Instagram’s 2024 Updates: Grow Your Profile Like a Pro

Instagram users know the platform is always changing, with new features rolling out regularly to make the app better and keep everyone hooked. So, it’s no shock that IG has kept up the momentum in 2024, introducing updates that boost engagement, creativity, and brand reach.

For small business owners, these new tools offer fresh ways to connect and grow your audience. So, what are these features, and how can you use them to level up your small business?

1. Multiple Collaborators

This year, Instagram took collaborations to the next level by allowing creators to tag more than one collaborator in their posts. This feature is meant to help foster a sense of community and enable content creation for events, shared interests, or group projects.

Tagging collaborators is perfect for promoting content like:

• conferences 
• influencer partnerships
• webinars
• giveaways
• team introductions
• and multiple location events

For brands, this feature is particularly exciting, because it allows businesses to run a campaign where your followers can share their experience in a single post, bringing a whole new level of engagement and community building.

To take advantage of this feature, be sure to tag your collaborators on the last editing page before posting your content!

2. Schedule Posts Within the Instagram App

In 2024, Instagram introduced the ability to schedule posts directly within the app— allowing users to plan and set a time for posts to go live.

And as the social media manager in the room, I loveeeeeeeeeeeee this new feature!

You can now run your marketing campaigns and maintain a regular posting schedule without interrupting vacation time or spending money on a third-party scheduler.

At The Winfield Creative, we talk a lot about maximizing your time on social media. In fact, we’ve found that setting aside a dedicated amount of time at the beginning of the week to schedule posts actually means that you spend less time on social media throughout the week. In our world, it's called "batching" and in your world, it's called "hell yes!"

With Instagram’s release of an in-app post scheduler, you can batch-create content and schedule it for peak engagement times, making sure your feed stays active when you're busy with all of your other business owner tasks. While there are still certainly benefits to using third-party scheduling apps, for those that like to keep things as easy as possible, Instagram’s in-app scheduler is a great place to start.

3. Shoppable Reels

We’ve all seen reels grow in popularity since the feature was released, and this year, Instagram made them even more powerful for e-commerce. In 2024, Instagram launched Shoppable Reels, allowing brands and creators to tag products directly in their videos. Viewers can now tap on items featured in a Reel and purchase them without ever leaving the app.

This feature is a significant step for Instagram as it merges content and commerce more seamlessly than ever before. For brands, this means increased sales opportunities 💰📈 
 

If your small business sells physical products, Shoppable Reels are a game-changer. Create engaging Reels showcasing your products in action, then tag them so viewers can make a purchase directly from the video. This feature makes the shopping experience seamless for customers and leads to higher conversion rates, especially if your content is creative and engaging.

The team at The Winfield Creative is excited to see how you take advantage of Instagram’s latest features to boost your business’ following! To continue to stay on top of what’s trending, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter, Viral Vibes, where you’ll get the latest trending audio on social media delivered to your inbox every week.