Tracking the conversations happening around your brand just got easier thanks to a recent Instagram update.
Living in ‘Creator’ mode, the @mention option collects any Stories that tag your account and provides a full tally which is especially helpful to businesses that attract large quantities of user-generated content. You can also use the feature to customize and share these pieces of content for your own Story stream.
For context, before this option, the only way for social media managers to keep tabs on these details was through direct messages. Given each DM triggers a notification and these can pile up, it isn’t hard to imagine how this, for most, would be a recipe for disorganized chaos.
What you can expect and how to use it
Initially discovered by social expert and commentator Matt Navarra, here’s a quick look at what this all translates into visually:
New? Instagram’s ‘Create’ mode now has an “@“ option for sharing stories mentioning your account pic.twitter.com/4hKduRaoEo
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) January 22, 2020
Essentially, once you’re in ‘Create’ mode, you’ll see a short statement such as, “See all 5,” the number differing and dependent on how many Stories @mentions your profile has garnered at any given time.
By tapping on this, you’ll be able to scroll through the thumbnails of Stories frames for each of the posts that mention your profile. Select which one you want to reshare and add your elements of choice – text being a simple way to chime in on the conversation or simply give it a re-share. The catch? These are only visible and repurposable while as long as the Story is live — meaning the 24-hour limit applies.
What does this mean for building long-term audience relationships?
Though specifics around just how wide the roll-out is remains unclear, leaning into Stories is becoming more of a need-to-have strategy as opposed to a nice-to-have. In a digital age where people crave experiences over peddled advertisements, consumers prefer to have friend-like relationships with brands that meet them where they are, that feel natural and demonstrate a deep understanding of their values and interests.
On the brand side, this translates into having a strong focused mission, backing it up in their product or service, and then identifying unique opportunities to talk about what they’re doing and who they are authentically. When all hit in stride, these components create a genuine halo effect that ultimately drives business objectives.
Aside from helping showcase relevant mentions including consumer reviews, endorsements, and influencer partnerships, this update is one that caters to a more permission-based, personalized future where users want to feel heard and have the ability to form relationships with the brands they love in safe and trustworthy spaces.
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