Instagram has quickly become one of the main mediums for all things influencer. From every type of creative artist to the run-of-the-mill Instagram model, this medium offers those with a significant fan following the platform to promote not only themselves and their work but also all types of products imaginable to the general public accounts of Instagram, the consumers. This is the new era of advertising and marketing.
There are not many things I would want to change about Instagram at this point. The developers have created and continue to upgrade the app to be one of the best media platforms for influences. However, if I was given the opportunity to take charge of Instagram for one week, I would put in place some type of monetization model, much like YouTube has. As of today, product businesses privately negotiate deals with influences or their representation via private email or through Instagram’s direct message feature. Without representation from an experienced and informed manager or attorney, most influences have no way of knowing if they are receiving a fair deal or not. Right now, there is really no fair way to ensure these creators are being paid what they are worth. With a monetization model, all brand and product partnerships would be calculated by the model based on the influenced following versus likes received ratio. YouTube’s model is more directed towards advertisement views and clicks, but there is surely
some way to implant a similar model for this type of use on Instagram.
The only other thing I could think to change about Instagram is adding a built in pre-profile view for new posts. So many Instagram accounts, from influences to the simple public accounts, have specific aesthetics across their pages. Many of my friends, who happen to be influences, use the post-and-delete method. This is where one posts a photo to view it on the account’s page and verifies that the post fits the preset aesthetic the account has built. If it docs, the post is deleted and then posted at a later time when the Instagram algorithm is peaked. If the post does not fit, it is still deleted, but it is then either edited further to then fit the aesthetic or scrapped completely. Some Instagram users use external apps that do basically the same thing 1 am recommending here. These apps allow users to link their Instagram accounts and upload photos to view on their profile’s feed without actually uploading the photo to their real Instagram account. My recommendation is to simply merge the idea behind these applications into Instagram itself. This way when users are going to post content, there will be another page prior to the final post to allow them to view their profile’s feed with the new photo included. Thus cutting a significant amount of time out of the uploading process. After all, time is money.
While Instagram is already one of the top media platforms for influences, accompanied by YouTube and Snapchat, I believe these changes would be beneficial to both the financial and time management interests of all Instagram account holders.
Kaymen Walters, a student in Jon Pfeiffer’s media law class at Pepperdine University, wrote the above essay in response to the following question: If you were in charge of Instagram for one week, what changes would you make to the platform? The class covers copyright and social media. Kaymen is a Media Production major.
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