2016 went by so quickly and Instagram changes were moving just as fast – if not faster. There were so may major changes you may have even missed a few, so let’s take you through Iconosquare’s round-up of major Instagram changes of 2016.

  • Fresh into the year, Instagram introduced multiple account switching which saved the efforts of having to log out of personal accounts and into business accounts. The feature was a game changer and was welcomed by many.
  • March brought the Two-factor authentication which meant it was harder to hack accounts as users were given the option to add a security code to our accounts.
  • The new algorithm was a feature not as welcomed as the multiple account-switching, however, the new feed-sorting system went on to run out globally in June
  • Video length increased to 60 seconds for all users and multi-clip videos were also introduced. The new video length meant that businesses could make the most of the video content in a way they simply couldn’t in the 15 seconds they previously had.
  • May brought business profiles in testing which rolled out over the following 6 months. This allowed directions to stores and contact buttons, allowing businesses set themselves apart from regular users.
  • Then came the day for Instagram’s makeover. A new logo and a new look as the retro logo was replaced by a multi-coloured modern logo and a flat, white interface.
  • Updated ads were a lovely surprise for advertisers. Advertising on Instagram has really taken off this year with a total of 500 000 advertisers on the platforms.
  • In June, video channels had arrived– this made watching videos on Instagram so much simpler and they could now be easily browsed and searched for by topic
  • July was the month where Instagram cracked down on cyber harassment allowing for automatic and then custom comment moderation.
  • Insights was then added. Insights gave businesses key analytics on Instagram posts as well as information about their community.
  • The arrival on Instagram stories was available in August. This marked the beginning of the rivalry between Instagram and Snapchat with many Instagram users dropping Snapchat altogether. Since then, both platforms have evolved showing that their audiences are in fact, quite different.
  • Another huge change was the much-awaited zoom feature. Portrait and landscape images and videos then made the breakthrough onto Instagram, meaning that the square format no longer reigned.
  • Stories were updated in September. Users could mute, save and add coloured text to them.
  • In October we were finally able to save our drafts. This became handy if you create posts in advance.
  • We are now able to disable comments and like others comments. We can also save others users posts on Instagram (goodbye screenshots), and the latest developments to Stories has just arrived with stickers and geostickers, and the battle with Snapchat continues.

With live stores and direct stories arriving globally in the coming weeks, as well as Instagram testing shopping tags- the clickable tags which will allow for in-platform purchases- we are to wonder what 2017 will bring for the platform?

2017 Predictions from the ICONOSQUARE team 

  • Instagram Stories and MSQRD will emerge to rival Snapchat’s filters.
  • Social commerce will expand rapidly starting with Instagram and its shoppable tags.
  • Many larger brands will turn off comments on their Instagram posts to stop spam and bots

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Chronicle Republic Communications is a boutique Sydney marketing consultancy for real estate, property and interiors professionals. We specialise in social media, content marketing, email marketing, blogging, search engine optimisation, social media advertising and much more!

We help our clients tell their brand’s story through engaging and meaningful marketing that captures attention.

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