Instagram will now enable users to add posts that they’re tagged in to their main profile grid, which will facilitate more collaboration and presentation options.
As shown in these example screens, users can now do this directly from that post in-stream.
When viewing a tagged post, the tagged creator will see a new “Add to grid” option, and tagged posts will then be displayed in the users’ profile grid with a tag icon in the top right of the thumbnail.
The update will give users more ways to collaborate and amplify content to their followers.
Instagram has added a range of collaboration options over the past few years, including post collaborators, collaborative Stories and the ability to remix publicly shared photos. The platform also added, then quickly removed, an option that allowed users to use artificial intelligence tools to remix public IG posts.
The focus here is on the community aspect of the app. It also helps ensure that Instagram doesn’t lose a key point of differentiation, in that users come to the app to engage with each other, not just with consumer content.
Though increasingly, that is what people are using the app for. According to previous reports, around 50% of overall time spent on Instagram is now dedicated to Reels consumption, while all of the engagement gains on both Facebook and Instagram have been attributed to Reels engagement.
The risk in that for Instagram is that if it’s only competing on video engagement, then it’s up against not only TikTok, but also YouTube, Netflix, and every other entertainment option on the web.
User engagement and community interaction are important elements that separate Instagram from those other apps, and likely keep users coming back. That’s why Instagram needs to maintain this any way it can.
