“We’re no longer a photo-sharing app,” the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri says.
This is a big deal! So I’m going to break it down for you real quick.
If you’re on Instagram as a business, and you’re not doing videos, it’s no longer an option to ignore it if you want engagement.
In fact, if you’re on any of the platforms, video is going to win in most cases.
For months now, I’ve been talking about how businesses need to get on Reels if they’re on Instagram and this latest announcement from Instagram confirms it.
Instagram has been putting an emphasis on Reels for performance as TikTok’s popularity rises so businesses that have been adapting to Reels have been seeing more engagement from it.
So, here’s what this latest announcement means.
“No longer a photo-sharing app” doesn’t mean you CAN’T share photos on Instagram. It just means that the Instagram algorithm may not show it to as many people as it would show videos to people. So, it works in your favor to put up more videos.
Instagram is competing in a major way with TikTok, so they are putting an emphasis on video for entertainment, helping creators, shopping, and messaging.
Watch here:
Or you can listen to the full announcement here.
Do I personally love this switch? No, actually.
I love Instagram and I have always loved it for the beautiful artistry of photo creation. I love photos! I loved the uniqueness of Instagram being a “photo-sharing platform” because video was already in other places.
So I am sad to see that it is not embracing this and instead chasing after TikTok, to be honest, but… I equally love TikTok in its own uniqueness and I personally get sucked into the TikTok vortex and the brilliance and entertainment of its videos, so I can see how Instagram would be wanting a slice of that.
That being said, I have written about creating TikToks and repurposing them as Reels at length to streamline the workflow (I do still believe in that!) But if you are a business and are only on Instagram right now (and not yet on TikTok) I will be starting a series on how to quickly do Reels for your business – so stay tuned! I have put up a few tutorials on Instagram already so make sure you’re following me there at @christieomedia.
Obviously in social, everything changes ALL.THE.TIME and I’m here to help you stay on top of that.
In fact, TikTok broke this week for a few days (views were all over the place if you noticed that, videos wouldn’t upload, etc. But it’s fixed now.)
Hit me up at christie@christieo.com if you need help! I consult, I coach, I do quick workshops and give thorough audits of your social platforms if you need them, and I also do social media FOR you in some cases.
Talk soon!