Features to Revisit on Instagram

Instagram continues to be the go-to social network for photos and short videos and has the power of Meta, Facebook’s parent company behind it. The platform is constantly evolving, with new features showing up and other features being made obsolete.

Here are some Instagram features that you may not have noticed or are not using but that could enhance your content and attract new followers.

Image Sizing

Just when you think you know the optimal dimensions for Instagram images, the company switches them up again. If you pay attention to your Instagram grid, the layout on your Instagram account’s main page, you’ll notice that many of your 1080x1080 pixel images are getting cut off, particularly if your image contains text. That’s because the grid now displays the portrait dimensions of 1080x1035 pixels or a 4:5 ratio. While Facebook, LinkedIn, and other popular networks still support 1080x1080 and do not have a grid layout of your posts, portrait sized images may get cut off when used on other social networks.

Instagram Collabs

You can invite someone else on Instagram to become a collaborator on a post with you. Send the invitation as you’re prepping the post for publication. Once the other person accepts, the exact same post will also appear on their Instagram feed and grid. Their username will show up on the post and their followers will see it in addition to your followers. The collaborator also sees the likes and comments on the post. This is a great way to increase your post visibility.

Remixing Reels

The Instagram Remix feature lets you create a reel that includes someone else’s video or photo, "remixing" it into a new video. This could be used for illustration purposes, for commentary and opinion posts, or in other ways that references someone else’s content in your reel. The video or photo can appear in several different layouts, but by default, the original reel will be placed in the background of your new reel. Remixes are popular on Instagram and can help you attract a wider audience.

Instagram Live

Live streaming video attracts attention and produces content that you can leverage after the live event. You can start a live broadcast through the Instagram mobile app and interact with your followers in real time through the live chat function. After your broadcast is over, it is stored in your Live Archive and a replay of it can be shared to your Instagram feed. You can also schedule the live broadcast and promote it as a planned event at a specific day and time.

Interactive stickers

While you can embellish your Stories with text, music, emoji, and animated stickers, there are a few interactive stickers that you may not have tried, such as:

• Add Yours - Add an image related to a particular theme, such as "something blue in your camera roll" and let others add their own.
• Questions - You can ask users questions, and you’ll receive the answers in your Instagram direct messages.
• Poll - Create a short poll that users can take right in the Story.
• Countdown - Show a countdown to something happening on a specific date like a promotion or event.

Custom stickers

Use a third-party tool such as Giphy and create your own custom or branded stickers. Giphy has a Sticker Maker tool that makes it easy to create them from photos or graphics you upload. You’ll need to pay for an upgraded Giphy account in order to add your stickers to Instagram and they can be used by others as well.

Broadcast channels

If you have at least 10,000 followers, you can activate this one-way messaging feature that lets you share updates with your followers. They can subscribe and then react and reply to the individual messages. This is a more direct way of reaching your followers.

Keep in mind most Instagram features are only available on their Android or iOS mobile apps and not on the desktop using your web browser on a computer.