Did you see that Instagram released some big updates for businesses in the last few months of 2019?
No, don’t freak out yet; they’re not changing the algorithm, affecting business profiles, or anything crazy. Actually, these new changes seem to be made with the small business owner (aka YOU if you have a cosmetology license!) in mind.
Today we’re digging into the four big changes from Instagram and how you can use them to grow your business!
Meet the Threads app
Instagram introduced the Close Friends feature to let you share certain content with only a core group of people in late 2018. Now, there’s a separate app just to connect with the people on your Close Friends list super quickly!
Here’s how it works:
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Select people for your Close Friends list on Instagram (no, it doesn’t notify them)
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Download the Threads app
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Open the app to quickly send photos, videos, and messages to the people on your list
Sounds more like a personal app, right? So how do you use it in our industry?
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Share last-minute openings to your VIP list
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Offer special promotions to a select group of clients
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Target potential new clients with a special offer
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Offer education to a select group of your target market to help them understand why YOU’RE the best!
Threads definitely has uses for us in the beauty industry, but there’s a drawback: you can only have one Close Friends list at a time, so unless you want to commit lots of time to rebuilding your list for different segments of your target market, it’s really only useful to showcase a promotion to a select group.
Is it worth adding to your social media workflow?
If you have a specific offer for a segment of your target market that spends most of their time on Instagram…maybe. But for most stylists, Threads probably isn’t worth the time.
Selling with Augmented Reality
Instagram is stepping up its shopping game with the ultimate try-before-you-buy: augmented reality.
The app now lets users try on different shades of lipstick, even sunglasses, and, if they like them, they can make a purchase directly on Instagram!
While this is insanely cool (and made a few of us want to go check out the new make-up lines!), this doesn’t mean a whole lot to stylists and salon owners unless you sell a retail line at your salon or on the side.
Instead, focus on creating a kickass vibe that fully attracts your target market and put a strong marketing funnel in place to get clients in your chair.
Instagram Product Launch
Following on the heels of their new augmented reality shopping experience, Instagram announced its new product launch feature. Basically, it’s a way to know when your favorite product will be available to buy.
The new feature includes Instagram Stories stickers, an in-feed tag, and, if people opt-in, actual reminder notifications on their phone when it’s time to buy!
Unfortunately, again, this feature doesn’t really do much for us as stylists, unless you sell retail through your website or another way online. If you do, this may be an amazing tool to use! If not, the countdown sticker in Stories might be a better way to engage your audience and let them know when big things are happening.
Restrict
Say goodbye to trolls: Instagram now allows you to shadowban users who only comment on your posts with offensive or abusive language.
Say hallelujah!
The cool thing about this particular feature is that the user can still comment on your posts, but what they say will only be visible to them. Think more it more as muted than blocked.
And, if they DM you, it goes straight to a message request without a notification. Feel more relaxed already?
Click here to get the full deets on the multiple ways to restrict someone.
Instagram is constantly coming up with cool new ways to interact with our followers; it’s just a matter of figuring out how to make each one work for our amazing industry!
