGTV is Instagram’s long-form video destination, where creators can promote themselves and their businesses through engaging videos. To increase support for these creators, Instagram has introduced badges. Fans can now purchase a badge during a live video to show their love, helping creators generate more income.
- IGTV Ads
New, mobile-friendly ads are now available on IGTV. That means creators can partner with advertisers and place ads on their IGTV videos, which will appear when people click to watch IGTV videos from previews in their feed. The video ads will be up to 15 seconds long and will help creators make money as well as give businesses the opportunity for another way to advertise.
- Addressing Racial Injustice
Businesses are stepping up to do their part to address racial inequality, and Instagram is no different. They have taken steps to address any policy issues that could cause abuse or harassment. They’re also making sure there’s no bias in verification or content selection, and evaluating their algorithm for repeating patterns such as racial bias that could hurt certain brands.
Your customers want to support you as much as they can so that you’re in the best possible shape once this pandemic is over. So, take advantage of these Instagram trends to build your online business right now.
