Keeping up with all the cool stuff on Instagram is not easy, especially at the rate they’re updating the app. So, it’s very likely that – unless you’re refreshing the Instagram blog daily – you have missed their latest updates. If that’s true, read on to find out what to do on Instagram to increase your following, make money, and keep abusive users away.
Now, there are many Instagram basics and we’re gonna assume here you’re quite aware of the process of creating an account, posting a Story or a normal post, tagging, adding hashtags and such. Therefore, we focused on the things you may not have known Instagram now allows.
As one of the top social apps used worldwide, Instagram is always brainstorming new things, features and tools to bring forward so it can gain new users and keep the ones already invested in the social media platform.
Here are the latest 13 things Instagram added to its platform, both for creators and casual users:
- Instagram Story Links
- Create and Publish Posts From Your Desktop
- Get Commission Directly From Brands
- Instagram Creator Shops
- Hide Like and View Counts on Instagram News Feed Posts
- See a History of Your Instagram Activity – From Used Passwords to Old Bio
- Hide Like and View Counts on Your Own Instagram Posts
- Add Pronoun of Choice to Instagram Bio
- Instagram for Kids (Under 13)
- Instagram Professional Dashboard Tool
- Filter DM Requests Containing Offensive Words
- Block a Personal Account and All Accounts Made by That Person
- Add More People To Live Rooms
Instagram Story Links
The majority of us have had to integrate in our story captions the “Link in bio” text every time we wanted the people who saw it to take action; unless we had 10,000 followers, of course. It was a tedious thing to do but necessary in order for viewers to access the entire content. Well, soon, we are going to be put out of our misery. The platform will finally offer the option to add links to third-party websites directly from stories.
No more restoring to various workarounds to share content or products. In-stories links for the general user are being tested as we speak, although they won’t be accessed by swiping up. Here’s what I’m talking about.
Create and Publish Posts From Your Desktop
Social media consultat Matt Navarra discovered that everyone will be able to bypass Creator Studio and make content for Instagram directly from the desktop version of the social platform. You’ll soon be able to insert content, create text, add filters as well as tags and hashtags from one place.
Get Commission Directly From Brands
Instagram (and Facebook) are brainstorming ways to incentivize creators to spend more time on the platforms. One way is to make payment easier for them. Content creators that are part of paid collaborations on Instagram will receive commissions directly from the brand they’re partnering with every time they make a product sale (from their shoppable posts). The feature is now available just in the US for a limited number of companies.
They can also receive rewards from Instagram itself, Zuckerberg announced.
Instagram Creator Shops
Another feature Mark Zuckerberg is planning to bring to the platform are creator shops. What are those? Users that have online shops will be able to link their storefronts with their profiles – like this.
Hide Like and View Counts on Instagram News Feed Posts
Feeling pressured to post more when you see your friends’ likes and comments count? You can choose to ignore all of that and focus on the positive by going to Settings – Privacy – Posts – Hide like and view counts. Ta-da! Now you won’t be tempted to compare your numbers to theirs.
See a History of Your Instagram Activity – From Used Passwords to Old Bio
Want to revert to an old account name? Or perhaps look through the passwords you’ve used before? All that top secret data can be accessed by going to Settings. From there, simply look for Security and Access data.
It will take a couple of seconds but a history of all the names, bios, passwords and more will appear if you wait it out.
Hide Like and View Counts on Your Own Instagram Posts
Maybe you’ve already decided to hide the like and view counts of others on your Instagram. Now, you’re thinking of hiding your own engagement, as well. You may not know this but you can do it easily when creating the post.
In fact, you can choose which post is published with hidden likes and views and which is published normally. Simply look for the option after you have added the photo or video and applied filters. You’ll see it under the box for your caption creation.
Add Pronoun of Choice to Instagram Bio
Want to clear the air and make sure your new colleagues know how to address you? Help them out in a subtle way by setting up your chosen pronoun in the Bio section of your profile. You don’t have to do it manually, by the way – here’s how Instagram helps you define it in-app.
Instagram for Kids (Under 13)
A couple of months back, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri was detailing how he wants to make Instagram safer for kids. By creating a different app, actually. Mosseri envisions it as “a version of Instagram where parents have control like we did w/ Messenger Kids, is something we’re exploring.”
If you have an under 13 year old kid, you might want to understand the project better. Here are more details.
Instagram Professional Dashboard Tool
Before you think about what to do on Instagram to increase your awareness and reputation, you should have an overall picture of your presence there. Instagram moved all the crucial analytics into one place: your professional dashboard.
This can be found under your username and before your profile photo and bio. Key trends can be found there, as well as a plethora of data; here’s the info Instagram put together.
Filter DM Requests Containing Offensive Words
Back in April, Instagram announced a new way to filter offensive words during your Instagram experience. This time around, the option is targeting direct messages, instead of comments. When turned on, this feature will automatically filter DM requests containing offensive words, phrases and emojis, so you never have to see them.
Actually, you’ll find you can turn both comment and DM request filters on and off in a new dedicated section of your Privacy Settings called Hidden Words. If it doesn’t appear yet, don’t worry – most Instagram updates roll out gradually to users.
If an offensive word slips by and you still receive the DM, this can be relocated into a separate hidden requests folder. If you choose to open the folder, the message text will be covered (unless you tap to uncover it.) You then have the option to accept the message request, delete it, or report it.
Block a Personal Account and All Accounts Made by That Person
Another feature Instagram is “silently” adding is the ability to not only block someone but prevent them from contacting you through a new account.
Add More People To Live Rooms
Finally, you may have noticed this last one if you’re a frequent streamer. Until this March, Instagram used to let you go live with one other person. Now, the platform increased that number to four (including you).
This feature is called Live Rooms and can be accessed by opening the Live camera option. Then, all you have to do is add a title and tap the Rooms icon to add your guests. From there, you can add people who have requested to go live with you or invite guests.
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