by Are you up to date on changes from Instagram? Wondering which recent Instagram updates are important to marketers and business owners?
In this article, we explore Instagram changes that affect your marketing.
#1: Instagram Reels
New Reels Creation and Editing Tools
Instagram is releasing new Reels editing features like undo/redo, crop, scale, rotate, zoom, and the ability to preview and rename drafts to make video creation faster and simpler.
Marketers also have easier access to trending audio and can create memes by adding clips with audio from Instagram's new media clip hub. Ten new text-to-speech voices and six new fonts, styles, and text outlines provide more text customization options.
Users can now turn parts of photos into customizable stickers for Stories and Reels using Instagram's Segmentation AI model, and 25 new photo filters allow creators to explore different looks and moods for their posts and carousels.
Our Take: These new text features and font upgrades allow marketers to better customize and enhance text to match their brand and address accessibility by making captions and subtitles easier for consumers to read. This is important as text is commonly used in Reels.
Instagram Reels Song Lyrics
Instagram has introduced the ability to add song lyrics to Reels, similar to the existing lyrics feature in Stories. When a music clip is added to a Reel, users can now select the lyrics option to display the words on screen. They can then customize the font, highlight specific sections, and add text overlays to make the lyrics a more creative, engaging element in their video.
Our Take: We're wondering why we didn't have this feature before! Not only does this feature put Instagram Reels on a closer footing with TikTok, but it will help marketers to underscore their storytelling.
Instagram Reels Close Friend Sharing
Instagram has introduced a new feature that allows users to limit posts and Reels to just their close friends list, indicated by a green star icon. This provides more control over audience reach compared to sharing with one's entire follower list. To limit a post or Reel to close friends only, select the Audience option that appears when you're about to share the post. Then, hit Close Friends > Done, and share your post like you normally would.
Our Take: This feature allows marketers to nurture relationships and make exclusive offers to warm leads further down the sales funnel. It works best for businesses with high lifetime customer value. Marketers have used Instagram Stories this way for years to nurture clients ready for special offers. It lets marketers engage followers without needing separate personal and business Instagram accounts. However, it requires constantly adding and removing people from the close friends list. Overall, this new option provides more flexibility in sharing content. Marketers who want wide distribution will continue using open sharing. But nurturing and converting high-value, targeted leads may benefit from close friend sharing.
Instagram Sharing to Reels
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ACCESS FREE AI TRAINING NOWInstagram has announced that its Sharing to Reels integration is now available to all developers, enabling apps to add a Reels button so users can seamlessly share short-form videos directly to Instagram Reels with one tap. Once videos are shared as Reels, users can customize them using Instagram's editing tools, such as audio, stickers, effects, and more.
Enhanced Reels Insights
Instagram is improving metrics and analytics to help creators better understand Reels performance. A new Replays metric tracks how often Reels are rewatched, and a new interactive retention chart will show how many people watch a Reel's full duration on a moment-by-moment basis.
Our Take: The transparency offered with Instagram's new Reels metrics is a double-edged sword. While more metrics allow us to better analyze content, the incredibly low threshold for what constitutes a “view” on Reels is concerning. A view is counted after just one millisecond of watch time. One millisecond! This means views should not be relied upon as a meaningful engagement metric. A video auto-playing as you scroll past registers as a view. Momentary unintended glances also get counted. The average user does not consciously process information in a millisecond.
We applaud the added metrics but hope Instagram reconsiders what warrants a view. A one-millisecond standard makes this key metric almost meaningless. We deserve transparent metrics that truthfully reflect engagement.
For now, marketers would do well to shift focus to more telling metrics like audience retention, average watch time, and shares. These give a real insight into resonating content. Someone watching your entire 90-second Reel indicates far more interest than a single millisecond view.
#2: Instagram Stories
Share Comments to Stories
Instagram has introduced a new way to share post replies to Stories. When users swipe across a comment, they now have the option to share it as a sticker in their Story.
Our Take: This feature seems helpful at first glance. As a marketer, it provides an easy way to showcase engagement and testimonials. However, after testing it, we found a major oversight—it doesn't notify or get consent from the commenter.
We're disappointed Instagram didn't consider consent with this feature. Sharing comments publicly without permission is unethical. People leave comments expecting them to remain on that post, not randomly appearing in your Stories. Surfacing comments this way takes them out of context.
Instagram needs to revise this feature to add a notification and consent flow before sharing a comment to Stories. At a minimum, commenters should be made aware through DMs. Consent is essential for transparency and maintaining user trust.
While the motivations behind this update are valid, the execution is flawed. With all the concerns about data privacy, Instagram must prioritize user consent. Features should empower creators ethically. This one overreaches by using comments without permission. It violates an implied social contract. I hope Instagram will soon update it to respect commenter consent.
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GET THE DETAILS#3: Ad-Free Instagram Subscriptions
Meta announced the rollout of a paid subscription without ads to EU, EEA, and Swiss users, balancing regulators' requirements while giving users choices. The free user experience will stay the same, supported by existing ad controls like Ad Preferences, so advertisers can still run personalized ad campaigns to reach these people. Further, Meta will continue developing tools that preserve ad value while empowering users with control over their experience. The no-ads subscription is initially for 18+ users, and Meta is exploring appropriate ad experiences for teens as regulations evolve.
Our Take: At first glance, this seems consumer-friendly. But in reality, it feels like Instagram is holding your data hostage—let us keep monetizing you or pay up.
We believe the ad-free choice needs rethinking. The price point of ÂŁ9.99 per month is suspiciously high. For comparison, ad-free tiers on streaming sites cost around $4 monthly. This suggests data, not ads, is Instagram's priority. They likely want the price prohibitively high, so most don't opt out.
Additionally, the binary choice given to users is misleading. It frames the status quo of data collection as acceptable. In reality, more privacy-conscious options should be offered. An in-between stance, like limiting data sharing or serving only relevant ads, would be preferable.
For marketers, the ad-free feature could mean losing reach to higher-income users who find the subscription worthwhile. This means organic content may become more important for targeting this demographic.
Overall, Instagram should go back to the drawing board. There are better ways to empower user choice that don't feel like blackmail than this current model that favors data gathering over transparency.
#4: Instagram Ads
New Reminder Ads Features
Instagram has expanded its Reminder ads feature that allows brands to build anticipation for product launches and events. The ads now have increased visibility through placement in Instagram Stories, in addition to the feed. Businesses can also directly create Reminder ads in Ads Manager instead of only using organic posts. These new capabilities are rolling out globally and will make it easier for brands to set up and distribute timely reminders to a wider audience.
Our Take: While this update provides more utility for marketers, Instagram should implement guardrails to prevent abuse.
Reminder ads are powerful. They can drive attendance to events or push app installs. However, inserting paid ads disguised as reminders could easily become deceptive without proper disclosures. Users may mistake a sponsored nudge for a personalized reminder they signed up for.
Additionally, the expanded off-site linking raises concerns. Reminders should connect to relevant events, not external websites. This update could lead to irrelevant reminders simply aiming to drive traffic or conversions.
A possible solution to this could be Instagram limiting Reminder ads to verified events and requiring clear sponsorship disclosures.
As platforms increasingly rely on advertising revenue, the onus is on them to balance business incentives with user protections. Reminder ads tread a fine line, and Instagram should get ahead of potential issues by enacting guardrails now rather than reacting later.
Instagram User Tracking
Meta is expanding its Activity Off-Meta Technologies control, previously only on Facebook, to also cover Instagram. This allows users to manage how data from external businesses is connected to their Facebook and Instagram accounts. In the Accounts Center, people can review which businesses are sharing information with Meta, disconnect specific ones, or clear the data entirely.
#5: Instagram Shopping
Instagram Product Tags
Instagram now enables advertisers to easily create and promote feed posts, carousels, and videos with Product Tags using the Instagram Marketing API.
#6: Instagram Guides
A change to Instagram's Guides feature originally spotted by App researcher Alessandro Paluzzi has been confirmed by Instagram. The platform is sunsetting the Guides feature and converting all existing Guides into private saved collections. Users can access their saved collections via ‘Saved' in the profiles settings tab.
#7: Acknowledged Instagram Experiments
DM Read Receipts: Instagram is letting some users opt out of Read Receipts in DMs.
Instagram Carousel Posts: Instagram is testing the ability to have followers add to your carousel posts.
Meta Verified Feed on Instagram: Meta is testing a feed that will show only posts from people who pay for Meta Verified.
Chelsea Peitz teaches sales professionals how to leverage social media and technology to build a powerful personal brand and develop content that generates real leads. She's host of The Chelsea Peitz Podcast. Her most recent book is What to Post.
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