Top Instagram Features for Marketers in 2024

In today’s world of digital business, not all platforms are equally suitable for all businesses to perform well. Some social media platforms are more business-centric than others and offer more growth to businesses. So, we can’t say that is social media platform can be equally helpful for a business to grow, rather we have to figure out what fits best for our business.

We can deny the contribution of Instagram in this respect. The way this social platform is evolving and striving to develop meaningful features and functions just to give maximum benefit to businesses.

Yes, we can truly say this, the way Instagram is working on the empowerment of its business community no one else ever does. It is just working as a magic button for businesses who just join this platform as startup owners and the results turning huge business tycoons. We can see millions of success stories of businesses that are performing excellently on this platform.

All of this was not possible without the support of this platform itself. Since its inception, Instagram is continuously transforming and innovated itself just to keep its community standing out. It has launched numerous features, that power boosts the presence and performance of businesses on this platform, and it’s never-ending. This evolution is continuously setting new trends day by day.

Top Instagram Features for Marketers

Social networks are effortlessly attractive and they are able enough to keep you captivated for hours. But it is nonetheless a very time-consuming component of our lives as well. If you are working as a marketer, you need to schedule your time properly and prevent yourself from indulging in useless research or scrolling on social media. Although, it is a very addictive thing if you do not control this it will consume a lot of your time and energy.

The time which is usually required by marketers to create a good content strategy and its implementation are three to six months. This may be a difficult thing to do but the most difficult part is to stay online most of the time and upload the posts at the right time and strive to be on the top forever.

Instagram has provided a series of automated features to marketers so that they don’t need to be online all the time. it is social media itself which is maintain the consistency of their content saving them a lot of time and effort.

When we talk about the upcoming features of Instagram, we can say that it’s an endless list. There are plenty of features that are being introduced by Instagram daily. All of this stuff is very helpful for marketers, they can easily boost the brand performance with a high level of Instagram engagement by utilizing the potential of these features. Let’s discuss these amazing features in detail.

1. Activity Centre

This feature was introduced to improve the user experience while enabling them with a powerful content management feature. The user can have complete control of the content of their account and the management of the content was never that much easier before the advent of this feature.

In addition to this, you can view the time you spent on the app and all of your activities done by you including your interactions, searches, and deletion of items, etc. Instagram algorithm and its performance for your account rely so much on the activities you perform.

There is also a delete option that helps you delete multiple images at the same time, which you don’t want anymore on your Instagram account.

2. Collaboration Posts

You may know different techniques that can boost your performance on Instagram but the collab feature of Instagram is truly a goldmine for brands that guarantees a dramatic boost in their performance. It is one of the lately introduced features allowing two creators to collaborate and make a combined post. It can be done by doing paid partnerships. But the advantage of this collaboration is just beyond the imagination.

Both of the collaborating parties equally get the benefits of this combinational post because the number of likes, shares, and views received by this post is equally shared between the two collaborating parties. To enable collaboration with anyone on Instagram you will have to send them a collaboration request and if they accept it, you will be free to get the limitless advantage of it.

3. Likes on Stories

This is one of the latest features that is introduced by Instagram which allows the viewers to like the Instagram stories they watch on this platform by reacting to the heart icon on them. Normally, it happens when you react to a story it sends them your response in a direct message but it will not be like that now.

Once you liked someone’s story, they will only get a like on their video content instead of getting any direct message from you. when you hit the like icon, the creator will only be notified that you have liked their story vis notifications. One more important thing to note about this feature is the likes you get on the story will not be public, it can only be seen by the creator itself.

4. Instagram Videos

Since its inception, videos on Instagram are the evergreen format of displaying content. Instagram has always been a video-centric platform as compared to other types of content it supports storytelling through visuals and video. Video content is widely used by businesses for endorsement purposes and also by influencers on Instagram. It is no doubt a very trusted way to introduce your brand and develop an emotional connection with the viewers.

We must be aware of the importance of the first few seconds of the video, it should be made so much captivating that it may stop the viewer till the end of the video. In the beginning, the videos were only 60 seconds long but later Instagram experimented with a longer format of videos by introducing the IGTV feature, which was adopted and encouraged by most of its users. So, Instagram increased the period of these short format videos from 60 seconds to 60 minutes.

Later in October 2021, Instagram discontinued the IGTV branding and merged long-form IGTV videos with in-feed videos, creating a new format called "Instagram Video." However, now Instagram has given us 3 formats of videos.

5. Instagram Reels

There is no doubt that the newly introduced feature of Instagram reels is the main focus of the algorithm on Instagram because this is becoming a standard format for displaying content all over social media. so, it is quite understood that any short-styled video that uses a trending sound in will get more reach and visibility as it is supported by the Instagram algorithm.

The real magic happens when reels are made by utilizing the collaboration feature of Instagram, where two brands unite their forces and display the best quality content to their audience thus, equally sharing the endless benefits of it. Being highly supported format videos, reels are just unmatched when it comes to their visibility and reachability.

You can add another party to your reel by following either way. You can tag them in your reel content or also, or you can send them a collaboration request.

6. Reel Features

Along with the introduction of this amazing feature, Instagram has also introduced plenty of other features that provide marketers with a unique user experience mixed with a lot of fun and ease. They can use this feature to get connected with a wider audience and boost their brand awareness.

Some Important features of Instagram reels are given:

• A wide library of camera effects

• Huge variety of stickers and filters

• Voice-to-text feature

• Automated captioning

• Green screen effects

• Music and trending sound effects

7. Reels with Boosted Features

Instagram reels offer enough ground for marketers, to advertise by using this feature. Instagram offers some boosted features of reels by using them you can boost your reel video content by turning them into ads. To leverage this boosted feature of Instagram reels your video content must be following the given parameters:

• It must be of 60 seconds or less than it.

• Should not include any copyright issue

• Should not contain any filter or sticker from any other social media app

• Must be filmed with an aspect ratio of 9:16

• It must not be shared on Facebook.

8. Live Sessions

Live streaming is the best interactive way for businesses to get connected with their clients. While they interact with their followers in the form of live sessions it develops a strong sense of understanding among them. In this way, they can engage people and also create hype for their next upcoming live session by telling people about it and asking them to participate in it as much as they can.

9. Shoppable Tags

This feature was introduced by Instagram which allows users to write the name of products in the form of tags on their photos. So, that they can act as clickable content which directs them to their e-shop directly where there is the particular product is displayed along with all specifications.

Using this feature, you can easily boost the sales of your products by simplifying the purchasing process for your customers. The shoppable tags are also enabled now for Instagram stories which is a very good thing to implement in the live sessions and stories.

When people use the tags, they can educate people about the usage and importance of that particular product which eventually boosts their brand awareness. People who want to leverage the potential of Instagram for business must try this.

10. Carousel Posts

This feature of Instagram allows users to add multiple pictures or videos in one post. It is used to smartly manage posts having a greater amount of content. For example, if you want to explain a process that cannot be defined properly in one post, utilizing this feature is a very good practice.

Another important use of this feature is that it can be used for showing the transformation in the videos. Also, they can be used by brands for storytelling purposes. This feature is also very helpful when you are displaying content that is based on facts and figures, quotations, or any other type of educational content, that cannot be displayed in one post properly.

11. Stories Highlight

This is also one of the most recent and the most effective feature which was needed as well. As we know Instagram stories get disappear after 24 hours but what if any of your Instagram stories was so much liked by people? You will have no evidence of this because it will disappear after 24 hours are passed.

But what if you add these stories to the highlights of your Instagram profile by giving them a proper heading so that they won’t go anywhere but remain at the top of your profile anybody who wants to review them later can access them just by coming to your profile.

Also, this feature is widely used by marketers when they want to highlight a specific event because it is the best way to spotlight something Infront of your audience. In this way whenever your Instagram followers come to your business profile, they tend to open your highlights first.

And if you have put on important and captivating posts in your highlights. It gives a very positive impression about your brand’s overall reputation and also wins you, clients.

12. Instagram Stickers

Unlike the stickers on other social media platforms, Instagram stickers are not only stickers that are used to enhance the beauty of your post. Rather they can be proved so helpful for businesses that are looking to drive quick results. No matter if you want to add a certain location, link, or any other thing in your Instagram post you can smartly add them by utilizing these stickers.

You just need to go to the sticker’s library and search for the sticker you want for your post. Once you find the right one for you just add it to your post. You can fix its position by dragging it on the screen.

13. Automated Scheduling

Instagram enables its users to leverage the potential of automated scheduling by utilizing its amazing features. You only need to focus on the content and its quality and the rest of the tasks are done by this platform at the right time. Once you have scheduled your posts Instagram will keep them uploading at the right time that is fixed by you. Isn’t it so convenient for marketers?

They just don’t need to set reminders to upload their content. Also, they don’t need to be available online all the time so that they can upload the posts at the right scheduled time.

14. In-depth Monitoring of Performance

Another important feature that is introduced by Instagram is the in-depth analysis of your account. Yes, it provides a detailed analysis matrix of your performance and your activity. You can see the performance matrix of each of your posts or video and easily get to know the reason behind its popularity or low performance.

This feature is very helpful for marketers they can easily evaluate the ongoing progress of the account and also, and they can make the necessary amendments to the content strategy by looking at the responses of people on their content. They can easily tell which type of content is liked by the followers and they can further use the same type in the future.

At the same time, they can also figure out which type of content is distasteful to the audience and thus they can avoid such type of content in their posts.

15. Instagram First Comment

People on social media never buy one-way conversations and it is a proven fact. If you want to build your trust and credibility in front of your audience you need to show them case studies of people who are interacting with you and having successful experiences by working with you. Instagram’s first comment feature helps you make a clean and presentable post that is exactly according to the ongoing trends as well.

By the close analysis of Instagram algorithms marketers are now able to predict that hashtags could be added in the first comment of the post of your Instagram account. So, instead of adding too many hashtags in the description of a single post, that looks so messy you can add them in the first comment of your post and it will serve the same purpose.

The Instagram algorithm will treat them the same way as it treats the hashtags that are written in the description of a post.

16. Live Shopping Events

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, Live shopping events on Instagram are interactive live streams where products are demonstrated and can be purchased in real-time. This new channel is gaining traction as it drives immediate sales and enhances customer interaction. It's a trend that's touching most countries and households around the world.

During these events, consumers can purchase an item in real-time while watching or listening to a host talk about it. Brands can use this feature to showcase product launches and offer product demos to shopping viewers. This type of commerce is becoming more popular as shoppers seek ways to shop without leaving home.

17. Social Commerce Integration

Social commerce integration refers to the seamless integration of Instagram with e-commerce platforms, simplifying the purchase journey and increasing conversion rates. This feature is part of Instagram’s broader push into e-commerce. Instagram has been undergoing an evolution by transitioning from its roots as a photo-sharing app to focus on creators, videos, messaging and, perhaps most of all, shopping. Instagram's users seem to be more than happy to go along with these changes.

According to Instagram’s data, 90% of its users follow at least one business. A Facebook-commissioned survey revealed that two in three people on Instagram said the app allows interaction with brands. For brands aiming to maximize their e-commerce efforts, Instagram could be key to building a social commerce strategy.

Final Words

As we know that most of the marketing is carried out online and with the advent of eCommerce stores, we can say that in the coming few years almost all businesses will be offering their products by displaying them online. Because, it is an emerging trend and if a business wants to sustain itself, it must be on social media so that it can drive sales, build awareness among its clients, and steadfast the market competition.

Instagram is the second largest social media network providing the maximum space for businesses to expose themselves in the best possible way and grow their potential.