INSTAGRAM TESTING NEW BUSINESS PROFILES AND ANALYTICS

In addition to a new logo, app design and updated feed, Instagram is rolling out business profiles which include in-app analytics. While there isn’t yet a timeline for their wider introduction, the new profiles were first confirmed earlier this year and are similar in nature to those offered by Facebook, the owners of Instagram.

From what we’ve seen of the business profiles so far they appear to be largely the same as a standard Instagram profile, with the addition of categories, a contact button and linkable location tag.

The ‘Contact’ button allows direct contact between businesses and users, similar to the message function Facebook offers for pages. This button also offers directions to the business.

Similarly, the ‘location’ tag takes users to a map showing the whereabouts of the business profile user. While more information should be released closer to the rollout, it’s safe to assume the way the ‘location’ tag will be similar to the location service offered by Facebook.

Immediately underneath the name of the profile will be the category to which it belongs. This will allow followers to easily understand the nature of your account and business. Again, this feature is very similar to Facebook’s pages.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of these new changes is that they allow for a neater, more succinct profile appearance. Giving businesses these functions could potentially free up their bio space, allowing even more information to be presented to users, giving more insight into the business in question.

As for the in-app analytics, called Insights, Instagram is finally giving marketers everything they could ever ask for, providing valuable data about who your followers are, when they’re online, where they are located and how many people have viewed a particular post.

In addition, users will be able to see how many people have viewed a post in relation to the number of followers and how the content performs over the short term vs the long term. Below, Makaia has about 23,000 followers but her posts are being viewed by less than half of her following within a 7-day life span. But if analysed over 30 days, that number almost doubles, indicating that her older Instagram posts are still relevant.

With this longed-for addition to Instagram, marketers will be able to drill down into the data to truly understand their audience for the first time and create content that speaks to their target audience. This is a game-changer for Instagram.