2025 social media content calendar: Key dates marketers need to know
Luke McCarthy
December 16, 2024
Going back just a few years, it was easy to build a large and engaged community of followers using the OG Instagram feature – images. But as the social media platform giants have ramped up their competitiveness to attract the lion’s share of users, they’ve also had to create new, dynamic ways to keep people on their platforms for longer. And if you’re not making the most of those features, you’re missing out.
Meta has invested significantly into new Instagram business features that make it easier for brands to connect, engage, and sell to their followers, whilst creating a community of loyal advocates. A perfect example of this is Kylie Cosmetics, which has successfully used the platform to market its billion dollar business.
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The speed of innovation means that it can be difficult to keep up with the latest Instagram features and know which ones to implement to drive sales. In this guide, you’ll discover the top Instagram business features to include in your social media strategy to stay ahead of the game.
Instagram is constantly evolving, introducing new features that make the platform more versatile and engaging. Two recent additions include:
Before we get into the nitty gritty of content-driven Instagram business features, let’s take a look at the features that help business and creator accounts to post content easily and gain valuable insights into the performance of posts.
No one wants to be glued to their phone all day at work. Download the Instagram app onto your desktop to make your life easier. Open the app, click the ‘create’ option on the left-hand side, and then import photos and videos.
Meta Business Suite is a free social media management tool that allows you to manage your Instagram and Facebook accounts from a single platform. Using this central hub, you can create and schedule posts, manage comments and messages, manage ads, and track your social media performance.
The professional dashboard is available on the app. It’s an important Instagram business feature to track performance, access professional tools, and stay informed about the latest trends on the platform.
Key features of the professional dashboard include:
Messaging is an important Instagram feature for marketers and brands as it enables authentic connections with users, which drives brand loyalty. Two-way interactions are rewarded by Instagram’s algorithms, so making use of these features can also help your overall social media performance.
Using the DM Instagram feature, you can have private conversations with other Instagram users – ideal for one-on-one interactions.
You can start a group chat for two or more people, which means you can set up small customer feedback pods.
This is a powerful way to connect with your followers, either through real-time audio and video calls or by sending voice notes and videos via direct messages.
The automatic replies Instagram feature enables pre-written responses to be set up and sent automatically when you receive a direct message, enabling a faster response. With the introduction of Many Chat, messaging can now be automated even more intelligently, creating a positive experience for new and potential customers.
This Instagram feature enables you to quickly reply to comments on your posts with a DM instead of just posting a comment on your feed. This creates a personalised experience for your followers and an opportunity to continue the conversation.
If you’re managing a busy inbox, it can be easy to respond to the wrong DM, so the unsend message option is a really useful Instagram feature. Once you’ve unsent a message, it’ll no longer be visible to people in the chat.
Vanish mode isn’t available in all countries, but if you have this Instagram feature, you can set a message to disappear after it’s been seen.
Think of Instagram notes like a bulletin board where you can pin short messages to the top of your followers’ direct message section. These notes are visible for 24 hours but can only be viewed by followers who you follow back.
Instagram Stories have become an important part of social media strategies as they’re a great way to deepen relationships and build a community.
Layer text and emojis over your Stories to add context and personality. You can use a variety of fonts, colours, and sizes to create eye-catching captions that will keep your followers’ attention.
Pin and save Stories at the top of your profile to make it easier for followers to access key information. You can group highlights by themes or use them to tell a story about your brand.
Use the Link sticker to add links to your website in your Story. This Instagram feature can be used to drive traffic to anything that has a link, whether it’s a product page, blog, podcast, or FAQs.
Engage your followers with interactive polls, quizzes, and questions to open up conversations and get to know your fans better.
Encourage user-generated content (UGC) and get your followers involved in your brand by creating a Story with a prompt and a photo or video as an example. Add the Add Yours sticker and your challenge will be available to all your followers.
If you have an Instagram shop, you can share it in your Stories with this Instagram feature. Simply create a Story and add the Shopping sticker.
If you want to get in front of more people, more quickly, then Instagram Reels should play an important role in your social media strategy.
Instagram’s editing tools are improving all the time. Using this Instagram feature, you can trim and cut clips, and add filters, transitions, music, and overlays.
The Remix Instagram feature allows you to integrate clips from other Reels, creating reaction videos, duets, or even collaborative mashups.
These pre-designed templates provide a structured framework for your Reels, saving you time and effort. Select a template that aligns with your brand, add your footage, and customise it with text, overlays, and music.
Captions automatically generate text transcripts of your video’s audio, allowing viewers to watch videos without sound.
Shopping is an Instagram business feature where people can buy your products directly through the app. Here are some of the key features:
This Instagram feature allows you to set up categories for your products, enabling a more seamless shopper experience.
This is where you can provide information on items from your product catalogue, including pricing and descriptions. If you tag a product on Instagram, this is where the information will be pulled from.
Checkout on Instagram lets people buy your products directly in the app.
We know we’ve already shared a lot, but there are even more Instagram features to discover, so here’s our roundup of the best of the rest.
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