With more than 1 billion online users and more than 200 million visiting at least one business profile every day, instagram is certainly not to be ignored in the business world and proves its potential every day.

In light of the latest change we saw a few days ago in personal and business Instagram profiles (Shop category on the home screen where likes used to be), we’re going to talk about all these changes that we will be asked to adapt to as individuals and businesses.
Popular social media platform Instagram recently announced that it is adding the Reels category and Shop category to its home screen.
• The Reels tab makes it easy for users to discover short, fun videos from creators around the world.
• The Shop tab offers a better way to connect with brands and creators in order to discover new products.
“We’re not taking these changes lightly – we hadn’t updated the Instagram home screen for a long time. But the way people create and enjoy culture has changed, and the biggest danger for Instagram is not that we’re changing quickly too, but that we don’t change and become irrelevant,” Instagram chief Adam Moseri wrote in a post.
“We are excited about the new design and believe it gives the application a much needed refresh, while remaining true to our core value of simplicity. We’ll continue to listen to your feedback so we can continue to improve Instagram for you,” he noted.
The Shop tab is already available in our country and the Reels category will be in a very short time.
Some would say that it’s exactly like Tik Tok and they wouldn’t be wrong since as you will see the steps you follow to post a video reel are exactly the same. It’s certainly a way – if this venture goes well – for instagram to be able to compete with Tik Tok which especially in the younger age groups is increasingly opening up the “gap” and leaving ahead by a wide margin. For businesses and their products it’s another way to be seen, sell and gain a bigger market share.
But the Instagram Shop isn’t just what you think it is.
Right now the app allows you to have a small e-shop in your profile. That is, if you have a business profile you can tag products in the material you upload, photos or videos and thus the public can directly find out the price and other features without having to visit your site. To proceed to purchase though, they still need to click on “view on site” and continue the steps there to complete the purchase of the product. This will very soon change as you will be able to sell your products entirely through instagram. Check-out will be a breeze and this will reduce the chances of losing a potential buyer due to slow connectivity or poor user experience.
But I have an e-shop, why should I activate Instagram shopping?
According to studies, about 70% of online shoppers use Instagram for their purchases. Instagram’s already familiar environment makes it easier for them to make a purchase and they are constantly discovering new profiles and products through scrolling and hashtags. The user experience is easier than ever before.
Checkout on Instagram, the next step!

Initially launched only for users of the popular app in the US, it’s coming to Greece as well. With a simple tap on the product posted by each supported brand, the “Checkout on Instagram” button will appear. The user will have various options such as the size and color of a garment, and the ability to pay without leaving Instagram as mentioned above.
All the app will ask the user for is their full name, email address, billing and shipping details the first time they make a purchase through Instagram. From then on, the user’s details are stored in the app with complete security so that subsequent purchases can be made even faster. Finally, the user will also receive relevant notifications on the progress of his package which completes the experience of an online purchase as we are used to from e-shops.
All roads lead to easier interaction and communication between users and businesses.

Another change that instagram is slowly making even though it’s been almost 20 months since its announcement, is the merging of posts.
Facebook Messenger merges with Instagram messaging to connect the two social networks directly. Instagram Direct, Instagram’s old messaging service, is replaced by Messenger on active users, allowing for the first time the exchange of text messages, photos and videos with contacts on both accounts. And this is just the first step towards the universal merging of Facebook and Instagram with WhatsApp, with encrypted and therefore more secure communication between the three apps. Of course, for the integration of the two apps the written consent of the user is needed. Facebook wants to convince as many of its users as possible in this direction so it will offer three “gifts” to those who decide to do so: the possibility of group viewing of a video during a video call, selfie stickers during the video call and the possibility of sending messages that will be self-deleted after a predefined period of time.
At the moment, total merge is being tested in a few countries but Facebook is committed to making the option available across the globe soon.
The powerful Instagram Stories

We all know their power, a large percentage of the world is the only one who “sees” on instagram and the companies that have understood this, operate accordingly by uploading attractive – thoughtful – user-oriented content and are gaining ground in the market. So it looks like Instagram is embarking on a huge redesign that makes it much easier to follow Stories. It’s testing a new design that will allow users to view more Instagram Stories at once, both on the homepage and on a page dedicated exclusively to them. According to a test version of Instagram, users will see two rows of Instagram Stories on the home screen while a “See All Stories” button will offer them the option to go to a different page where they will all be aggregated. A first look at the new design was provided by social media manager Julian Gamboa via a post on Twitter, though it remains unclear when Instagram plans to unveil the new design.
The advent of Keyword search on Instagram

So far you can search the social media platform for users and hashtags. This will change very soon, the company itself announced that English-speaking users in six countries, including the UK, US, Ireland and Canada, will be able to search the platform using Keywords. It won’t be long before it comes to us.
So, for example, if you previously wanted to find “healthy recipes”, you could only search for posts tagged with #healthyrecipes or accounts with variations on “healthy recipes” in their name or bio. With this update, Instagram will allow users to search for Keywords themselves, which means that posts containing healthy recipes should appear, even if the specific tag is missing.
The next step? CEO on Instagram? The Astrolabs team will be here to keep you up to date with all the latest news of interest to you and your business in the world of social media and beyond…
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