Social media is always a moving target, and with continuous platform updates, it is important to stay up-to-date on the latest features. Instagram is rolling out new capabilities aimed at helping Influencers gain better insights about their own accounts. The platform has acknowledged that creators are a valuable part of the community, and these new functionalities are designed to make sure that Instagram continues to be a great place for talent to build their own personal brands.
These new updates will apply to high-profile influencers and celebrities to test out first. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a small group of influencers are already trying out features such as new functionalities surrounding direct messages. These users will be able to filter their messages as well as rank any pending requests. Filter options will include designations for “read” “unread” and “flagged” messages. This will surely help popular influencers sort through spam and get to important messages from potential brand partners.
Creators will also gain access to new insights surrounding their follower growth. Going forward, influencers will be able to view how many followers they have lost or gained each day and on a weekly basis. This will be helpful for creators that want to frequently evaluate how the content they produce affects their following.
The main takeaway here is that Instagram is taking steps to further improve the platform for influencers. In 2016, the platform provided new business account features tailored specifically to help brands. While these capabilities have certainly proved valuable for influencers as well, they did not draw any correlation between creators’ content and the growth of their community. We predict this is just the beginning and Instagram will continue to produce new features for the influencer space.