Head of Instagram Gives Insight Into the App’s Future
In an effort to be more transparent about the future of Instagram, Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, recently gave us an amazing breakdown of what areas they will be focusing on improving in the coming months. It’s super refreshing to get this type of clarity into the Instagram algorithm and features they are seeing have the most power with users. If you’re asking me, Google could really take some lessons in this area. If the Google bots are reading this - I’m sorry and I didn’t mean it, please don’t tank my traffic.
In a recent video (which I’ll embed at the end of this blog) Adam laid out four areas in which the team at Instagram will be focusing on. They include:
1) Instagram wants to improve the creator experience and allow them to better monetize their content.
Citing the shift in power from institutions to individuals in many different industries, the Instagram team wants to create a space for creators and better allow them to make a living and be successful on the app.
2) Video will be content gold when it comes to Instagram’s algorithm.
Okay, he didn’t say this word for word, but Adam kind of implied it when he said, “video has been driving an immense amount of growth for all platforms.” He also named TikTok and YouTube to be amongst their main competitors - both of whom focus on video content. He further explained that the team will be looking into how they can make full-screen, immersive video more prominent on the app. Who else has full-screen, immersive video… TikTok and YouTube. It’s working for them, so I’m speculating Instagram doesn’t want to reinvent the wheel here.
3) The pandemic has shifted commerce at a staggering rate to e-commerce.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, online commerce BOOMED. Although things at this time seem to be starting to get back to normal, online shopping has continued to maintain its prominence in today’s culture. With recent Instagram shopping features being added over the last couple of years, we may see an expansion of that or refinement of how people can purchase things from companies through the app.
4) People have changed how they connect with friends and family over the last five years - Instagram cites the importance of messaging.
Adam mentioned the shift they are seeing in the popularity of messaging amongst their users as well as how people communicate online in general. They have been seeing conversations moving primarily to private messaging rather than in feeds or on stories. When reflecting on my personal usage, I’ve realized I definitely send Instagram content to my close friends via DM rather than reposting it in my feed or on my story.
5) Other important takeaways from Adam Mosseri’s video
Throughout the video, Adam focused more heavily on video compared to the rest of the topics. “We are no longer a square photosharing app,” he stated. He further expanded on this sharing that research and studies show the number one reason why people use Instagram is to be entertained. That’s what people are looking for, and that’s the need Instagram wants to fill to keep users on the app.
Now, what’s coming in order to fulfill these four areas for their users? Instagram will be testing and rolling out a variety of features in the coming months, however, the user base will be choosing what features stay and go. Adam rounded out the video saying, “We have an idea of where we’re going, but that could change based on what we’re seeing. We can’t do things overnight, but we want to be more public about the changes with videos like this one.”
I for one, can’t wait to see what features will come out of this new product roadmap. Check back with Hustle Marketing on social media, our blog, and our email list to stay up to date on the latest features and changes.
Check out the full video below: