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Instagram Rolls Out More Changes: How They Might Impact You

Instagram Rolls Out More Changes: How They Might Impact You

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If all the Instagram updates and trends from the past few months have you feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry; you’re not alone. As always, we’re here to help round up and recap the latest.

Like it or not, “likes” could disappear

In a dramatic shift in core functionality, Instagram has started to experiment with hiding the number of “likes” a post has received with the hopes of eliminating the feelings of competition and inadequacy many users experience while using the app. The initial test took place in Canada a few months ago, and the change is currently being tested in Ireland.

Naturally, this proposed update worries influencers, who communicate their value to sponsors partially based on the level of engagement – including likes – on their posts. An Instagram spokesperson acknowledged these concerns to TechCrunch in the following statement: “We understand that this is important for many creators, and while this test is in exploratory stages, we are thinking through ways for them to communicate value to their brand partners.”

Brands can take advantage of a new opportunity to sponsor content

According to Jim Squires, Instagram’s head of business, “shopping and Stories are top priorities for the foreseeable future” on the platform. Anecdotally, we at The Motherhood have seen a significant uptick in influencers’ use of Instagram Stories to communicate brand messaging, and recognizing that increasing popularity, brands are also requesting greater representation in influencers’ Stories.

On the ad side of things, in June 2019, Instagram announced that brands can now sponsor organic branded content posts to serve them up as in-feed ads. The new capability has been widely requested by brands interested in incorporating influencer content into their broader advertising strategies – a wise move, knowing that “68% of people say they come to Instagram to interact with creators,” according to Instagram.

In another advertising shift, users will now see ads on the Explore page, a previously ad-free area where Instagrammers go to find new content that aligns with their interests.

Move over, Amazon – Instagram explores shopping capabilities

In late May 2019, Instagram Stories users spotted new stickers, possibly included in a test run, to use for identifying a “Product” and offering viewers the opportunity to “Order” – although an Instagram spokesperson has denied testing the stickers as an in-app shopping feature.

However, Instagram’s recent addition of a “Checkout” feature allows users to buy items featured in posts without ever leaving the app. Pair this with the capability to shop influencer’s posts, and you have quite the platform for discovery shopping. Based on previous hints from the team at Instagram, we anticipate that more shopping features will crop up on the app in the near future.

Instagram sponsored post
Via Instagram

Instagram users have a new way to chat

The platform has rolled out a new “Chat” sticker available for use in Instagram Stories, allowing users a new way to create a group chat instead of starting from the direct messages page. Users who see your Story can request to join your chat. From there, you can accept some or all of the requests and start a conversation.

The idea is to promote communities and small groups for more personal interactions. It could be a useful feature for getting opinions, creating meet-ups, and encouraging new people to get involved.

Via The Verge

Instagram updates to address the ongoing issues of mental health and bullying

The conversation around how social media can facilitate bullying and impact mental health continues to gain traction. In February 2019, Instagram shared a post promising to “protect the most vulnerable people” with actions like blurring images containing self-harm or graphic content. They have also started demoting and filtering any inappropriate content that isn’t subject to removal because it still adheres to their community guidelines.

Should the filter confuse a user’s perfectly safe images with inappropriate content, the option to appeal a blurred or removed post is always available.

Instagram most recently announced they would fight bullying with the following changes:

The platform will be using AI to analyze language and literally ask users “Are you sure you want to post this?” to encourage people to think twice before posting abusive comments.

Additionally, users can “Restrict” another user. In Instagram’s own words, this means that “once you Restrict someone, comments on your posts from that person will only be visible to that person. You can choose to make a restricted person’s comments visible to others by approving their comments. Restricted people won’t be able to see when you’re active on Instagram or when you’ve read their direct messages.”

For more info on the Instagram updates to fight against bullying, read this TIME article.

Instagram Restrict
Via Instagram

 

Instagram removal request
Via Tech Crunch

Which Instagram updates do you feel will have the greatest impact for users?

Celebrating Worth Manifesto, a New Pittsburgh-Based Project for Women

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After years of delivering leftover food from weddings among the homeless in Pittsburgh, Sandra Villarroel, wedding photographer and owner of Sandrachile, decided she wanted to offer an additional type of help exclusively to marginalized women. This month she launched Worth Manifesto right here in Pittsburgh, The Motherhood’s hometown, and we couldn’t be more excited about supporting it!

Sandra, often known as Sandra Chile, is originally from Chile and formerly homeless. When she first became a wedding photographer five years ago, the opulence, and more specifically, the waste of food, from weddings conflicted with what she had experienced in her past. So she found a way to bridge the gap between the two worlds and help eliminate the post-wedding waste by partnering with vendors and engaged couples to let her distribute leftover food to the men and women on the streets of Pittsburgh. Her unique insight into the homeless world made her wish she had something else to offer, especially to homeless women; she wanted to help give them hope, worth and make them feel beautiful. Enter her new project, Worth Manifesto.

With the idea of repurposing what people already own (and don’t use), Worth Manifesto collects unwanted makeup bags (think Ipsy), travel size toiletries and makeup. Sandra then delivers these items, along with a personal, handwritten note, to women on the streets. She hopes that by giving the gift of makeup, beauty products and encouraging words, the most vulnerable women will be reminded of their self worth. 

We don’t need to be rich in order to help others, all we need is to be generous and share what we have with those who have none.” -Sandra Villaroel

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByuE543nRCv/

Since Worth Manifesto’s launch on July 1, Sandra has already seen hundreds of donations, which are now being distributed among homeless women in South Side and Downtown Pittsburgh. The outpouring of support also encouraged Sandra to launch a campaign specifically focused on helping women affected by the border crisis. The campaign’s goal is to gather 1,000 bags to send to women at the border. The first batch of bags is going to the respite center in McAllen, TX, where men, women and children refugees stop to rest, have a warm meal, shower and change into clean clothing. According to the director of the respite center, an average of 300 women go through this center daily.

Want to help Worth Manifesto and the Border Campaign? Here are four simple ways:

  1. Donate your unwanted makeup bags. Did you know there are more than 3 million Ipsy subscribers? That’s a lot of adorable Ipsy bags out there! If there are any lying around your house that you don’t need, Worth Manifesto will take them!
  2. Donate travel-sized makeup and hygiene products. For the Pittsburgh project, any unused makeup and beauty products are needed. The Border Campaign is specifically looking for following items in travel sizes:
    • Toothbrushes
    • Toothpaste
    • Shampoo
    • Conditioner
    • Soap
    • Lotion
    • Tampons/Sanitary pads
    • See more about the types of products that are being accepted here. 
  3. Write a simple, encouraging note. Notes in English are welcome for the Pittsburgh project, and the Border Campaign is specifically looking for people to write encouraging notes in Spanish. See the Worth Manifesto website for samples.
  4. Donate money. The estimated price of one full kit is $12. Donations are welcome via PayPal or CashApp to help Worth Manifesto mail the bags and buy supplies.

The deadline to donate to the Campaign for Women at the Border is July 31; however, donations will still be accepted after this time to be distributed to women on the streets of Pittsburgh, as well as other projects nationally. All donations can be dropped or shipped to 932 Mirror St, Pittsburgh, PA 15217.  

Make sure to follow @WorthManifesto on Instagram to stay connected to all that they are doing!

Celebrate Acts of Kindness for #143DayinPA!

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In honor of America’s favorite neighbor, Fred Rogers, who regularly used “1-4-3” to say, “I Love You” (a code based on the number of letters in each word), the state of Pennsylvania is officially recognizing the 143rd day of the year as “#143DayinPA.” On this day, May 23, Governor Wolf is asking PA citizens to participate in an act of kindness for someone and share about it on social media.

This movement speaks directly to our hearts at The Motherhood – whether it’s buying someone a cup of coffee or donating food to your local pantry, we believe a little bit of kindness can make a big impact. Especially if everyone joins in! Watch the kindness tracker throughout the day on the #143DayinPA official website to see how people are helping their neighbors. You can also find inspiration and ideas for your own act of kindness today.

The Motherhood is excited to support #143DayinPA, and we have encouraged some of our favorite Pennsylvania partners to join us. Earlier this week, we sent The Motherhood’s signature handcrafted bracelets to a handful of our trusted Pennsylvania-based clients and influencer partners. Each bracelet features the word “love,” which is the “4” in Mr. Rogers’ 1-4-3 code. And that’s just the beginning! If you received a bracelet already, we encourage you to let us know via the social media hashtag how you’re paying it forward. We’ll also send two bracelets (one to keep and one to give away!) to the first 10 people who tag us (@TheMotherhood) to share their #143DayinPA act of kindness, because we believe one good turn deserves another.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxzxPruAya5/

We can’t wait to see all of the amazing acts of kindness happening in our state on the #143DayinPA website and on social media!

Clarissa from Passports and Parenting (Influencer Spotlight)

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This month’s feature influencer spot goes to Clarissa from Passports and Parenting! She’s a blogger, wife, traveler and co-parenting pro raising a multicultural, blended family. You might recognize her from her blog, formerly known as Clarissa Explains It All, which she recently rebranded to Passports and Parenting.

We had the awesome opportunity of meeting and hearing Clarissa speak at Mom 2.0 last year, and she instantly blew us away with her passionate and authentic approach to building relationships online through influencer marketing. Since then, we’ve had the pleasure of partnering with her for several projects, in which she consistently delivers great content. We couldn’t wait to feature her — and what better timing than right after her blog rebrand!

Make sure to follow Clarissa from Passports and Parenting on Instagram, and read on for her insights on influencer trends coming in (and going out)!

What do you think is the #1 trend in influencer marketing in 2019?
A trend I see this year is more influencers focusing on growing and diversifying their own brand and finding other sources of revenue versus only working with brands on sponsored posts, partnerships, etc. 

What content do you believe your readers find most valuable?
Readers find content valuable when it is easily digestible, relatable and informative/useful to them.

How has your blog changed since you first got started?
My blog has actually made a BIG change… I decided it was time to shift from Clarissa Explains It All and rebrand to Passports And Parenting, because that name accurately fits my brand, especially as my family and I have grown and changed over the years. I recently shared a blog post about this new journey, and I hope you will all follow along.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be an online influencer?
Don’t try and compete against others or play the comparison game. Be yourself and write what YOU are passionate about. If you want to win, then help others win, too.

What trend is on its way out?
Brands collaborating with one or two “larger” influencers on campaigns. Instead I am seeing a trend of brands working with a bunch of influencers on campaigns.

What’s your greatest challenge when working with brands?
Ensuring that their brand and messaging is heard and received while making sure that I stay true to my authentic self. Also making brands realize that “smaller” influencers are valuable, too.

What’s your best blogging or social media tip?Help, support, engage and collaborate with others where you can. The more you genuinely show support and uplift others in the community, the more you will shine, too. 

Favorite program you’ve done with The Motherhood?
The Know Your Dose Campaign. It is so important to bring awareness to extremely important things like checking medicine labels and ensuring you are taking or giving the proper dosages at all times.

What is your proudest achievement?
My kids. They are almost 15 and 9 years old and I could not have been in any way successful with my blog without their continued help, support, ideas and more.

What are your three most-used emojis?
✈️😂💙

More about The Motherhood’s Influencer Spotlight Series

Each month, our internal team convenes and discusses our latest programs, stellar partnerships and top influencers. It’s not about numbers, but rather, the quality, authentic content they’re delivering consistently. It’s about reliability, professionalism and partnership. We discuss our nominations for the month and ultimately decide on just one blogger to feature.

Take a look at our other featured influencers here, and come back next month for the next Influencer Spotlight!

The Early Days of Influencer Marketing (and What We Can Learn From It)

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This is the influencer marketing interview you need to listen to. We know we’re a little biased because it’s our own Cooper Munroe, but seriously. It doesn’t matter if you’re a skeptic or a believer, this interview on the early days of influencer marketing affecting today now will sell you (or your clients) on why influencer marketing is beneficial, or more importantly, why it works.

In these days of fake followers, pay-to-play and content overload, it’s easy to become disheartened when reading articles about campaigns going awry. That’s why we’re excited that Cooper was able to sit down with Aaron Watson of Piper Creative to have a conversation about the beautiful aspects of influencer marketing. In only 37 minutes, they cover everything from the very early days of influencer marketing to the conception of The Motherhood to the status of the industry today.

Aaron graciously introduced Cooper and the conversation by saying, “The marketing landscape is changing rapidly, and [Cooper] is one of the few people around who is poised to take advantage of the very exciting future that we have ahead of us.”

Here is an excerpt from interview. At this point, Cooper is talking about the blogging community back before social media was even a phrase:

“[Blogging] was looked at like this weird, anomaly, strange thing. Everyone thought they were going to go away; they thought it was a flash in the pan kind of trend thing. And it was mostly about politics and technology. It just felt like there’s something here. There really is something so intriguing and exciting about what people were doing because people were publishing their own lives. Telling their own stories in a way that could reach huge amounts of people. And in a way that was in real time and had never been done before. The potential was enormous.

So, it started out and there weren’t very many people, very many women, especially, women with children, doing it at the time. But those who were, were incredibly gifted storytellers. Really creative. Really wanted to share their lives, share what they knew, share their expertise, share their narrative with whoever wanted to listen and connect. And it was from a real genuine place of needing connection and needing community that this felt like it was being built. It was profoundly intimate. So, people were sharing the challenges or the wins or the sadness of their lives to strangers who became friends. And it was just such a beautiful thing to behold.”

While we have come so far from those early days of influencer marketing, one thing has stayed the same; what made content good then still holds true now. Just because influencers today have strong SEO, high definition pictures and five+ social platforms doesn’t mean they are any different from the bloggers who were just figuring it out over a decade ago. What makes influencers valuable then and now is their ability to relate and provide value to their following of real, everyday people. Over the years, we’ve see good, quality bloggers remain good, quality bloggers when they stuck true to themselves and their audiences while using their voices to support important causes and trustworthy brands.

“It went from this strange little thing people experimented with to gaining steam because it was clear it was really effective, to ‘ok, we are a massive, global brand- we need reach.’ And here are these people blogging with the weight of the world on their shoulders. ‘We gotta increase our reach, we gotta increase our reach, and how are we gonna do that?’ So, it started to lose a little bit of what was so special about it, and that was the authenticity and the creativity and the content from the heart. And really caring about why their audience was seeking them out. When people see it now, I want them to think back to what makes this work so well.”

The idea of authenticity and adding value to people through influencers marketing isn’t new. But in today’s digital age, it’s a good and necessary reminder.

“Readers or viewers or listeners will show up for content that adds value to their lives. That’s it. That can’t be lost. It was true back then and it’s true now.” – Cooper Munroe

Listen to the full interview on the early days of influencer marketing here or watch it below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nsm1B5Ut0E

Influencer Spotlight: Jacquie from The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood

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Meet Jacquie from The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood! The Motherhood has had the privilege of working with this amazing Pittsburgh mom of four for several years, and our team is always blown away by her creative approach to campaigns. Jacquie consistently produces amazing, quality content for her readers. You’ll quickly notice from her blog and social feeds that she is passionate about photography, DIY art and hands-on making. She even offers many of her projects on her Etsy shop, which we absolutely adore!

We especially love Jacquie’s vulnerable and authentic voice, which is so evident in the real-life stories she tells. She is the real deal, which is why we couldn’t wait to feature her for this month’s Influencer Spotlight! Read on for our Q&A with the creator behind The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood:

Where do you find inspiration for new blog posts?

Mostly from real life! My girls and I are always creating something new. My husband and I love to cook and experiment with new recipes. And our whole family loves to get out and explore our city. Real life always makes for the best content and I love having a responsive community to share all that with!

What is your favorite social media platform?

Instagram! I’m always first and foremost an artist at heart and the little squares of the Instagram world are a constant and beautiful source of inspiration for me. It’s also the place I’ve formed really meaningful connections with other mamas and families of kiddos with hearing loss. I love being able to inspire other families to get creative, and Instagram is the place I get to actually see that happening when other people tag me in the things they try from my account. It makes my day!

What is a valuable tip you learned in the years you’ve been blogging at The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood?

Identify your goals and work toward them! It might sound obvious but sometimes bloggers get sidetracked with things they think their readers want or other bloggers in their niche are doing. Continually ask yourself, “is this helping me reach my goals or not?”

What is the #1 question readers ask you?

How do you find the time to do it all? My answer is usually the same – I don’t do it all, I usually skip the laundry. Ha! But seriously. Something’s got to give, and sometimes it’s better for my mental health/work/productivity to paint/sew/craft than it is to to do chores. AND we all have the same 24 hours inside every day. You make the time for the things that are important to you. I also only do “chores” while my kids are awake. I use naptime hours and after bedtime hours for FUN things – photography stuff and editing, sketchbooking, quilting, knitting, baking etc. Don’t do your “boring work” while your kids nap!

Influencer marketing is _______.

An industry! I think influencer marketing is starting to be taken seriously on one hand, while on the other, people still think influencers are pretty models selling clothes and makeup.

What should brands start doing (better) when working with bloggers?

Establish long-term contracted partnerships! I love being able to build brand relationships and continually share our family’s love for a brand. This feels more authentic and comes across as much more trustworthy for an audience. Multiple shares over a longer period of time. I know it’s not always possible, but when it is, I JUMP on those opportunities.

What are your thoughts on blogging conferences / are you attending any blogger conferences this year?

I wish I could attend a conference but haven’t yet. I’ve always been attached to nursing babies or been pregnant. Ha. Maybe next year! From what I’ve seen, they can be amazing networking events and provide so much information and inspiration. I wish there were more creative retreat type workshops in existence – smaller hands-on craft experiences for the art and craft-related bloggers of the world. I’d love to attend a conference that could connect bloggers with art-related brands and sponsors.

Favorite program you’ve done with The Motherhood?

Oh this is tough, there have been so many… I really enjoy working local – I loved the Dinosaur Exhibit campaign with the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium (I love taking the photos for these types of events), The History Center Campaign to share the Expedition Moon exhibit, and working with 412 Food Rescue – a nonprofit we’ve come to care a lot about!

What are your thoughts on affiliate marketing?

I don’t participate in any affiliate marketing except for Amazon. I haven’t found any other affiliate platforms that are worth my while. Because my niche is more creative-based, I don’t find much use for affiliate sales. I don’t “sell items” as much as I “teach skills.”

What is your most productive time of day?

Morning for sure! I have never needed much sleep – I can get up at 4am and crush a day of work before my girls even wake up. It’s my favorite. Hot coffee, a dark living room and my iPad. The best mornings!

Phew…We’re already inspired! Make sure to follow Jacquie from The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood on Instagram, as well as her blog, to forever be in awe and motivated by beautiful, unique DIY projects, crafts, stories and much more! Thanks so much for your consistent creative work, Jacquie!

More about The Motherhood’s Influencer Spotlight Series
Each month, our internal team convenes and discusses our latest programs, stellar partnerships and top influencers. It’s not about numbers, but rather, the quality, authentic content they’re delivering consistently. It’s about reliability, professionalism and partnership. We discuss our nominations for the month and ultimately decide on just one blogger to feature.

Take a look at our other featured influencers here, and come back next month for the next Influencer Spotlight!