The Latest and Greatest Instagram Tools for Expanding Your Platform

The past few months have presented huge hurdles for most businesses, especially those in their infancy or bolstered by corporate dollars. More than ever before, social media remains the best way to build momentum and expand audiences, especially if you’re operating with a small team and limited resources. If you’re a small business owner or content creator looking to monetize your work, here are the latest tools for boosting your rep, getting more supporters to invest in your product, and more.

IGTV PREVIEWS

 

Instagram now allows creators to post  a preview of the first 15 seconds of an IGTV video in their story,  with an easy “Swipe Up” option to link viewers to the full video. Simply tap the airplane at the bottom of the IGTV video that you want to share and voila—you’re all set. And this feature isn’t reserved for verified creators. It’s available to anyone regardless of your follower count. A snappy quick preview for followers to find while clicking through Stories? Consider this a simple and effective way to increase content engagement and gain new supporters.

Another small but meaningful update: you can also choose a thumbnail for your IGTV. While this may seem like an insignificant improvement, it allows creators to have more control over their digital presence by adding to a brand aesthetic and reinforce branding in all aspects of their business.

instagram optimization

Pop up ads on IGTV is another new way to generate income. Instagram COO Justin Osofsky told The Verge that Instagram will pay creators 55% of the ad revenue posted to their page. Of course, that includes following a few guidelines. During the current initial stage, those who request to be monetized must have their content human-reviewed to ensure it doesn’t include swearing, video-looping, slideshow images, and static image polls. For now, IGTV monetization is open to a select number of creators, but plans to expand overtime to a wider audience. Ultimately, monetizing your IGTV through pop-up ads creates a two-in-one deal for users: attracting a wider audience to your platform through creative IGTV content while also earning an income.

instagram live badges

With Instagram Badges, viewers can show support for their favorite creators by purchasing them during Instagram Lives. Purchasing a badge not provides support to a person or brand, but will also get your comment prioritized and moved to the top of the comments section.  Currently, Badges are sold at three different price points: .99 cents, $1.99 and $4.99. For now, Instagram gives 100% of the income to the content creators, although it’s important to remember that this is still in pilot phase. For some creators, these Badges will be an important way to monetize.  Performers without the ability to perform live during pandemic will benefit the most as they’re able to earn income without having to leave the house.

Looking Ahead: Instagram Live Shopping & Brand Collaboration Managers

Instagram also has a live shopping feature in the works, which will allow creators to tag products during Lives. A service for connecting business owners and content creators to Brand Collab Managers is also in the works. This update was previously only available on Facebook but will finally expand to the ‘Gram, thus amplifying the platform’s already powerful marketing capabilities.

About the author

maya hanson

Maya Hanson attends Skidmore College and was born and raised in New York City where she attended Beacon High School. She is an avid photographer and is studying  environmental studies and sociology.