Instagram Wants To Make Hashtags More Valuable
source link: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/instagram-releases-new-reels-features/452914/
Go to the source link to view the article. You can view the picture content, updated content and better typesetting reading experience. If the link is broken, please click the button below to view the snapshot at that time.
Instagram Releases New Reels Features
Instagram adds new functionality to its short-form video format Reels, providing creators with new ways to engage with audiences.
-
SHARES
-
READS
Instagram rolled out new features in Reels today, providing users with more ways apply their creativity to short video clips.
These features are intended to help content creators engage with their audiences, attract viewers, and express themselves in new ways.
Currently, the social media platform’s video is its fastest-growing feature worldwide, with more than 675.3 million users.
This means more than one quarter of Instagram’s more than 2 billion users are using this functionality.
Additions Include New Audio Options, Interactivity, & Templates
In addition to refreshing its collection of sound effects, Instagram Reels now allows users to directly upload their own audio files.
Top Freelancers for Every Business
Fiverr Business gives your team the flexibility to expand in-house capabilities and execute every project by connecting with vetted freelancers for every skill set you need.
Suitable for commentary, jingles, or background noise, creators can import sound from any video in their camera roll that is at least five seconds long. These recordings will then be available for use in Reels by other accounts.
Another update is the new length restrictions. Previously, all videos were limited to 15 seconds, but Instagram has now extended that by 600%, allowing users to post up to 90-second clips. Reels ads now have a maximum running length of 60 seconds.
Interactive stickers that were previously only available for Instagram Stories are now also available for use in videos. This provides new opportunities for audience engagement via polls, quizzes and emoji sliders.
Instagram now also allows creators to use another video as a template when creating their own Reels. By pre-loading audio and clip placeholders from source videos, users will only need to add and trim their own unique clips.
Reels Provides Value To Marketers, Advertisers, & Branders
As the amount of views online videos generate has nearly doubled since 2018, it has become an important tools in many marketers’ arsenals. This is especially true of Reels which has been proven to help attract viewers.
According to Instagram, public accounts with more than 10,000 followers who posted at least five reels over a 60-day period gained 250% more followers than those in the same category who did not post reels.
Instagram video posts currently generate an engagement rate of 1.5%, which indicates people are doing more than scrolling through. Additionally, 86% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase a product with Instagram content rated as “shareworthy.”
Source: Instagram
Featured Image: Screenshot from creators.instagram.com/blog/, June 2022.
Subscribe to SEJ
Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry!
Brian Frederick
Brian is an experienced writer with a background in journalism, marketing and advertising. He has been writing online since the ... [Read full bio]
- Suggested Articles
-
SHARES
-
READS
Instagram is testing out ways to make hashtags more valuable by adjusting how top posts are ranked on hashtag pages.
Now, more recent and timely content will be surfaced in the section that curates top hashtags.
Previously, recent content was separated out into its own tab. That meant the “Top” section could’ve included content published weeks or months ago.
Instagram is removing the “Recent” tab as users can now find newer content in the “Top” tab. The “Reels” tab will remain unchanged.
The company hopes these changes will make hashtags more valuable to users, which is presumably determined by a measurable increase to engagement levels.
As we’ll get into later, studies show Instagram hashtags don’t have a significant impact on engagement. Will changing how top posts are ranked drive more people to engage with the content?
First, let’s take a closer look at how hashtag pages are changing.
Instagram Surfacing More Recent Content In Hashtag Pages
In an announcement from Instagram’s communications team, the company explains what’s changing and why:
“We’re trying out some new things to make hashtags as valuable as possible for people. A few weeks ago, we rolled out Destinations which helps connect people to more information around social causes, and now, we’re going to try something new.
For a small group, we’re testing more recent and timely content in ‘Top’ and ‘Reels’ tabs in hashtags, and removing the ‘Recent’ tab. We want to see if this helps people connect with more interesting and relevant content on hashtags, while also keeping them across what’s current.“
Instagram shares an example of what the new hashtag pages look like.
As you can see, they look exactly the same minus the “Recent” tab.
The streamlined hashtag pages are designed to help users find popular content that’s also timely.
With the old design you could see quality content that may or may not be out of date, or recent content that may or may not be quality.
Now you’ll find recent, quality content when searching for a hashtag.
Time will tell if this test produces the results Instagram is looking for.
Currently, there’s not a strong case for using hashtags on Instagram based on the value they provide.
Perhaps Instagram is taking note of studies like the one highlighted in the section below.
Study Finds Instagram Hashtags Don’t Increase Post Engagement
Socialinsider analyzed over 75 million Instagram posts published over the past year to determine the relationship between hashtags and views.
The study concludes there’s no significant increase to average engagement rate associated with hashtag use.
“… the number of hashtags a post has doesn’t really influence post distribution, which we calculated as the average engagement rate by impressions.
The data shows no significant differences in the average engagement rate by impressions of the Instagram posts analyzed, regardless of how many hashtags those posts have.“
That’s more or less what head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, would tell you himself if you asked him about hashtags.
In fact, he answered one such question last month in an Instagram story, saying “not really” when asked if hashtags help views.
Due to the temporary nature of stories the recording is no longer available, but social media pundit Matt Navarra captured a screenshot:
Do hashtags help views on instagram?https://t.co/3hNNmaTP3i pic.twitter.com/TrCGLozG6M
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) March 17, 2022
What are hashtags on Instagram for?
The purpose of hashtags on Instagram is to categorize content. There’s never been any claims from the company about hashtags increasing post distribution.
However, it looks like Instagram wants that to change.
If you stopped using hashtags on Instagram because they didn’t provide any noticeable benefits, now may be time to revisit your use of them.
Source: @InstagramComms on Twitter
Featured Image: Bibit Unggul/Shutterstock
Recommend
About Joyk
Aggregate valuable and interesting links.
Joyk means Joy of geeK