Instagram has announced a number of new features that will be rolling out throughout the course of this week. The latest from the photo sharing platform include features that make its desktop website more usable, the ability for users to collaborate with one another as well as raise funds, and make better use of music on Reels.
Post Directly from Desktop
It’s been a long time coming but Instagram has finally announced that it will be adding image and video posting functionality to the desktop version of its platform. It’s not clear why it took so long to implement this feature, but social media managers worldwide will be rejoicing at the ability to unlock a more centralized way to maintain their Instagram presence.
At this stage, desktop functionality will be limited to the posting of photos and videos that are less than one minute long. Reels and Stories will not be supported in this regard.
Although there have been ways around the limited functionality in the past (using the device selector in Inspector mode on the website), the new feature will help social media managers improve their processes and streamline their workflow. If you’re familiar with scheduling posts, you know how much of a hassle it can be to keep saving images in various ways to then upload from a mobile device.
Co-Author both Feed Posts and Reels with ‘Collabs’
Another feature that Instagram has announced is “Collabs.” According to Instagram, this feature is more of a ‘test’ that will enable people to co-author both Feed posts and Reels. In order to do so, users can send an invite to another account to be a collaborator from the tagging screen. When the other person accepts, both of the accounts will appear in the post or Reels header. The content will also be shared to both sets of followers.
A New Way to Create Fundraisers for Nonprofits
Instagram has also announced that it will begin to test a new way to create fundraisers for nonprofits. The platform plans on doing this through the introduction of a feature that enables you to start the fundraiser from the creation button directly.
When a user taps this option, they will not only be able to select Post, Story, Reels or Live, but also an option to select a nonprofit and add the fundraiser to their feed.
Although the platform has supported fundraisers for a while, the ability to create a fundraiser from a standalone point right from your profile is a shift forward.
New Music Features for Reels
Two new features that Instagram have announced, called Superbeat and Dynamic Lyrics, are designed to assist creators who edit and perform using music on Reels.
Superbeat will intelligently add special effects to music to the beat of the user’s song. Dynamic Lyrics will display 3D lyrics that will flow with the song’s groove.
