Maeve Catherine

After writing my previous post about the ways that Instagram has specifically changed its algorithm, I did some more thinking and research. Last week I focused on the changes instagram has made over the years that has negatively impacted the ways I am engaged on the app, however I did not touch on the opportunities for businesses. According to my phone screen time report from the last seven days on Instagram concluded that I spent 9 hours and 12 minutes and only 1 hour and 30 minutes was work related scrolling. I find that majority of my averaged hour a day is spent scrolling through small businesses, political, and celebrity/influencer content and interacting with the variety of calls to action Instagram has available.

Instagram Stories

Some of my favorite call to action features are primarily for Instagram stories. According to Aspire’s “The State of Influencer Marketing 2024” Industry Report, Instagram stories are the considered the most authentic way to interact with followers because of its casual nature, easy accessibility, and interactive features. I have found that Instagram stories are the best way to stay up to date and relevant in my followers feeds.

• Reposting posts to stories
• Mentions
• Links on page or in bio
• Interactive stickers such as Add Yours and Ask a Question

In efforts to stay off Tik Tok I will scroll through Instagram Reels because I know I will find the links to products more easily which than leads me to stay on the app for a shorter time after getting sucked into one search. Instagram enables users to do in app purchases through a feature called Instagram Shopping. I as a customer trust this process of purchasing product more than Tik Tok shop due to the companies reputation but I also know that users find the process of buying to be seamless. This feature enables small businesses to directly connect with their audience, who’s mind is about to move on from purchasing.