Instagram is rolling out updates that will give users a new way to promote their live videos, and more options when it comes to remixing videos.
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, announced these updates while reiterating the company’s focus this year is building on video and messaging.
“We’re focused on building for teens and creators, and in the spaces of video and messaging. And these are within those themes.”
Mosseri first hinted at the new direction Instagram is headed in when he proclaimed last summer: “We’re no longer a photo sharing app.”
Instagram is bringing that vision to life this year starting with two updates that are focused on video — both live video and recorded video.
The updates include:
- Promoting scheduled lives streams with a new banner
- The ability to remix any video
Let’s take a look at these enhancements and what they can do for you as a creator.
Highlight Scheduled Live Videos On Your Profile
When you schedule a live video on Instagram, you can now highlight it on your main profile page with a new banner.
Mosseri explains:
“Creators have been able to schedule lives for a while now, but now, you can separate scheduling a live from creating a feed post, or even now a story post, about that live. You also get a little badge on your profile that’s lets followers know, or anybody know that goes to your profile, that there’s a Live coming up and they can subscribe to be reminded.”
You can create as many scheduled live videos as you’d like. This gives you the option to promote a livestream that runs every day at the same time, for example.
See an example of what the new banner looks like in the screenshot below:
Screenshot from twitter.com/mosseri, January 2022.
People visiting your profile can tap on the banner to create a reminder for your upcoming live video.
Remix Any Video On Instagram
Users now have the ability to remix any video on Instagram.
A “remix” on Instagram means taking videos published by others and responding to or reinventing them with your own video. It’s similar to TikTok’s video reactions.
In fact, when Instagram first rolled out the remix feature, it was basically a copycat of the reaction videos made popular on TikTok.
Previously, users could only remix the TikTok-inspired Instagram Reels.
Now, users can remix any public video on Instagram whether it’s a Reel or a feed post.
Simply tap the three-dot icon that appears in the top right corner and select “Remix this video.”
Screenshot from twitter.com/alexvoica, January 2022.
Remixing is an opt-in feature, so users can pick and choose which videos they want to allow others to remix.
Source: Adam Mosseri on Twitter
Featured Image: Mehaniq/Shutterstock
