Instagram's new feature empowers users to tell their story
Instagram, (almost) everyone's favorite photo-sharing application, has a vision to capture and share the world's moments. We've seen this through a number of its features: Live, Stories, direct posts, saving images, hashtagging, sharing posts on other social media channels, and more. Instagram's cornerstone is that every post or conversation is initiated by and centered around a photo. We're always told a picture is worth a thousand words. So why not give users the ability to post more pictures?
Instagram's newest feature - carousel posts - does just that. It enables users to share multiple images - an album - in a single post. It builds on the app's power, improves user experience, and advances the company's lead over Snapchat as the go-to photo-sharing application. Most importantly, it continues to fulfill and promote Instagram's vision.
(Click the image to test the new feature in the Instagram app.)
A New Storytelling Method
The world's moments often cannot be captured by a single image. With multiple photos, however, you can tell a story of that moment. You can put followers in your shoes, at the scene, and have them live through your eyes.
With a carousel post, a tourist can take me through their vacation to Paris. The Food Network can guide me through a recipe for fried bananas and ice cream. A Cleveland Cavaliers fan can give me their live experience of a 3-1 Finals comeback over the Golden State Warriors.
A first-generation college student can show me their trials and tribulations leading up to graduation. An athlete can take me on their journey to the Olympics. A cancer patient can show me their road to recovery.
There is a newfound power in several images.
The best part? It doesn't require immediacy. You can take pictures throughout the day and then compile the images into an album in the night. You can take pictures over the year and make a carousel post on New Year's Eve. You have more room to relax and live in the moment.
I use Instagram to capture my life's moments. When I look back through my profile and post history, I relive my experiences. It brings me back and makes me appreciate the wonderful opportunities and experiences I've had. Instagram's carousel posts allow me to create better records for myself, and gives users the ability to tell a deeper, more meaningful story.
An Enhanced User Experience
Creative content is lost when an Instagram Story expires. As a celebrity (influencer) or a corporation, how do you decide what to post to your profile, and what to send to your Story? With carousel posts, you no longer need to worry about your content not being seen or appreciated. You can post it once to your story, then post it later as an album on your profile. You no longer lose the time and energy (and money) spent creating the content if it finds a second life on your profile. It's a better opportunity to make your current followers watch your story in real time, to acquire new followers through searchable hashtags, and for the new followers to experience your past stories.
Users also face less stress with albums. No longer are we forced to decide whether or not to pick a "highlight" image that captures our entire day, squish multiple images into a single frame, or spam our followers with multiples posts. It's now simple and easy for us to pick a few photos that tell our story without lowering the quality of our posts or risk losing followers.
From a follower perspective, it will be great to no longer see users spam multiple posts. My appreciation for the person/account and work put into creating content will skyrocket with an increased understanding and interaction with carousel posts. In the end, this is exactly what Instagram wants.
A Way to Stay Ahead of Snapchat
We all know Instagram straight up copied Snapchat Stories last year. Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom publicly admitted it. For Systrom, it's about getting more users to convert and spend more time on his app. The difference, however, is that Instagram Stories are Snapchat Stories that can be immortalized on a user's profile. Snapchat does not (publicly) store a user's story in a profile, and so Instagram is taking full competitive advantage of the situation.
Furthermore, getting users more accustomed to swiping through carousel posts may make them more inclined to swipe through carousel advertisements, which adds more value to Instagram and its advertisers.
Parting Thoughts
Carousel posts is a great feature that empowers users to create more compelling content; to truly capture and share the world's content. It provides users with a greater experience, and advertisers with a better opportunity to receive impressions. It entices users to convert from Snapchat to Instagram completely. I'm excited for it.
What's next for Instagram? Let's look to Snapchat Discover.
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Rahul Rangnekar is a junior studying Computer Science and Economics at UC Berkeley. In his free time, he enjoys weightlifting, reading, and following the NBA. He is passionate about marketing and technology, and hopes to find a career in product management or consulting. #StudentVoices
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Marketing Professional / Marketing Student at New York University
8yI agree! Instagram is not only an app to share photos, but also a promotion tool for brand. For people who want to have personal branding can use Instagram to tell stories and increase awareness. As for business brand, such as clothing brand, Instagram allows user to create a link on photos. When people click the link on photos, it will transfer to shopping website.
Software Development | Creating Innovative Solutions
8yThis seems similar to Facebooks Celebration Videos. A Before , There and After concept of this small happening Gallery would have a greater Impact..
Senior Branch Manager
8yMuch more user friendly than Snap chat, even though IG copied the feature from Snap: curious how Snap will enhance their user interface.
Founder, Newsletter operator, A.I. Writer, Emerging tech analyst.
8yGreat post Rahul.