Link from AdAge
Instagram has recently renounced the rigid square format limitation, allowing users to upload portrait and landscape photos and videos. Its action is a reaction to the popularity of vertical video – the dominating format on mobile. The flexibility of format avoids pictures and videos being cropped at awkward angles, and makes them more cinematic on the feed. It also allows marketers to migrate their Facebook campaign videos directly onto Instagram, greatly saving the time and energy of creating distinct campaign videos for each social media channel.
Nevertheless, Instagram could lose some of its identity after initiating this change. According to TNW News, at its creation, Instagram limited the format to a square to pay homage to the original size of instant pictures and to promote the retro feel of instant photos. The flexible format and filter options have made the resulting pictures less artistic. In addition, Instagram could risk of being flooded by mundane and kitschy advertisement as the pliability of format might lead to marketers throwing everyday TV ads that would disturb users’ experience. Moreover, rather than creating unique user experience, some marketers might duplicate Facebook contents and post on Instagram, making Instagram indistinguishable from other networks.
Beyond the format, other compelling issues should also be heeded. Marketers have long yearned for the ability to post through social marketing dashboards rather than merely via Instagram’s mobile app. This feature, if added, could help companies take greater control on contents and on posting schedule, as well as mitigate the risk of accidentally posting a damaging photo. Additionally, on other social media sites, companies have been posting links to connect users from their networks to brands’ websites that provide further details about an image. This is especially useful if the brand is promoting its product or publicizing its campaign. Given Instagram’s picture-oriented focus, it could potentially serve as façades for e-commerce stores. Moreover, Instagram doesn’t currently provide notification outside the app and would stop notifying the poster after certain numbers of likes and comments. It would be great if Instagram could, as other media networks did, offer the option of email notification so as to facilitate brands’ follower engagement.
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