Instagram has begun to push its TikTok clone and e-commerce features to users staring today. The app got a major revamp that reshuffled its homescreen.
In the new homepage, the giant social media giant added dedicated tabs for Reels and Shopping.
Next to the search button in the navigation bar will be the Reels tab that will make it easier for people to discover short, fun videos from creators all over the world, according to Instagram.
Next to the new Reels tab is a Shopping Tab that Instagram says will give consumers a better way to connect with brands and creators and discover products you love.
Early this year, Instagram had been testing the navigation bar with little tweaks trying to see what works. Some users had begun noticing that the Explore tab had been replaced by Reels tab.
DID YOU KNOW THAT INSTAGRAM STORIES WAS INTERNALLY CALLED REELS BEFORE IT LAUNCHED IN AUGUST 2016?
Adam Mosseri, Instagram CEO added that they’re bringing ads to Reels similar to how they added ads to the Explore page.
“I think that we can leverage the story ad format [for Reels] because it’s the same immersive experience, so that’ll be helpful because you don’t need to get advertisers to create a bunch of new creative,” said Adam in an interview with CNBC.
In late August, Instagram rolled out Suggested Posts that surfaces content from accounts you don’t follow to your regular feed and I’ve been high key loving them.
Here’s Why I’m High-Key Loving Instagram’s Suggested Posts
The following month, they switched Instagram DM’s to Facebook Messenger. This change also removed the icon to the Messenger icon. Hey, at least you can access your DMs on the web.
It’s also worth noting that the Notifications(Heart icon) and the Creation(+) button have been moved to the top too next to the Messages tab.
The last time the top navigation bar was reshuffled was when Instagram removed the IGTV icon that now lives in the Explore page.
It’ll be interesting to see how these changes affect the whole user experience especially on the now cluttered homepage.
