The New Era of Instagram: What’s Working Now and What Features Are Coming Next

Let’s be real—2024 has been a rollercoaster on Instagram, to say the least. With performance dipping, reels still reigning, constant updates, countless new features, outages, personal brands ditching the aesthetics, trends flipping faster than ever, and low-effort content taking over, it’s safe to say we can finally wave goodbye to Instagram as we once knew it (wipes tear).

But with 2025 looming and even more changes around the corner, it’s time to gear up. So here’s everything you need to know to stay ahead of the curve.

Leverage All Content Formats

While reels still seem to be the holy grail of Instagram growth, it’s time to diversify. Instagram is moving toward a more balanced approach, and carousels seem to be top performers at the moment—explore pages are full of them. (Remember to add music if you want them to appear on the reels tab, too)! Different content types allow you to gain visibility across various parts of the platform and engage different audience types.

Focus On Shares

Not long ago, we were told saves would boost our content’s performance, but according to Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s CEO, shares are the new key metric to focus on. Sure, saves are still a great indicator that people find your content valuable, but shares are the ones that will boost your reach. It makes perfect sense when you think about it—sharing content is like the digital version of “word of mouth,” so naturally, it’s going to help you grow.

When people share your content on their stories or through DMs, it creates a ripple effect that boosts your reach and engagement in a way saveable posts just can’t compete with.

To thrive, create content that’s relatable, entertaining, educational,  and emotionally impactful, and don’t forget to make it visually pleasing (yes, that still matters on Instagram). But make sure you’re also optimizing your content for shares by adding keywords, relevant hashtags, and CTAs.

Use Keywords Over Hashtags

Like most platforms, Instagram is shifting to a more keyword-driven algorithm, much like a search engine. That means keywords should be your primary focus. Think about how your audience would search for your content, and weave those terms into your posts naturally.

Forget about stuffing your content with hashtag sets—those days are behind us. You can still use them, but they won’t bring nearly as much traffic as they used to. We recommend using only a few per post, relevant to that specific piece of content.

Building A Community Matters More Than Ever

People crave authenticity and real connections more than ever online, and Instagram seems to be following suit by prioritizing meaningful engagement over plain old likes. Building real genuine connections with your audience has never been more important, and it’ll definitely help keep your posts relevant and visible. Start conversations, foster a community, and watch your engagement rates rise.

Say Goodbye To Square Feed Posts

Brace yourself—it may be time to say goodbye to the thing that literally gave Instagram its entire identity: the square post! Instagram has started rolling out and standardizing a portrait (1080 x 1350) view of its feeds.

You may have already seen the change on your own account, but it won’t be long until everyone is experiencing this new normal. As much as we’re praying this one stays in testing, it seems like it’s here to stay. With Instagram leaning hard into its TikTokification and prioritizing vertical content, it’s not a surprise—but still it definitely feels like the end of an era.

What’s New Features Are Coming To Instagram?

Keep in mind, Instagram’s updates aren’t slowing down any time soon (cue eye roll). There are a few new features potentially rolling out soon and they’re definitely worth keeping on your radar. Here’s what’s coming:

Throwback Feed

Imagine being able to filter your content by year. Well, it seems like you might be able to soon! That’s what Instagram’s Throwback Feed feature is all about. It gives you a chance to resurface older, high-performing content and get it back in front of fresh eyes. You can reuse seasonal or evergreen content, saving time on content creation while boosting engagement. For brands, this could be huge!

Super Likes

Instagram is testing a new way for users to express love for content that resonates with them: Super Likes. Unlike regular likes, users can only send one Super Like per day on a story. This makes it a more meaningful way to show appreciation, like Instagram’s version of a Golden Buzzer.

This could also be a fun new way to measure what’s truly resonating with your audience. Track which stories get these daily boosts to understand what really resonates with your followers and use that data to double down on the type of content they really value.

Pics Please Sticker

Instagram is testing a “Pics Please” sticker, allowing you to gather user-generated content directly from your audience. Imagine your followers sending you their own photos, which you can then share directly to your stories—creating even more opportunities for engagement.

This feature could be a game-changer for brands looking to boost engagement or create community content. Whether it’s showcasing customer reviews, featuring fan art, or just highlighting how your products are used in real life, the sticker gives you a direct line to crowdsource content. Plus, UGC has always been a great way to boost trust and connection with your audience—because nothing sells your brand like seeing real people using and loving it.

New Highlights

Instagram is testing various changes to Highlights… 

First, they’re experimenting with larger Highlights, taking up nearly half of your smartphone screen. This could give more prominence to your highlights, ensuring they stand out and capture attention at first glance. But it could also be overwhelming and take focus away from your content or even your bio.

Instagram is also testing an entirely new place for Highlights. The new Highlights tab should sit alongside reels and tagged posts, making it easier for your audience to explore your most important content—or, it could make them fall into oblivion like guides did (yikes).

And then there’s the “Recent Highlight” feature—a dedicated highlight containing your most recent stories from the past week. It’s a fantastic way to keep your highlights fresh without needing to constantly update them manually.

Beauty Filters

One feature that’s on its way out—custom beauty filters. While tons of people (yep, us included) have relied on these filters to enhance their content, Meta is pulling the plug on all third-party AR filters. By the end of the year, they won’t be available anymore, although the content you’ve already created with them will still be around.

This is the one update we’re not exactly thrilled about. While we understand the concerns over how these filters may impact mental health, especially for younger users, it feels like Meta is just pushing their own in-house features again, since their own filters will still be available on Instagram.

How To Stay In The Loop

We know keeping up with Meta’s constant stream of updates can feel overwhelming, to say the least, but with these upcoming features, there’s a lot to be excited about. Follow us on Instagram and Threads to stay in the loop with real-time updates, and let us know which of these changes you’re most excited to see on Instagram in 2025!