3 Instagram Features to Leverage for Maximum Engagement

By: Sophie Maerowitz

October 18, 2018

The social media industry moves at a rapid pace, and early adopters of new features are often the biggest winners in terms of engagement.

While it may feel risky to try features that others haven’t yet integrated into their social media efforts, social platforms’ algorithms tend to reward those who jump in first, says Manu Muraro, founder of Your Social Team, a consultancy that specializes in Instagram campaigns.

“The biggest advantage of using the newest features goes beyond the features themselves,” Muraro argues. “Organic posts on Facebook and Instagram usually go unseen by most followers because of the algorithm, and users’ tendency to follow more accounts than they can keep up with.”

But when social marketers use Instagram features that are yet to be adopted by the masses, they put their brand in a far less crowded space than one might expect for such a popular platform. Here are three features social marketers could be leveraging to get more eyeballs on their content.

Instagram Live. “New features come with new notifications,” says Muraro. “When you go live, Instagram notifies your entire audience that you’re live and they should join.” Muraro adds that her Instagram Live broadcasts get an average viewership of 10 percent of her followers (far better than organic Facebook posts, which are shown to less than 2 percent of followers)—and see 500 percent more conversions than a promoted post.

IGTV. Like Instagram Live, IGTV videos go a long way in terms of boosting awareness of your brand. “When you upload an IGTV video, your followers get a notification at the top of their feed that is exclusive to your brand for two or more days,” Muraro notes. “Even if they don’t watch the video, they are looking at your brand and being reminded to check your profile.”

Branded GIF stickers in Instagram Stories. Muraro says custom GIF stickers in Instagram Stories are her favorite secret weapon for brand awareness. Brands can create their own customizable GIFS once they’re verified by Giphy (Instagram publishing platform Later offers a step-by-step guide on how to do so).

“In less than two months, my animated logo GIF sticker had 1.5 million views on Instagram Stories. I can’t imagine how else I would expose my one-person shop to this many people, with virtually no investment,” says Muraro.

Follow Manu on Instagram: @yoursocialteam

Follow Sophie on Twitter: @SophieMaerowitz