The head of Instagram says the app will no longer be a square photo sharing app.
According to Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, the app will no longer be focused on photo sharing but rather video content. In a video Mosseri shared on his Instagram account, he made the announcement that the change will be implemented and tested over the next few months. The reason for this change is that in research they have found that people look to Instagram to be entertained.
Why this shift?
In the video, Mosseri mentioned that they are looking to “build new experiences” in the following areas:
- Creators
- Video
- Shopping
- Messaging
Instagram has noticed a change over the last few years as to how people earn a living, what they prefer to view, how they shop and how they communicate with one another. Not only are they focused on these areas but also competing with TikTok and YouTube which pushed Instagram to have motivation for their repositioning.
What will this change look like?
Over the next few months, Instagram will be experimenting with algorithms in users’ feeds to get a better understanding of the best approach to this change. Things you will potentially start to notice are recommendations, topics, and video as a whole.
- Recommendations, will be posts that show up in your feed of accounts you do not follow but may be interested in.
- Topics, which will allow users to select which topics they would like to see more or less of.
- Videos, which Instagram will be experimenting with how to embrace more video content.
As to how these changes will look as a whole, is really unknown other than Instagram is no longer interested in focusing on photo sharing.
In 2013, Instagram first introduced video posts and has since added video stories, IGTV, live and reels to their app. So this change may or may not come as a surprise, but it has very mixed reviews from users and creators.
What can users do in the meantime to prepare for the change?
Right now, there isn’t much of anything users can do other than to watch for updates and monitor the changes that will be happening over the next few months. To help adjust to the new changes, start playing around with reels, IGTV, live and videos as a whole by bringing in front of the camera and videotaping other things such as events and products. The best way for everyone to be prepared to practice and embrace the new changes. If video content or social media as a whole are being a bit too much, contact us our team would be happy to help!