The last couple months have been an overload of Instagram updates! It's been awesome, frustrating, overwhelming, and exciting. And I promise you, the ride isn't over yet... I can guarantee you we'll see some more really big updates this year.

But, in an attempt to keep you up to date (though I'm sure something else will launch just after I post this 😉 ), this blog post has all the most recent Instagram updates as of April 2016.

Desktop Updates

One thing marketers keep begging for is more desktop functionality. And they're getting it! This year has seen major changes to the desktop site for Instagram. Though you still can't post from the desktop, other features have been greatly expanded. And I'm willing to bet we'll see posting from the desktop in the near future.

Notifications on Desktop

When you log into Instagram on the desktop (computer) now, you'll notice three icons in the top right corner. One of these is the comment bubble with the heart (like you see on the mobile version of the app) that will show you all of your account notifications. A drop down window will display all your latest comments, likes, and follows. From there, just like you do on mobile, you can click on the thumbnail image to go to that post or person's account.

Explore on Desktop

The other icon now on the desktop is the Explore button. Click on this compass-type icon to see a list of people Instagram recommends you follow. Go to their account or follow them directly from the list.

The Search bar is also on there now (I've posted about this previously). It's faint and almost hidden but up there at the top in the center of the page.

Create a NEW ACCOUNT on Desktop

This was BIG news recently! Yes, you can now actually create a NEW account on the desktop. Previously, this could only be done on a mobile device.

Yes, this is going to make it easier for marketers and agencies who open new accounts for their clients.

Video Updates

A couple updates have been released for videos as Instagram tries to get more leverage out of videos which are so popular everywhere else.

See Your Video Views

Now, when you look at a video in the feed, you will see how many times that video has been viewed, not how many likes it has received. There are mixed feelings on this change, but if you have a large following, a bigger number of views (versus likes) could act as beneficial social proof.

Longer Videos

The recent update to videos on Instagram is the extension to 60 second videos (you used to be limited to 15 seconds). This will allow you to create so much more content and share more value with your audience. But, remember, just because you "have" 60 seconds, doesn't mean you have to use them all!

Additional editing and functionality tools for video were also released for ios users.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDi3QxTBQWd/

Ad Updates

Now that Instagram boasts over 200k advertisers, they are expanding some of the ad capabilities as well. One recent update was an update to the overlay (did you know there was one?). If you tap once on an ad image, you will see the overlay. What used to say "go to website" now shows the actual URL and the name of the company's Facebook page. You can read more from Instagram directly.

Switching Accounts

This update came out a while ago and if you have more than one Instagram account, you have probably already heard about and did some serious happy dancing when you heard. It's ok. We all did it!

But in case you hadn't heard, I wanted to include it here. Yes, you can now toggle between accounts on Instagram. You can have up to 6 accounts logged in at any time and switch conveniently between them. No more manual logging out/in. But, if you have more accounts than that, you'll need to log out (of all of them) and log in with other accounts. So this can still be very frustrating for many who manage multiple client accounts.

You can read all the details on Instagram's blog. And here is my Instagram post with step-by-step instructions:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBjEs4bAaFn/?taken-by=jenns_trends

Added Security

Another feature that is long overdue is the introduction of two-step authentication. Now, be warned, if you're managing client accounts they may want this feature. But every time you log out and log back in, you'll need to enter a code that is sent to a mobile phone number. So, if you manage multiple client accounts and log out regularly, you would want your phone number as the default for the two-step authentication. But your client may not be comfortable with this... Make sure to make this part of your planning factors before you get started!

You can read more about this feature here. To activate this function, go to your Account Settings (on your mobile device) - the 3-dot button on Android or the gear on iOS - on your profile. Under Account, select Two-Factor Authentication and select the option to "Require Security Code". Follow the prompts to activate your phone number of choice.

Time Stamps Updated

All of a sudden, one day, we all noticed that the date/time stamp in the top corner of the posts was gone. There was no announcement, but Instagram moved the time/date stamp to small font, down beneath the post caption and comments. And now the date is listed as the actual date (March 15) versus 4 weeks ago. While we were all pretty happy about this, we didn't realize it was a precursor to the chaos that would ensue shortly thereafter...

Algorithm Announced

Yes, it happened. Instagram announced they would be introducing an algorithm! Panic took over the internet like a wildfire fueled by a tornado. I'm not joking.

But this is NOT bad news. It's actually something you should embrace. And I've talked about this ad nauseum so I won't drone on here. If you would like to read my thoughts on this, I encourage you to read this previous blog post or check out this genius one from Jon Loomer. You can also listen to me rant about the "turn on notifications" craziness on this Blab replay.

So, as you can see, a LOT has happened lately! I hope this helps clarify some of the changes and help you better equip yourself to manage your (and your clients') Instagram accounts.

Though I'm sharing all this here, all of these updates were shared first and immediately with my exclusive Instagram marketing community, Jenn's Friends. If you want to make sure you're on top of all the best Instagram news, training, and conversations,