As part of its efforts to make its platform more useful for businesses, Instagram is reorganising Instagram Direct, making it easier for businesses to organise their conversations with the public.
Apart from the recent introduction of in-app payments and the selective rolling out of call-to-action buttons on business profiles, Instagram is also concentrating on simplifying its inbox. Over 150 million people have conversations with businesses on Instagram Direct each month, and roughly one-third come from Instagram Stories. Now, it’s making messaging easier and more efficient, with the introduction of several new features.
One is a better way to manage messages. Important new customer messages will now appear in the main Direct inbox – not in the pending folder. Conversations can also be “starred” and filtered, so that whoever’s reading them can get back to them later on to follow up. A “set of signals” will help the system place the messages into either the pending inbox, or the main inbox. These are not clear at this point. Explaining the changes, Director of product management, business Vishal Shah said that “customers interact with businesses via comments. A conversation may begin in comments and end up in Direct. This will be evolving over time.”
[Tweet “Instagram is about to start testing “quick replies” in the next few weeks.]
Also, Shah says that “in the coming weeks” Instagram will begin testing “quick replies” so that common questions can be responded to much more efficiently. Shah explained that “this is not about automated responses or pre-canned responses: It’s about removing some of the friction.” The quick replies can be changed, and businesses “have the opportunity to add their authentic voices” to them.
You might also like
More from Instagram
Instagram Introduces More Resources For People Affected By Eating Disorders
Instagram is introducing more resources for people that are affected by eating disorders.
Instagram Celebrates Lunar New Year
Instagram is celebrating the Lunar New Year with special stickers, an AR filter, and special appearances by Creators.
Instagram To Start Removing Accounts That Send Abusive DMs
Instagram has announced new measures against bad behavior on its platform, including removing accounts that send abusive DMs.
Instagram Will Deprioritize Content Recycled From Other Apps
The Instagram algorithm will make content recycled from other apps like TikTok less discoverable on Reels.
Instagram, TikTok, And Twitter Team Up To Fight Username Hacking
Username hacking consists of stealing rare and coveted usernames on platforms like Instagram, and then sell them for a profit.
The New Instagram Content Publishing API Makes Scheduling Posts A Reality
Instagram has rolled out a new Content Publishing API that will support scheduling and publishing single photo or video posts.
Instagram Introduces A New Professional Dashboard To Help You Make Better Decisions
The Instagram Professional Dashboard is a single destination to help track your performance and access professional tools.