Instagram pushes IGTV and Shopping in latest design revamp

Instagram is drumming up awareness for IGTV and Shopping with its newly designed navigator bar in its Explore section. Shortcuts to IGTV and Shopping are pinned to the front of the navigation bar, making it easier for users to find products and videos from brands and creators they love. This is followed by topic channels tailored to users’ interests such as food, art and travel.In a blog post, Instagram said the new designs bring “much more immersive” IGTV and Shopping experiences to Explore. By tapping on IGTV, users can browse a personalised feed of recommended videos from creators they currently follow or may want to follow. As for Shop, they will now have access to category filters in the navigation bar. The filters allow users to browse specific types of products on Instagram, including beauty, clothing and home decor, among others. This feature will first roll out in the US.Instagram first moved into long form content last June with the roll out of IGTV. With this offering, it aims to expand its offering from just hosting bite sized content, to watching long-form vertical video from Instagram creators.Meanwhile, the Explore grid will also feature Stories, to help users experience the full breadth of interest content on Instagram. The grid will now provide users with personalised Stories recommendations, similar to how Explore recommends posts based on topics users are interested in. According to Instagram, Explore is used by more than 50% of accounts on Instagram every month and this new function will roll out in the coming weeks.Recently, Instagram announced that it is running a test that removes the total number of likes on photos and video views. According to the company, it is testing this because it wants followers to focus on the photos and videos people share, instead of the number of likes they get.(Read also: Will marketers buy into Instagram’s new native payment feature?)(Photo courtesy: 123RF)