Instagram ditches just photo-sharing app persona for entertainment ambitions

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Instagram is leaning away from its photo-sharing app persona to become a video and entertainment company. According to Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, this comes as research indicates that the main reason consumers use Instagram is to be entertained. He added that video is driving immense growth from all platforms.

In the upcoming months, the platform will be experimenting with some new initiatives such as recommendations for content users might not yet be following, and making immersive mobile first video, full-screen content.

He noted that the platform has some “serious competition” in the video space given the success of Tiktok and the even bigger following YouTube has managed to garner for itself.

https://twitter.com/mosseri/status/1410297743285829632?s=24

Mosseri also added that over recent years, Instagram has been trying to hand more power to individual creators and move away from institutional content. Moreover, the pandemic has also resulted in consumers now shopping on social platforms and changing the way they interact with each other.

Last year, Instagram launched its "Data From Partners” ad setting to allow users to indicate whether they want Instagram to use data to personalise ads on Instagram. This includes information about your activity on third-party sites and apps, as well as offline interactions with advertisers, such as in-store purchases. If users opt out on Instagram, data about their activity from partners will not be used to personalise their ads on Instagram. Users who have connected their Facebook and Instagram accounts will also see an option for both surfaces on their settings page.

Meanwhile, Instagram also placed a “Reels” and “Shop” tab on its home page. According to Instagram, the Reels tab makes it easier for consumers to discover short, fun videos from creators all over the world, while the Shop tab gives them a better way to connect with brands and creators and discover products they are interested in. Instagram said it saw an “explosion” in short-entertaining videos on its platform, as well as an “incredible amount of shopping” moved online. According to CNBC, Mosseri had then also said the company will be placing ads in Reels. As for its shop tab, Instagram will reportedly be taking a slice of each transaction for purchases made through the app.

Photo courtesy: 123rf

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