As 2024 is around the corner, it’s an exciting time for both brands and creators on Instagram as the platform continues to roll out handy new features. While keeping up with all the latest changes can feel overwhelming, focusing your efforts on high-impact features will future-proof your presence on the app.
In this blog, we’ll take an inside look at 10 of Instagram’s most useful features of 2024 and how your business can utilize each one to engage audiences and boost follower growth. Are you ready to up your Instagram game? Let’s dive in!
Top 10 Instagram Features for Brands in 2024
Here are the top 10 Instagram features that Brands can use in 2024 to amplify reach, improve engagement, and drive more conversions
- Instagram Reels:
Launched in 2020 as Instagram’s version of TikTok videos, Reels have exploded in popularity. These 15-60 seconds multi-clip videos with music, effects, and creative tools are increasingly preferred by users, especially Gen Z. It is still one of the fastest-growing and most highly engaging features on Instagram.
Here are some ways in which brands can utilize this Instagram feature:
- Create fun and engaging Reels showcasing products/services
- Educate customers on using your offerings
- Provide behind-the-scenes company/team glimpses
- Encourage User Generated Content with branded hashtags
- Instagram QR Codes:
New QR code stickers allow you to seamlessly direct customers to your website or online store straight from your Instagram content. This is a game-changer for converting social media discovery into real sales. They help bridge the offline vs online gap by directing store walk-ins, event attendees, etc., to your handle.
For brands:
- Feature QR codes on packaging, storefronts, business cards, conference booths
- Build on offline relationships to drive more organic growth
- Instagram Stories:
Instagram Stories lets you post disappearing photos and videos that last 24 hours. With 500 million daily active users, Stories have an impressive reach.
For brands:
- Showcase new products, offerings and news through Stories
- Run polls, Q&As and encourage DMs for leads and sales
- Leverage stickers, sliders, links and locations on Stories
- Use tags and captions to increase discoverability.
- Disappearing DMs:
Instagram DMs now have a disappearing messages feature where new messages vanish after 24 hours. This enhances privacy and intimacy for conversations. Brands can quickly respond to concerns, address issues, and provide support in a low-pressure chat environment before messages self-destruct after 30 days. It’s the perfect medium for sensitive customer interactions and private collaborations alike.
For brands:
- Provide exclusive sneak peeks into new launches
- Share limited-time promo codes/special offers
- Drive more meaningful consumer connections
- IGTV:
Though often overlooked, IGTV provides a bountiful space for longer-form video content your audience can’t get elsewhere. Upload mini-documentaries, product demonstrations, training tutorials – anything to showcase your expertise and keep people engaged for upwards of 15 minutes. Promote new videos as Instagram stickers or story highlights for maximum discoverability.
For brands:
- Host educational video tutorials
- Publish episodic video campaigns
- Share company updates, behind-the-scenes or user testimonials
- Repurpose other video assets into IGTV
- Pinned Comments:
You can now pin up to three comments to posts so the most important ones remain visible. It’s a fantastic opportunity to highlight positive customer testimonials, key collaboration announcements or questions you want prioritized. This focuses engagement on your most impactful conversations and builds social proof around your brand.
For brands:
- Pin comments by influencers, celebrities and collaborators
- Highlight positive customer feedback and testimonials
- Direct viewers to key information like discount codes
- Boomerangs:
Boomerangs create mini video loops to showcase products attractively. This is one of the most creative and engaging features of Instagram that people love.
For brands
- Prepare Boomerangs of unboxing products, showcasing fabric quality or unique product features
- Share these small videos widely across Stories and Feeds
- Mute Post/Story Replies and Mentions:
For a more controlled experience, Instagram now allows muting replies and mentions on posts and Stories. It’s a considerate move that prioritizes positivity and prevents unwanted interactions from marring your beautiful content.
For brands:
- Avoid spam comments or trolls while encouraging genuine responses
- Proactively use this to filter out unwanted reactions
- Follow Hashtags
Rather than hashtags solely for tagging purposes, Instagram is making #discovery even more targeted. You can now follow relevant hashtags to stay on top of industry conversations and find new accounts to engage – a great solution for market research and partnership identification alike.
For brands:
- Identify community hashtags to expand reach
- Share branded content focused on those hashtags
- Sponsor popular hashtags to get discovered by more potential customers
- Archive Posts and Stories:
The Archive feature acts as built-in storage for preserving memorable posts and Stories while keeping grids clean.
For brands:
- Store your evergreen content, announcements or campaign teasers
- Organize archived assets into categorized folders
- Retrieve archived assets to re-share or reminisce
Conclusion
There you have it – the top 10 Instagram features brands can use in 2024 to gain followers, boost engagement, amplify reach and drive more conversions. To learn more about ” how to gain Instagram followers in 2024, get in touch with Social Sensei. We are one of the leading social media management companies that deliver the best results for business owners who are serious about taking their businesses to the next level. Schedule an appointment with us right away to learn more about our services.
FAQs
Q: How often does Instagram launch new features?
A: Very frequently! Instagram rolls out major and minor updates almost every 1-2 months to improve user experience.
Q: How fast should brands adopt the latest Instagram features?
A: Brands should aim to incorporate relevant new features every 2-3 months into existing marketing strategies for best results. Being an early adopter helps you stand out before features become mainstream. Monitor performance to identify winners.
Q: What are the Instagram algorithm factors brands should focus on?
A: The Instagram algorithm favors features like Reels as well as newer formats. So keep producing engaging video and interactive content. Video views, saves and shares are important engagement metrics now for reach. High-quality content focused on community connections will continue resonating most with the algorithm
