What the Future Holds for Instagram

As my personal #1 go-to app, Instagram has shaped my life in various ways. I’m sure it’s also the same case for many of you. Every day, we spend a certain amount of time scrolling through our Instagram feed— liking and commenting on others’ posts, gaining current news, and connecting with friends through DMs or video chats. Originally established as a square photo-sharing platform, Instagram has gradually emerged as an entertainment and commercial app that provides users with numerous new experiences, such as creating reels, sharing stories, and shopping digitally. In other words, Instagram is constantly aiming to build new features that help users get the most out of their experience. What metrics did Instagram take to move further away from its photographic roots to an entertainment monster? How did it rise to mass popularity in just over a decade? Is there still a ton of growth potential left for the platform? Simply put, what does the future look like for Instagram?  

Although Instagram is extremely popular today with more than 2 billion users worldwide, it actually had a humble beginning. In 2010, Instagram was initially created as Burbn, a mobile check-in app, by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in San Francisco. Their primary goal was to create an app that would allow people worldwide to connect by publicizing each other’s check-ins whenever they traveled somewhere new. The launch of Instagram was surprisingly successful. The hype was kindled immediately, with the app attracting more than 2 million users in just six weeks. Nevertheless, a major turning point for Instagram was Facebook’s acquisition in April 2012. Facebook’s relentless efforts to diversify Instagram’s features helped Instagram raise its popularity even more rapidly. With the new features that Instagram added— particularly the Instagram Reels— it was not just simply a place where users can connect with friends through pictures, but also an ideal platform for marketers and advertisers to reach their target audience. 

The successful transition of Instagram from an authentic photo-sharing app to a commercial platform was mainly driven by its focus on an algorithm that controls user reach and engagement. In short, Instagram continues to use technology to improve and personalize the user experience, specifically by delivering content that individuals find intriguing and relevant respectively. The algorithm analyzes every piece of content posted on the platform by taking hashtags, engagement metrics, and metadata (captions and alt text applied to images) into context. Instagram essentially decides what content appears in what particular order on each user’s feed and Explore page. Therefore, the Instagram algorithm is essential to marketers, as it optimizes the content accordingly and can help advertisers display their products to their target consumers effectively. 

As social media continues to accelerate its immersion into our everyday lives, a growing number of platforms have launched similar features and utilized the same algorithmic technologies. This phenomenon leads to stiff competition in the media and tech industry. Indeed, Instagram competes with Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, and Pinterest directly. Each platform has developed different features to grow its influence and retain core users. For instance, Snapchat has revolutionized the communication process by advancing user-to-user picture/video-sharing experiences. Moreover, TikTok has also targeted our shorterning attention span by delivering short video formats. What should Instagram continue to do to stand out in this increasingly competitive landscape and keep growing in the future? 

I believe Instagram should continue to put more emphasis on its videos and reels feature developments. It will be beneficial for businesses to share shoppable reels and launch new ad campaigns in the form of reels. As of now, Instagram reels play an important role on the platform, as they can accelerate engagement, captivate, and build trust with the target audiences. If Instagram can create more innovative reels and video features, such as adding more audio and visual effects to its established database, I am optimistic that it will attract more users and help businesses promote their products effectively. 

Moreover, creating engaging shopping experiences is also something Instagram should focus on in the future. As E-commerce continues to grow, in-app shopping on Instagram helps users reimagine a way of shopping and allows creators to better engage with their target audience. Without leaving Instagram, users can engage with product recommendations by simply scrolling through their feeds or stories. More importantly, through this feature, small direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands can broaden their online presence without the need to build an actual website. Instagram in-app shopping provides DTC brands with an influential platform to sell their products and make more revenue. 

As the Metaverse becomes increasingly popular recently, Instagram should also take some steps to unlock the potential of the Metaverse. Specifically, I think Instagram should create more opportunities for creators to share about their NFTs (non-fungible tokens). For instance, they can share their artwork through something similar to a digital museum, so viewers can get more information and better engage with their work. Instagram can also launch digital collectibles to showcase NFTs on the platform. This is also an efficient way to enhance user reach and engagement. Since many see Metaverse as the future, I believe Instagram will benefit in the long run if they can create some features related to the Metaverse and NFTs. 

Along with the technical, ethics of content production and distribution are also things that Instagram should pay attention to in order to continue thriving in the industry. Due to Instagram’s internal regulation policy, it reserves the right to share users’ information with companies affiliated with Instagram, as well as other third-party advertisers. This is where data privacy problems come into play. In essence, Instagram should strive to make a balance between generating revenues and optimizing data protection. This way, Instagram can maintain a sustainable growth trend by properly addressing an issue that many are concerned about.

Overall, I believe the future is bright for Instagram. It should continue to create new features that follow current social media trends, attract new users to the platform, and increase user stickiness and engagement. Nevertheless, it is also essential for Instagram to think about ways to ethically generate profit, particularly in assuring the protection of users’ personal data— as privacy violations will inevitably hinder its growth potential.