It seems like Meta just won’t slow down - July has brought a whole range of new Instagram updates, focused on monetisation and giving users new ways to interact and engage with one another on the platform. Perhaps most significantly, the rollout of the long-awaited Creator Marketplace is finally upon us.
Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the new innovations and Instagram updates currently being tested across the photo sharing app right now.
Notes Shelf
Probably the most unique and left-of-field feature we’ve seen from Instagram in a while, the Notes Shelf is a sort of mini-feed for microblogging within the Instagram app. Basically its own integrated version of Twitter, these are short text posts with a maximum of 60 characters that sit on a “shelf” above your messages in your Direct Messages inbox.
However, they interestingly pose less like Tweets and more like Statuses, as writing a new Note seems to wipe your previous one. Is this a feature you could see yourself using?
Profile feed ads
Yep, you read that right - just in case you were thinking Meta had effectively put paid content in every corner of the Instagram app, think again. It appears that the latest of the Instagram updates introduces sponsored content on your profile.
It looks like for now, this is a feature that can be toggled on or off by the account holder themselves on a settings screen, but it does introduce a new possibility for monetisation on the platform as a creator. A ‘Payout account’ option is visible underneath the toggle option, suggesting that creators will be able to earn money from the impressions or clicks the ads on their profiles get.
Creator Marketplace
Instagram has been teasing it for a long time, and now the day has finally come for testing to roll out for their Creator Marketplace feature. The platform-within-a-platform serves to connect brands with influencers for sponsored posts and advertising opportunities; brands can browse affiliated creator profiles and see their stats and engagement metrics as verified by Instagram. The feature also has filtering options as well, so that brands can search via demographic and audience traits to better find the right influencer for their campaign.
Creator Marketplace will provide a channel for both brand and creator to make offers, negotiate and accept deals, communicate about the parameters of what’s required and what deliverables are expected, and more.
The Creator Marketplace is just one of many new Instagram updates developed to help further monetisation opportunities for creators; paid online events, badges and fan subscriptions akin to a Patreon model for exclusive content have all been presented by the platform. In an attempt to persuade creators to use these tools over tools from their competitors, Instagram has even confirmed they won’t be taking a cut from money earned via these channels until 2024.
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