Late last month, Instagram made a change that will have huge implications for social marketing. This update was highly requested by social media managers and everyday users. Instagram users are now able to add multiple accounts and easily switch between them!
This update was months in the making. Members of Instagram\u2019s Android beta testing group were first introduced to this new feature back in November of last year. It wasn\u2019t until February 8, 2016 that all Instagram users were granted access to the new features which were included in the 7.15 version for both iOS and Android.
Instagram has made switching between accounts nearly painless which is great for a first roll out. Once you have multiple accounts added the profile picture of the account you are currently using will appear in different places in the app. Being able to see the account's profile picture throughout the app will definitely help to prevent posting to the wrong account. Unfortunately, there's a limit of 5 maximum accounts that can be configured on the same mobile device. Still, 5 is better than 1!
Also included in this update is the ability to see how many views your Instagram video has captured. This allows for an extra level of metrics which goes deeper than simply monitoring how many likes a post gets. Data geeks rejoice!
What Does This Update Mean for Other Platforms?
While Twitter has allowed the use of multiple accounts since 2013, this new Instagram update is bound to push Instagram even further ahead of its text based counterpart.
In a very short amount of time, Instagram has managed to gain an enormous amount of growth with 400 million active monthly users.
This news comes on the heels of a major Twitter slow down. Twitter has been struggling to attract new users to its platform with only a 15% increase year-over-year.
However, to say that Twitter\u2019s growth has slowed because of Instagram is a stretch. Both platforms are vastly different and come with their own sets of varied users.
That being said, when it comes to social media marketing \u2013 choosing Instagram over Twitter is a no-brainer. Instagram\u2019s sponsored posts and advertising features lend perfectly to a marketing model. What\u2019s more, Instagram advertising feels more natural than advertising on Twitter which quickly comes across as an advertisement.
For marketers and average user\u2019s alike, Twitter\u2019s biggest problem is that it is so noisy. It is hard to gain engagement with tweets and they disappear quickly getting lost in the ever changing feed. It is still a great platform to go to for real-time news and world events, but it is not easy to navigate unless you have a clear and active hashtag campaign.
Multiple Accounts Equals Multiple Dollars
It\u2019s clear that this new Instagram update was done with social marketers in mind. Instagram wants to pander to users who plan to advertise. This new feature will now make it easier for social media marketers to switch between their client\u2019s accounts and also measure campaign effectiveness on a more granular level.
Instagram gave the people what they wanted, and it will definitely reap the benefits in the form of advertising revenue.
Are you competing in the same playing field as your competitors? If not, then you may be missing out on growth opportunities that are being dominated by your competitors. Perhaps it\u2019s time to look for help from a digital marketing agency with professional\u00a0Reputation Management expertise.
