“Change is coming,” that’s how clear Adam Mosseri, director of Instagram, has been in a video posted on his social network. In this article, Mosseri analyzed the main changes that will take place on Instagram in 2022. Changes that will completely transform this application: “Let’s face it, there is some serious competition right now. TikTok is huge . Youtube is even bigger”, Mosseri summed up in his video, and he is right.
And what do TikTok and YouTube have in common? Both social networks give prominence to video, and in this direction is where Instagram wants to look, focusing mainly on four areas or sections: video, creators, shopping, and messaging.
Some of these changes are already appearing little by little in our accounts, such as the recommendation of content that, according to the Instagram algorithm, you may like the most, with the aim that you spend more time on this social network browsing and discovering. This strategy is typical of TikTok, although we already know that Mr. Zuckerberg does not shake his hand when doing CTRL + C – CTRL + V.
Instagram in 2022
Goodbye to Photography?
The Instagram management is precise that most users “use the search on Instagram to entertain themselves .” And what better format than video to entertain users and stay longer on the social network. In addition, the data attest to this statement by the leaders of Instagram. According to Hootsuite, the video format for Instagram has the highest overall engagement rate, precisely 38% more than photos.
Video will take center stage on Instagram in 2022
As Mosseri has repeated in the IGTV video of his account, Instagram in 2022 wants to stop being a photo-sharing app, focusing on video and entertainment. The director of Instagram and his team are aware that people seek entertainment on social networks, and video is crucial.
That is why Instagram wants to play first in the Champions League and dethrone TikTok, Youtube, or Twitch as far as video is concerned. New ways of interacting with videos will be integrated into existing formats such as reels, stories, or IGTV, such as full-screen videos with priority for the mobile design.
Incentive for Creators
Another of Instagram’s goals is to retain content creators on this social network. For this reason, they are raising the option of adding functionality to monetize the contents of the Stories on Instagram through a paid subscription. It will indeed arrive on Instagram in 2022, and its name has already been chosen: they are the “Exclusive Stories,” a new format that would give content creators the option to create exclusive stories for those users who have paid a fee. This new measure is similar to the modus operandi of another social network that has been on everyone’s lips lately: OnlyFans. Although we also see it on YouTube or what Twitter does with “Super Follows.”
In addition, another of the functionalities that will transform Instagram in 2022 is the elimination of the Swipe up and its replacement with a link sticker. Surely the option is already enabled in your Instagram account since this social network has decided to allow it for all accounts. In contrast, the Swipe up could only be used by accounts with more than 10,000 followers.
Instagram in 2022 wants to be an Online Store
The Covid-19 pandemic has given the final push to transform Instagram into e-commerce. They want there to be the ability to buy products on Instagram without visiting another online store. That is, buy and make the commercial transaction directly from Instagram.
In 2019, it was already testing features very similar to this with some brands in the US. It was only a beta phase, but since users’ buying habits have changed, Instagram in 2022 will cease to be a social network to become an online store.
Changes in the way you Communicate
Instagram knows that the way friends, acquaintances, and family communicate have evolved in the last five years. Comments are no longer left in one or another feed of known people, if not that the conversations have been moved to other specialized messaging applications, such as WhatsApp. For this reason, this social network is working on secure chats with end-to-end encryption.
A bit of History: How we have changed Instagram!
Back in 2010, Instagram was born, defining itself as a social network focused on photography. It was a real success since it allowed its users to express what they feel through images. But what will Kein Systrom and Mike Krieger think from their retirement in the Maldives when they open the app and don’t recognize it? Let’s not forget that Mark Zuckerberg paid $ 1 billion for the company in 2012. We hope users don’t feel betrayed and say, “I’ll never forgive you, Mark Zuckerberg.”