Instagram gives feature boot as users upset by surprise factor

1. Instagram lowing’ tab

Instagram has removed its “Following” tab, which allowed users to see their friends’ activity in the app.

The feature had been part of Instagram since 2011.

It was created to help users discover new content by showing them the posts that people they followed were liking and commenting on.

More recently, Instagram had launched an “Explore” tab, which allows users to discover content in a similar way. Now users can see what’s popular or search for different themes.

A major issue with the “Following” tab was some removes ‘Folusers didn’t realise it existed.

Many people assumed their likes and comments were only seen by themselves and the user whose post they were commenting on.

In fact, their friends were able to see this activity at a glance. Awkward.

“People didn’t always know their activity was surfacing,” said Instagram head of product Vishal Shah. “So you have a case where it’s not serving the use case you built it for, but it’s also causing people to be surprised when their activity is showing up.”

Here’s to a more private Instagram experience.

2. Facebook launches Stories templates for businesses

Facebook has launched a new feature to help businesses get started with Stories.

A series of Stories templates will become available on Facebook Ads Manager.

As Stories has grown in popularity, there’s been a push for businesses to take advantage of the feature.

However, the short-lived nature of Stories can be daunting to new players, so Facebook’s templates aim to make it more accessible.

Advertisers will be able to access the templates when they select their ad placements. They’ll then be able to customise background colour, music and calls to action.

As the templates are found in Ads Manager, they’re only for those who pay for advertising. Once customised, they can be downloaded and used for organic Stories too.

3. Social media spend overtake spend on print

We’ve heard about it for years, but it seems that 2019 will finally be the year that advertising spend on social media overtakes spend on print media, according to a forecast by Zenith.

Worldwide spending on social media is tipped to climb by 20 per cent to $US84 billion ($124 billion), while print will fall by 6 per cent to $US69 billion. TV advertising is predicted to stay on top, with a $US180 billion spend. to

If Zenith’s predictions come to pass, social media will become the third most popular advertising channel.

While Facebook and Instagram are big players in the social media advertising space, there are others to keep an eye on.

Pinterest, Snap, Twitter and Tiktok have all increased their market share.

Many advertisers choose a multi-platform approach.

This means growth in one area doesn’t necessarily mean the demise of another.

Indeed, some of the most exciting campaigns in recent times have combined social media, TV and print advertising for far-reaching results.