New Instagram Features and How to Use Them Effectively

Instagram is a social networking platform that is continuously evolving. Remember when all you could do on Instagram was share oversaturated images of your food? However, Instagram is now more than just a platform to share photos; it’s an effective promotional medium with 1.4 billion users every day. The social network offers a wide range of features that have been added in the last few months to the Meta-owned app. With these new Instagram features, Instagram allows you to do everything from broadcasting to your followers to creating your own stickers with AI.

If you’re happy with tried-and-tested photo and video sharing, that’s all well and good, we highly recommend you step outside your comfort zone. The Instagram algorithm loves early adopters of its new features. In this blog, we will take a look at the most recent Instagram updates and features for 2024 and also those from 2023 that you might have missed.

Making the most of them will help you reach previously unexplored corners of your audience or reconnect with followers. A great example of this is how Notes updates will appear at the top of your followers’ inboxes (but more on this below).

That is why, to make life easier and better for content creators and marketers alike, we have compiled the best Instagram features for your Instagram. Some of them are the latest, brand-new features, while others are old but gold.

Let us dive right in!

Here is an interesting set of Instagram features

Broadcast Channel
Shop
Audience
Collections
Photo Sticker
Share comment on your story
New Post Additions
Add a poll to captions
All about reels
Threads
Notes
Multiple links in the bio
Professional dashboard
Games

From AI stickers to Broadcast Channels, here’s everything you need to know about Instagram’s latest features, with a step-by-step guide to using them all.

Let’s see how to use these features to boost the Instagram game in 2024

1. Broadcast Channels

When broadcast channels arrived on Instagram in February, the social media networks witnessed an explosion in usage from countless creators, brands, and artists. Broadcast channels are a public, one-to-many messaging tool that allows artists to directly engage with their followers at a large scale. Only artists and their approved moderators or admins can send messages, while followers can strictly react to content and vote in fan polls.

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Currently, artists are using this feature as a casual, quick way to keep their fanbase up to date. They are using it to share special behind-the-scenes moments using text, photo, video, and voice notes whether it be about touring, new music, or something fun like voting on new merchandise. Some artists taking full advantage of this new feature include DPR Ian and Alexander Stewart.

2. Shop

Even though the Shop icon has been removed from the navigation bar, it is still a great place to visit if you want to explore items from your favorite brand’s items or visit an artist shop. Instead of navigating to the Shop tab, you simply visit the page of the profile (brand, artist, company, etc.) that you want to browse.

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Now, Product Tags and Ads can also help you track down desirable items with a simple click once they appear in your feed. Instagram shops will have fresh collections and products from brands and creators, as well as special curations from their social shopping channels.

3. Audience

Do you ever wish you could only share a post for a select group only, rather than your whole following list?

Now, “Close Friends” is for more than just your Insta Stories. The Close Friends feature on Instagram is expanded so that users can share posts and reels to their main feed that will only be visible to people on the list, as opposed to just their followers.

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Users can choose their Close Friends list from the “audience” option by tapping it before sharing a post or Reel. Once posted, it will have a green star icon, just like Close Friends stories have a green circle surrounding them. Whether a user is posting a note, a story, a reel, or a feed post, their lists of Close Friends won’t change.

Next time you want to keep a feed post more low-key, choose the Audience you want to share your post with.

4. Collaborative Collections

You can make your “Collections” public so that people can see what you’ve saved. It will show up in your profile. When you see a post in your Instagram feed and choose to save the post, you can also create a collaborative collection with friends to organize the posts in a shared space.

Collaborative collections that you create allow you and others to see posts you’ve saved, while also allowing them to add posts to the collection.

To create a collaborative collection from your feed:

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Tap the save icon below any post you see in your feed, then click on ‘New collection‘
Enter a collection name
Tap the toggle button next to Allow friends to join this collection
Select people from the list or search for their username. Note: You can add up to 250 people to your collection
Tap Save in the top right

5. Photo Stickers

For those seeking truly unique additions to their Stories, Instagram now allows you to transform your photos into stickers.

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Creating a photo sticker in Instagram Stories:
Tap the Create (+) icon at the bottom of your Instagram app (or tap the blue + next to your profile in the Stories bar).
Capture a photo or video or select one from your camera roll.
Tap the stickers icon (the square with a smiley face), then click the ‘Create’ icon (in the menu that appears, you’ll see all the stickers you’ve previously created).
Choose a photo from your camera roll that you’d like to convert into a sticker.
Instagram will automatically outline the best part of the photo for use, but you can select your own by tapping the ‘Select manually’ button at the bottom left. Once you’re satisfied, tap ‘Use sticker.’

6. Share comments on stories

Received an awesome comment?

You can share it in your Story. Let’s see how:

Swipe your finger to the left on top of the comment
Options will appear
Tap on the “Story” icon (the first one)
Design your Story how you want

7. New Post Additions

While Instagram can be used to post promotional photos and videos from press materials and clips of official music videos, this content doesn’t always make for the best fan experience. Consider checking out new ways to engage with your audience on your Feed:

Event Reminders

As a creator or artist, you can create Instagram posts with reminders for your upcoming events, such as performances or music releases. People who see the post can tap on the bell icon in the bottom left corner of the post to opt into receiving reminders for your event. You also have the option to share this reminder to your Story!

Product Tags:

Here you can highlight items from your catalog directly in your images and videos – including in Feed, Reels, Stories and product mentions in your profile bio or feed copy – so people can easily tap on a tag and learn more.

Fundraiser Integration:

If an artist or creator is involved with a charity or wants to raise money, consider using the ‘Add Fundraiser’ option that will prompt followers to donate and will live in your bio for 30 days. You can also choose to extend the fundraiser, hide it from your profile, or end the fundraiser early. While your fundraiser is active, you’ll be able to share the fundraiser on posts, in stories, or a live video.

Music:

You can now add music to your Feed Post! Similar to adding music to your Story, this option now lives in the settings before you share your photo.

Collab Feature:

Use Instagram Collabs to co-author posts with other accounts. The creator of the original post can invite another account as a collaborator. If the account accepts the invite, their username will be added to the post and the post will be shared with their followers.

Please note that the invited account can remove themselves at any time, and the creator of the original post can remove the collaborator at any time.

8. Add polls to the caption

Polls are no longer just for Insta stories, Get creative in your caption with a poll to ask for your followers’ votes, learn helpful insights, or post a silly “Would you rather?”, just for fun!

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Instagram has a new POLL feature in the caption to launch a poll and get your audience hooked and engaged.

9. All About Reels

In 2020, Instagram launched Reels, and the feature has since taken off and seen many updates over the last few years. Artists can use Reels to create and discover short, entertaining videos on Instagram. The feature allows you to record and edit multi-clip videos with audio, effects, and new creative tools.

Some of those tools include:

Standard Lyrics:

Using music in your Reels, you can now incorporate standard lyrics, similar to that of an Instagram Story.

Superbeat:

A music beat effect that applies appealing visual edits to your reel based on the song you choose.

Dynamic 3D Lyrics:

Lyric effects that apply song lyrics to your Reel so you can perform to the music and connect with your audience.

Remixing:

This tool allows artists to collaborate, create, and engage with trends, songs, and creators by remixing other posts. This is the equivalent of dueting a post on TikTok!

Sound Effects:

From airhorns to crickets to drums and more, our refreshed collection of sound effects can help inject humor into a Reel or invoke specific emotions from your fans

Interactive Stickers:
- Poll: Making a two-part reel? Poll your audience on what should happen in your next video so they can help shape the storyline themselves.
- Quiz: Put your audience’s skills to the test (or teach them something new!)
- Emoji Slider: Let your audience share how your content makes them feel with a sticker that makes their reaction even more powerful.
- Add Yours: A new way to inspire your audience. Call on your community to participate in a trend you create using the Add Yours sticker, a Stories favorite, now available to use in your reels on Instagram and Facebook.
Dual Capture:

For even more immersive storytelling, the new Dual capture mode in the Reels Camera lets you record with your phone’s front- and back-facing cameras at the same time. Now you can capture the moment in 360°, without any crazy camera tricks or difficult workarounds

Templates:

They make reel creation easy by letting you reuse elements from a reel that you love. All you have to do is select a template that inspires you and drop in your own photos or video clips to put your creative spin on a Reel. Your new reel will use the same music and timing as the original.

When you create a profile on Threads, it becomes linked to the Instagram account you used to log in. The data obtained from your Instagram account and used on Threads may encompass:

Your login information for Instagram
Your unique Instagram account ID
Your Instagram name and username
Information present in your Instagram profile, including your profile picture, bio, and links
Your Instagram followers
The accounts you follow on Instagram
Your age as stated on Instagram

The status of your Instagram account in relation to intellectual property violations and instances of non-compliance with Instagram’s Community Guidelines.

11. Notes

Instagram is testing out the new feature of Notes prompts. It’s another way for users to engage and spice up their chats by posting frequently used conversation starters. Instagram Notes allow you to post short messages to those followers that follow you back, which will appear at the top of your direct messaging feed.

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To use this feature:

Open the Instagram app.
Go to your Inbox in the top right corner of the app.
You should see a section at the top of the page that shows any posted notes.
Click on the “Note…” option above your profile picture.
You can choose to share the note with your Close Friends or followers that you follow back.
Click “Share” to post your note.

Add music to your Note

If you want to add music to your note, all you have to do is add your note and click the music icon. After that, you can scroll through your For You music or Browse music, similar to if you were to add music to your post, reel or story. You can also access your saved music here as well.

You can ask a question and others will see it and add their responses in a visible-to-all panel so that all group chat members can view the comments and interact with one another.

12. Multiple links in bio

Our prayers have been heard…Instagram is rolling out a new update that can easily replace Linktree and other ‘link in bio’ paid software providers.

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If you want to use this feature, go to your Instagram profile and tap on “Edit Profile”. From the edit screen, select the “Links” option below your bio description. Tap on + Add external link to add MORE links than the current one you have. You can drag and drop the links in the order you want them to appear.

13. Instagram Professional Dashboard

Instagram has made another step toward better analytics in 2021 by introducing the Professional Dashboard. This feature is available for all creator and business accounts and can serve as a main in-app dashboard to analyze your account’s performance.

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Here’s the list of its main tools and resources:

Overall account performance
Instagram Insights
Promotions
Branded Content Approvals
Instagram Shopping
Saved Replies

14. Games

Instagram has recently added a fun little game in DM chats that can be accessed in a second and can keep you company till you get your reply, or even after, should you get too involved. As if scrolling through reels was not eating up enough of our time, am I right? The game is quite similar to the popular iPhone game ‘Hit the Island’, which some of you may have tried out on the newer iPhones with a Dynamic Island up top.

To play the game, all Instagram users need to do is swipe left from the main page to enter the DM window. You can now choose any of your chats and tap on them to enter the chat window. Send an emoji (any emoji) and after it is sent, simply tap on it to initiate the game.

Did you know there are hidden features also on Instagram?

And if you’re not using them, you could be missing out on some serious reach for your content?

Yes, it’s true! There are countless Instagram features, settings, and searches that can help take your Instagram to the next level — you just have to know what they are and how to use them first!

Top hidden features to use on Instagram

Bigger follower button
Add music to your carousel posts
Trending topics
Add topics to your posts
Add alt text
Collab post

Conclusion

GREAT INSTAGRAM FEATURES = GREAT CONTENT

These Instagram features collectively contribute to a rich and dynamic user experience. From the creative canvas of Reels to the intimacy of disappearing DMs, each feature serves a unique purpose, catering to the diverse needs and preferences of Instagram’s vast user base. As Instagram is evolving, enhancing itself to become a better platform for artists and their fans, mastering these features becomes not only a means of staying relevant but also a pathway to unlocking the full potential of one’s presence on Instagram. Navigating the Instagram landscape requires more than a cursory understanding of these features; it demands active engagement and experimentation. As we anticipate further innovations from Instagram, embracing these features will undoubtedly contribute to a more vibrant, interactive, and meaningful experience on this ever-evolving social media platform.

FAQs

What changes are coming to Instagram 2024?

While it’s impossible to predict every update, Instagram’s trajectory suggests certain focus areas. Expect more AI powered features throughout the platform. This could mean advanced image and video editing tools, tailored content recommendations or even AI assistance in generating text or images. Reels will remain the priority. Instagram will likely roll out new editing features, collaborative options, and expanded ways for creators to monetize their Reels. We may also see the so-called ‘Flipside’ feature becoming a reality.

Is Instagram adding profile views in 2024?

As of right now, Instagram doesn’t display who views your profile. There has been no official word from its makers about implementing this feature in 2024.

How do you add trending sounds in 2024 on Instagram?

Start by opening the Reels camera within the Instagram app. Tap the music note icon to access the audio library. The “For You” section often showcases currently popular sounds or songs at the top. You can also search for specific sounds or types of music. When you find the perfect sound, tap its name to access the option to save it for future Reels.

How to find out who visits my IG profile?

Instagram doesn’t have a built-in feature to reveal exactly who has viewed your profile. If you have a business or creator account, you can access Insights. This data provides valuable information about your followers and how many people your content reaches, giving you a general sense of profile activity, even if it doesn’t reveal individual visitors.

Disclaimer: Some of the images featured in this content are not owned by us. If you hold the copyright to any image and wish it to be removed, please contact us, and we will promptly take appropriate action.