With Instagram’s regular updates, it can sometimes be hard for your salon to keep up! However, CEO, Adam Mosseri has announced plenty of Instagram changes are coming to the platform. To make sure you’re not caught short by the algorithm, we share these changes and how you can make the most of them.
1: Instagram changes – video content
“Video is driving an immense amount of growth online for all the major platforms right now, and it’s one I think we need to lean into more,” announced Mosseri. The reason for this is according to his research, which revealed the top reason people use Instagram is to be entertained. He’s not wrong – we all love to unwind a bit!
For your salon, entertaining followers will mean creating more video content. Don’t worry – this is easier than you may think when using your trusty phone!
What you can do
If you’re not yet making the most of Instagram TV (IGTV), then now’s your chance! IGTV is the perfect place to share quick beauty tutorials and hair how-tos to make you stand out as a leader in your field. Videos can be anywhere between 15 seconds and 10 minutes in length, although it is recommended to post a video between two and six minutes long. This will then be shown on IGTV to people who are most likely to enjoy it!
Your Insta Stories are also a great way to advertise your promotions, last-minute spaces and short clips of what you can do in the salon. Stories remain live for 24 hours, but Reels make for a good alternative if you want them to stay forever, for followers to view at their leisure!
2: Instagram changes – shopping
One of the big Instagram changes is the shift to creator shops. You may already sell retail on Instagram, where you tag the items in an image, link these to separate product screens and encourage purchase with a “Checkout on Instagram” button beneath.
However, Instagram will soon launch the functionality to sell for personal accounts too. That means by the end of 2021, you will be able to link your shop to your personal account and expand the reach of your salon product lines. Not only this, but Mosseri states: “For all the products where users pay creators directly, we are waiving all fees through the end of next year.”
What you can do
Linking your personal Instagram account to your business account is the first step to selling on both. This is worth doing this just to increase visibility alone! Once Instagram’s changes for shopping and video come into effect, you could even share some of these products in your stories and add stickers for more details!
It’s easy to set up a shop on Instagram. You first need to create and link a Facebook page, which you can do by selecting “Edit profile”, “Public business information”, then “Page”. You can then use Facebook Business Manager’s Catalogue Manager to set up your items, or another e-commerce platform partner such as Shopify or BigCommerce. Once done, you can submit your account for review, turn on shopping features and start tagging products in posts.
3: Instagram changes – content creators
The third change will enable content creators to earn money from Reels. Instagram plans to invest over $1 billion to do this! The aim is to compete with other video platform schemes such as TikTok’s Creator Fund and YouTube’s monetisation.
Through the Creator Fund, Instagram will pay a small amount based on a high number of views (think 1-2p per 1,000 views). The monetisation will mostly rely on in-stream ads and ‘Stars’, which is where users will receive free stars which they can then give to their favourite creators who can cash them in. Those sending stars then receive badges to help them stand out in live stream chats.
What you can do
As a business, you too will be creating some content! With the focus shifting to videos, that means it’s worth creating posts people will enjoy. You can then earn a little extra with fun videos of what your team get up to behind closed doors, quick tips or showcasing your excellent work!
If you want to head down this avenue to earn some additional revenue, then focusing on Reels is a great idea. These 15 second videos are easy to create and offer plenty of reward, as a result. There are lots of simple editing tools in Instagram for Reels too, including a timer, countdown, aligner, and speed editor. You can also add audio from Insta’s own library, sprucing up your videos like never before!
There are plenty of other upcoming Instagram changes too, with hints at messaging tweaks and tighter security measures on the horizon. No matter what’s coming, make sure you take on board the above advice to ensure your salon stays one step ahead. We have plenty more advice in other blogs too, such as:
