If you’re old enough to remember what life was like before everybody you knew could get a hold of you 18 different ways, then you’re probably feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of the communication options available in our social media apps these days.
But if you’re the type of user who likes to consolidate their communication to a single app, your friends at Instagram are doing their best to be a one-stop-shop for private interactions with your friends and followers.
If all the recent updates have got you stressing about keeping up, well, don’t. Instead, read on for our breakdown of these new features, and if they will (or won’t) be a game changer for users and brands alike.
Remember when Instagram was an app where you’d post a picture of your bottomless mimosa brunch, slap the Sierra filter on it, and then just get on with your day? Those times are long gone, grandpa.
Indeed, there’s been a seismic shift in social media to provide platform users with options to not only share publicly, but privately as well. With the launch of Snapchat in 2011, the idea that you could share something online that disappeared after 24 hours was a breakthrough, and only just the beginning.
So what’s behind the shift towards messaging at Instagram? Back in 2022, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri tweeted that, “Friends post a lot more to stories and send a lot more DMs than they post to Feed.”
Ok. That seems to check out, but…anything else, Adam?
Earlier this year, Mosseri said, “When you think of instagram, you probably think of a feed of square photos. But how Instagram works has changed a lot over the years, and if you look at what people share, and how people express their creativity, the primary way they do so is actually DMs on Instagram. More photos and videos are shared in DMs than are to Stories or feed on any given day.”
Given what we know about the new features (which we’ll get to in a minute), it seems like Mosseri and his team of brains at Instagram are just responding to user behavior, rather than attempting to change it (sort of…more on that below).
In other words, keep DM’ing those “delulu” memes to your friends while Instagram rolls about a bunch of features to make it more convenient, private, and dare we say…fun?
Well of course we can. Some of the recent (and not so recent) changes that are specifically messaging/private sharing related are:
With all of these new features, there’s no doubt that they will have at least some impact on even the most basic user of the Instagram platform. For power users, it could mean a complete overhaul in how they interact with their friends and followers.
Breaking it down, the options seem to revolve around 3 concepts: 1) Privacy 2) Organization and 3) Fun.
Indeed, Instagram chat isn’t your daddy’s inbox, with a strong focus on keeping your messages contained to the people you want to see them and organized in the way you want them to be – all with an added dash of silliness and fun that keeps users coming back for more.
For instance, want to make sure your messages disappear (you creep)? Go to your inbox and swipe up to turn on vanish mode.
Want to ensure that you don’t miss some important conversations happening in your inbox? Well, pin those chats to the top of your inbox (nerd).
Want to stream some exclusive content that only your tightest homies can see? Turn on a Close Friends livestream.
Love Olivia Rodrigo and want to add some Guts themed wallpaper to your DMs? Well, you can do that too.
Oh, and if all that wasn’t enough, Instagram is testing an update to the main UI, where the creation button has been moved to the top right and the messaging “paper plane” icon is now sitting front and center in the lower function panel.
Apparently Instagram is trying to change your behavior. What’s next…you’re going to tell us you can make a phone or video call from Instagram’s inbox? Oh wait, you’ve been able to do that since 2018.
While many of the messaging and private sharing updates tend to focus on regular, everyday users of the platform, these same regular everyday users are also consumers. So it’s not surprising that the folks that are attempting some digital rizzing in their Instagram inboxes are also quite comfy with shooting a brand a direct message when they have a question (or a gripe).
Below are just a handful of ways we think brands (including corporate, small business, and even influencers) can capitalize on some of the new features, and create a more authentic environment to connect.
At this point, brands should be used to receiving DMs from their customers. If you’re a brand using Instagram and aren’t responding to these conversations you’re already messing up. Hire somebody to watch and respond to messages coming to your inbox daily; it’s just as important as calling a customer back (if not more so).
Group chats are a great way for multiple individuals to have a private conversation using Instagram, and can be used to set up a safe environment to receive customer feedback.
If you’re helping a customer troubleshoot an issue that contacted you through Instagram’s direct message feature, why make things inconvenient for them by requesting they share their phone number? Instead, ask if they would like to receive an audio or video chat so you can better help assist them in a way that’s comfortable to them.
You know how we live in different time zones? Or how some of us can’t take care of a customer service issue until after business hours? Well, now you can set up automatic replies on Instagram messages to be able to assist customers after hours. Set up a FAQ to activate in your chat, or explore some of the other automated features to increase efficiency and not leave your customers waiting impatiently.
Ok, we understand that this might seem weird or intrusive, but trust us, most people will appreciate this! If a customer responds to one of your posts with a grievance or question that requires a customized response, send them a DM instead of posting a public comment (best practice is to respond to their comment and let them know you’ve sent them a DM). That way the customer will feel like you are really paying attention to their concerns, and also help you avoid a potentially disastrous back and forth in front of your audience.
Oops! Respond to the wrong DM? Just unsend it. It’s that easy.
In addition to your feed and Stories, Notes is another place to communicate with your customers. Found in the inbox (and recently rolled out as a way to react to a photo or Reel in the feed), Notes can be a great way to offer exclusive deals or other kinds of exclusive messages, open to anybody who wants to find it. Just don’t forget to direct your customers to where they need to go to find it.
Whether we like it or not, the push for every social media app to be more than just a public sharing service is seemingly well underway. Instagram (by way of Meta) looks like they want to be on the forefront of embracing these updates, perhaps as a way to pull users back into its universe and away from competitors like Snapchat and TikTok.
Either way, the focus on evolving the way we interact with one another on Instagram (and on social media in general) isn’t going away. How else are you going to serve all of those ads to people if you don’t give them what they want every once in a while?
Need some help strategizing for how your brand is going to embrace the new private messaging options available on all your favorite social media platforms? Look no further than Random and contact us here…or send us a DM; we promise we’re cool and will respond – unlike those other guys.
