You can do different things on different social media platforms. In some cases, you can upload music; On others, you can upload videos. But what initially made social media platforms popular was their ability to connect their users with their loved ones.
The messaging system of social media is more convenient and feels less formal than emails. In some countries like the Philippines, messaging on some social media platforms is also free – users don’t need data. Therefore, it can be more convenient than text.
So while platforms need to develop more features for their niche, they should not neglect their messaging features. Meta Facebook Messenger has a lot of users. The same goes for WhatsApp. And we can say that these two products are well developed. While Instagram’s direct messaging feature is usable, it pales in comparison to these two features.
But this is about to change. The platform has released seven new messaging features. Here’s what you need to know about them, and how you can use them to get more Instagram followers tomorrow.
Instagram’s focus is on improving messaging
Last December 29, Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, released a video on the platform. Talk about the things Instagram will prioritize this year. Among these messages.
He says messaging is the primary way people communicate with each other online. He adds that Instagram needs to embrace this fact. And they think Instagram could be the best place for people to connect with friends about the things they love.
The company has proven that these are not empty promises. They’ve invested more in messaging to enable users to connect with their closest friends in more fun and seamless ways.
Instagram released seven new messaging features on March 31, 2022 and users are going to love them.
Reply, share and chat
Before these features were released, chatting while browsing was a pain. But now, three new features let you do both at once.
Respond to friends while chatting
Before launching these features, you need to leave your feed when replying to messages. And when you return to your feed, you are not where you left off. For that, you need to scroll down again, which is annoying.
Instagram has launched a new feature to improve the experience. You no longer have to go to your inbox to reply. As a result, you will not lose your place in your feed anymore.
This feature displays the message at the top of your screen. After that, the keyboard and message composer will appear in the lower half of the screen. This will blur the background, which is your feed, to allow you to focus on your message. Once done, this will unclutter your feed and allow you to continue scrolling.
Send posts to friends
When you hit the share button on Facebook, it will give you several options. One of these options is to send the post to your friends via Messenger. Meta is bringing this feature to Instagram. If you tap and hold on the Share button, you will see the profile pictures of your close friends appear above it. You can click their profile pictures to send the post directly to them. It makes sharing things on Instagram fast and easy.
Who’s Online Indicators
This feature is another feature that was always present on Messenger but was not present on Instagram. It is the ability to see who among your friends is online and available to chat with at the moment. With it, you no longer have to wait for a response from someone who may or may not be online. Instagram says it will help you find serendipitous opportunities to connect with your friends.
New experiences
Instagram wasn’t kidding when it said there would be major upgrades to your DM inbox. On top of the aforementioned three features, the company has rolled out four more, which it categorizes as “new experiences in threads.”
Preview songs in DMs
Found a great song on a music streaming service? Usually, people share it with their friends. And Instagram DMs now allow you to do just that easily.
Instagram is integrated with Apple Music and Amazon Music. When you spot a great song on those platforms, you can share it with your friends on Instagram. On other platforms, you can only submit a link to the song. But on Instagram, your friends can listen to a 30-second preview of that song without leaving the platform.
silent messages
Sometimes, you need to message someone, but it’s in the middle of the night. Therefore, you may want to hold off on sending them because you don’t want to upset them. And you may forget to do it the next day.
Silent messages solve this problem. You need to add “silent” to your message. Instagram will deliver your message to the recipient but will not notify them.
Polls
It seems like Instagram wants to look just like Facebook Messenger because that’s another feature that was copied from there. As they said in the blog post, polls are one of Messenger’s most beloved group chat features. And now, you can also create polls in your group chats on Instagram. This will make making decisions as a team easier.
Lo-Fi theme
This is undoubtedly the least exciting feature. It’s a theme featuring cityscapes, cat, and pastel colors. If you want to make conversations feel more personal and chat box more aesthetically pleasing, you should give it a try.
availability
Unfortunately, not everyone will have access to these features, at least for now. Instagram says they will only be available to select countries. But don’t worry because the company says it plans to expand the features globally.
Instagram adds that the move is part of their ongoing effort to “improve how you connect and share with your closest friends.” So, stay tuned for more features to come as the company has hinted at more to come. Again, as Mosseri said last December, improving DMs will be one of their main focuses this year.
date: January 17, 2023 / Categories: interesting, / Author: Drees rich
