Full Service Social Media Marketing

We're living in an age where Unicorn Frappuccinos break the internet and Instagram is everything (with 700 million active users!) It's no surprise that social media is everything these days, and well, lets be honest - it's hard to keep track of all of their new updates!

For one, Instagram recently rolled out with a new update to their Instagram Stories feature. Now that Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are all competing for the "live stories" feature, it's important for them to capitalize on the opportunity of bringing (and keeping) more users.

To be honest, we're particular fans of Instagram Stories. Why? Well these new features might help explain our infatuation:

Custom Geostickers

We’ve all used Snapchat’s geofilters - those borders that add a little oomph to our snaps, whether it’s for a wedding, relating to a snow storm (whaddup, Boston!), or just simply city-specific. It was so popular on Snapchat that Instagram Stories is now capitalizing on geotagging by bringing city-themed stickers. Now, this IS only available to a small amount of cities right now, but it won’t be too long until it’s worldwide!

Selfie Sticker

Because who doesn’t want a sticker with their face on it? It’s super easy too! After you take a photo or video, tap on the sticker button (the smiley face at the top!). You’ll then see a new sticker option with a camera icon. With this option, you’re able to completely customize your photo with different frames and sizes. It’s kind of like your own personal emoji!

Pinning stickers on videos

Take your video to the next level and pin your stickers or text anywhere you want! Simply place the sticker anywhere in the video, then tap & hold to pin it. Easy peasy!

Post old photos to your story

This one might seem obvious to a lot of people; but not so much to others. It’s definitely clear that we can post live photos and videos, but did you know that you can also post content that was captured within the last 24 hours? It’s true! Simply swipe up or down on your screen.

Secret MM tip: if it’s been more than 24 hours, just take a screenshot of the photo and it’ll pop up in your recent photos. It’s that easy.

Turn iPhone Live Photos into boomerangs

For all you iPhone users, this one’s a biggie! You know that “Live Photo” feature that captures your photos like a boomerang basically? Well that actually does something in Instagram Stories! In fact, it turns your image into, well, a Boomerang. Once you choose your Live Photo from your recent photo, just press down and hold the screen. In seconds, your photo will automatically turn into a boomerang (you’ll see the word “BOOMERANG” show up when it’s all done).

Unlock more color options

Who else here has always wished for more colors; always felt that they were restricted to the text color options that Instagram gave us. What if I told you we can unlock more colors with a simple tap? (This feature changed my life tbh). Just tap and hold any colored circle, and you’ll unlock a rainbow gradient! Say goodbye to those bland presets.👋

Quickly color your story screen

This one is another mind-blower. Time and time again, I would fill in the screen using a marker - spending minutes perfectly filling every crevice. But I promise, you’ll never have to do that again. After you’ve taken your photo, tap on the drawing tool at the top. Tap on any of the three pen options, choose your color, and tap & hold anywhere on the screen.

The marker pen (left) and the neon pen (right) will create an opaque color block; while the highlighter (middle) creates a translucent color block.

MAGIC!

Zoom in & out while recording

This one is a no-brainer for those coming from Snapchat. Whenever you want to zoom in or out while recording a video, simply slide your recording finger up and down on the screen (and keep your finger in the same spot whenever you want to stop zooming).

Tagging

If you want someone specific to see your Instagram Story, you can tag them in the photo! Just type in “@“ and their username, and place it anywhere in the photo. These tags are all underlined and automatically create a tappable link to their profile. This then pops up in that persons’ messages, so they’re guaranteed to see it!

MM Tip: This is perfect for businesses when curating content for Instagram Stories! If it’s a repost, just tag the person so they’re bound to see it.

Have you discovered any other fun, useful features within Instagram Stories? We'd love to hear them! Tweet us and let us know!Schedule

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