New Instagram Stories Rumours

Lorna Pearce August 21, 2020

If there is one thing about Instagram that you can rely on, it’s the fact that there are a million rumours about it flying around the Internet every day. It’s a hugely popular platform, and arguably as popular as TikTok wants to be. For that reason, we thought we would go through a few of the rumours that have been flying around recently, and dig out the ones that are actually true.

You can buy badges now for your favourite Influencers

This one is true. It’s been a byproduct of Covid-19, actually, and is pretty neat stuff. Instagram has realised that a number of Influencers (or ‘Creators’) are suffering from having a lower engagement and therefore income due to the pandemic. Followers were not able to offer as many donations as they used to, especially at the height of the pandemic and its worldwide effects.

The thing is, Instagram knows that Influencers are the lifeblood of the platform. It’s arguable that Influencers were created and fully realised by Instagram. It quickly became the best and most popular Influencer platform.

It’s still in Beta testing, but Badges is a good idea. It allows users to purchase Badges during a Live broadcast, and the Badges stay next to the user’s name as the Live continues and the Badge lasts right up until the end of the Live broadcast. There is also a chance that extra benefits will be applied to Badge holders, including further rewards and perks from Influencers.

The Beta testing is small-scale right now, but expect it to be a big thing in the months ahead.

Ads on IGTV (unsurprisingly)

This has been rumoured for a long time. And to be honest, we’re not surprised to see Instagram moving ads to IGTV. It’s the perfect platform for it, and this kind of move follows the time-honoured approach of monetising platforms that were initially seen as ‘for creators’. Something as powerful and popular as IGTV seems the obvious place to run ads, and even though Instagram is saying the roll-out is going to be slow and steady, we can’t see it taking more than a few months.

Personal causes fundraising

We’re not entirely sure where this came from, but it is now actually completely real. You can now fundraise for causes that are personal to you, including fundraising for yourself.

First up, you have to be at least 18 years old to start a fundraising campaign on a personal level. This means that all those kids who want money for video games can forget it. Next, you have a number of categories you can raise funds for, and when you go through the categories, you’ll appreciate the work that has gone into making something this big this safe.

You can fundraise for family, for example. With child care costs skyrocketing and becoming unmanageable for many people, Instagram now offers a way to raise funds to help. With personal emergencies, you can also fundraise if the worst happens, such as a house fire. And other options include funeral costs, as well as support for crisis relief such as issues around natural disasters.

It’s an interesting concept, and we anticipate huge take up. It’s important to remember that Instagram vets every single fundraising idea, so legitimacy is a big concern for the brand.

And finally, the dark side

This certainly wasn’t an absolute given. Having a dark mode on Instagram is something that has been talked about and rumoured for years, and it’s finally here. However, it’s not the most important update or feature ever unleashed on the platform.

Dark modes are numerous, and are available on pretty much every app or platform that means anything to anyone. It’s designed to help people, who are on their mobile devices late at night, and just want to have something that is a little easier on the eye. So health-wise, it’s a useful feature.

At the same time, dark mode on Instagram, while not necessarily being life-changing, does look darn good. Now it’s here, and is another way that Instagram can burrow ever deeper into our daily lives.

Our favourite rumour made real? We would have to go with ads on IGTV. This promises to make marketing even more effective, and is a sure-fire way to boost ROI.

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