This Week in Marketing: Instagram tests out new sharing features in DM

Instagram is experimenting with a new option that would seemingly enable people to share their latest posts with connections via DM, adding another way to boost awareness and engagement in the app.

 What do businesses need to know?

 Users may soon see a new ‘Public’ folder in your DM inbox which, would enable you Message or share your favorite posts directly with your followers. This would provide an alternative way to alert users to your latest updates and upcoming projects – though it could also become very spammy very quickly, depending on how it’s applied. Despite the uncertainty around this spam, it can be a very useful tools for creators and marketers to reach their audience efficiently. 

 In Other News…

The rise of video-based content eclipsing static displays has unveiled a new kind of social experience. As the appetite for video content has grown, the algorithms behind the world’s leading platforms have become more sophisticated. 

 What do businesses need to know?

In this new dimension, users are no longer shown content simply based on who they follow but rather on what type of content they most enjoy. Beauty brands who invested in entertainment as a critical component of their social marketing strategy on TikTok saw increased sales growth. 

 It’s important to understand the terms people in a given field use not just because they let you communicate with industry insiders, but because these terms represent different abstractions (mental models) that let you analyze the world in a specific way.