What Happened
Instagram introduced Instagram Direct at the end of 2013 to allow users to send private posts to each other, but the feature’s isolated placement within the app has hindered its adoption. Now with the newest update, Instagram finally overhauled the feature to give it a more “messaging-friendly” layout and allow user to share photos, locations, and even user profiles with selected friends straight from the news feed. Previously, users had to manually input their friend’s profile handle in comments in order to share content.
What Brands Should Do
Instagram has been growing popular among brands and advertisers, thanks to its inherently visual nature and unique aesthetics. And this new makeover of Instagram Direct, which aims to facilitate easier content discovery and sharing, could lead to a higher organic exposure for branded content, with potential to go viral. Therefore, brands that are active on Instagram would be wise to take advantage of this new feature and start encouraging content sharing.
Source: The Verge
