The latest update of Instagram came in the last week of April. And this update is all about Ads and brand marketing with Instagram. Now, businesses can advertise their services and products more efficiently with the Insta story feature. Instagram Stories is very engaging among its user. And its new update allows any advertiser to place their ads in the story. This feature can spike the conversion rate and engagement for any brand. Thus, many businesses are prioritizing Instagram in their marketing tactics. Many such features encourage people to make an application like Instagram. But they are not able to find the right way. To dive into the depth of this query, we will tell you about the latest update of Instagram & will also explain how to create an app like Instagram.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms and the top photo-sharing app. Most people are glued to this app for influence, sharing a photo, connecting with a friend, watching videos, and a lot more. Since Facebook bought Instagram, this app kept exploring new features and experimented with areas of UI in every update. Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in 2010. Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. It was breaking news in the digital media because Facebook wanted to become the only brand in social media. Apps like Messenger, Insta, Whatsapp, and product-based company Oculus VR are owned by Facebook.
Inspired by the success of Instagram, many people want to jump on the bandwagon to profit from the craze. And as a result, there are many apps available like Instagram - Snapchat, Flickr, Mastodon, Tumblr, and so on. At first, Facebook wanted to acquire Snapchat but could not get the de facto deal. Instagram is updating its features to give the best user interface as a photo & video sharing platform.
Instagram keeps updating its app UI and UX to make it easy to edit and share photos and videos. Instagram has changed its style like logo, font style, and user interface with time. In the recent Instagram update, they permitted advertising in the feed story. Instagram Story is the most engaging feature among all others. Thus in January 2019, active Instagram Story has grown to approx 500 million worldwide. Thus, Instagram leveraged user engagement and made it more profitable by allowing to advertise on the story feed. Here are some key features of the latest Instagram update version.
Sponsored stories via Instagram story Ads. The advertiser can engage visitors by polling, Q&A sticker, Ask Question sticker in the photos or videos.
New Appealing story stickers as Call To Action like Swipe up, Install Now, Learn More, and Click Here. It can boost the conversion rate.
As Facebook introduced a co-watching video feature, Insta also tested this feature to launch in the next update. Several users can see a video at the same time as a virtual room.
IGTV is also an impressive feature for viewing a long video. Instagram is testing a feature to play, pause, or scroll video to compete with YouTube.
Many brands and local retailers use Instagram to showcase their products. Thus, Insta unveiled a brand new feature Social Commerce to allow users to instantly checkout through Instagram. It could elevate any brand authority by leveraging the trust of Instagram.
In the March update, Instagram allowed users to add a title and heading in the live stream. It helps viewers to know the purpose of the live broadcast.
Apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Flickr are very much popular among the youth. Thus, the statistics encourage many people to create a photo-sharing app for better ROI. The main reason behind the popularity of these apps is the craze of selfies and the craving for becoming famous. Many people have become an influencer by having a large number of followers on their accounts. Anyone can get famous by capturing their interest, skills, and creativity in the shape of attractive photos or videos. This type of platform offers a person to showcase their creativity and talent to get noticed in a short time. Almost every internet users love to spend time on this kind of application.
Another reason is the dependency on smartphones. The number of smartphones users has been increasing day by day. According to Statista, The United States heads the ranking of the countries with the most Instagram users, with 110 million users accessing the photo-sharing and editing app as of April 2019. Brazil was ranked second with 66 million Instagram users. India came third with 64 million users. Instagram is a popular platform for users to share photos and follow their role models. So it is very much clear that creating a photo-sharing app like Instagram is a profitable idea.
It looks easy to design an app like Instagram. But when you dive into reality, many areas look difficult. There are many things a person should be concerned about while making a photo-sharing app. So to ease this process, we will highlight some features required in the app like Instagram.
Undoubtedly, signing up is the first step to grab the information about the user. Most app owners want to collect maximum data of users, so they design a sign-up page like a form. And as we know, it is very irritating for users to write address, contact number, and e-mail at the first stage of app interaction. A sign-up process must be less in the step, or else the users will uninstall your application. You can follow the strategy of Facebook. FB sign-up page is clean and has the little information required to create the account. To collect the user data, FB asks every user his phone number and personal details for security purposes.
An attractive and easy User Interface is the main reason for the popularity of Instagram. This platform has many features to make it easy to use. A photo-sharing app should look attractive and organized. Think about how you can take a different approach to show a photo in the account. As we know, Instagram offers a grid view of photos in a square shape. You can also make it unique by catering to the new users in any other shape. Instagram chose to have a square-view in the account. This makes the app more cool and attractive.
The biggest benefit of creating an application is Push Notification. It allows the app owner to interact directly with the users by promoting the service, products and offers. The way Instagram uses this feature to grab the user's attention is highly appreciable. Users get the push notification for the Insta live, story, new post, and new followers. If a notification arrives on your mobile saying a person has started following you, now you will be compelled to see his account. These tactics engage and appeal to users to scroll the app feed. You can also leverage benefits from the push notification.
While personal information and data security are the main issues for digitalization, Instagram allows users to create a private account. In a private account, only followers can see the post of the person. Random people can not access private accounts. This feature builds the trust factor on Instagram. Still, Insta collects the user’s personal data to sell to the advertisers like Facebook and Google+. The main reason behind the shutdown of Google+ is user data safety. You can also allow users to make a private account in your own photo-sharing app like Instagram.
If you want to make a photo-sharing app like Instagram, that means you have to compete with Instagram first. We all know Insta has a large number of users. So a new similar application should be designed well and offer more features to compete with a big player. Here are some must-have features that are a must when you are developing a photo-sharing app like Instagram.
Easy Sign-Up Process
Login with existing Google & FB account
Edit Bio
Profile photo
Personal info
Create a post with Mention friend & Tags
Upload image from internal storage or camera
Current location in the post
Enabling location for the Existing image
Search by the name
Search by Users name, #tag, community
Enable devices camera for capturing photos
Create & post videos by the device camera
Edit Story with stickers
App Live for all followers
Like & comment on the post
Share on social media
Push Notification
App notification
Message and chat with the application
See Active online & offline friends
For an app owner, an area of concern is revenue. So you should think about the possible source for making the app profitable and gaining the maximum ROI. To generate revenue, you have to concentrate on futuristic and next-gen approaches. As mentioned above, there are many apps available at the Google play store that serves like Instagram. So why should users install your application? A photo-sharing app like Instagram should be providing unique features and easy-to-use UI. Here we are sharing a general revenue model that fits in your app category. You can also drive the engagements from referrals codes.
Allow Sponsored Ads
Sponsored posts or Profile
Allow Text & Video Ads
Ads in the Story Features
Social Commerce like Insta
Enable Carousel Ads
There are two ways to develop a photo-sharing app like Instagram. Hire a reputed freelancer app developer, or hire a mobile app development company like Acquaint Softtech. Here we are expressing the detail of both options so you can easily pick one.
Hiring a freelancer app developer is easy because several trusted portals readily provide freelancers. Some popular platforms are Freelancer, Fiverr, Upwork, and Envato Studio. You can easily find a suitable app developer by posting project requirements. These platforms also allow you to hire single or several app developers as per your project requirement. Freelancers are perfect for simple application development, but if your project demands a complex application like Instagram, they may not meet your expectations. Fewer communication skills, fewer resources, less trust, and less professionalism are the main problem of working with a freelancer.
As mentioned earlier, hiring a freelancer is easy. But it is a bit complicated to hire a mobile app development company. There are thousands of options available on the market, so all you have to do is research well before choosing the right company. The best tips for hiring a mobile app development company are to examine the portfolio, project, contact detail, clients feedback, and reviews before opting for any company. To ease this process, you can choose Acquaint Softtech for the next-gen and futuristic application. We believe that a renowned mobile app development company can serve you better than hiring freelance app developers. Our portfolio boasts for us. Our portfolio recites the success story of our clients and shows how we strive to decode the complex idea of a client into a masterpiece. Our developers work hard to meet the expectation and finish the project before the deadline.
Our dedicated mobile app developers are the most prized assets of Acquaint Softtech because they create magic in every project. The same was with Intoo. Our client contacted us with the unique idea of making a platform for like-minded people, where people interact and share the same interest. And also, it curates the latest news according to the user's interests. Our team turned that idea into a masterpiece. Our effort developed something beyond their expectation. The overwhelming response, client appreciation, and a rocking performance in Google Play Store gave Team Acquaint ample reasons to celebrate. We have created several photo-sharing apps and social media apps. And Intoo is one of our best creations.
The idea of developing an app like Instagram is good. But the thing is, you are not the first or last one who dreams of developing an app like it. That simply means your app should cater uniquely. Or else, it is just a waste of effort. To make it profitable, you have to think about the revenue model. It is all up to you, either choose a freelancer or a renowned mobile app development company. If you are looking to decode your dream idea into reality, then we are the right choice. Acquaint Softtech is a leading mobile app development company with a vast project portfolio. Our dedicated app developers always follow the ideology of the client. And we also welcome all the suggestions throughout the development process. This type of striving effort towards a customer-centric approach helps us to meet the expectations of our clients. Your dream application is just a single step away. Contact us at info@acquaintsoft.com or give us a call at +1 773 377 6499.
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I love to make a difference. Thus, I started Acquaint Softtech with the vision of making developers easily accessible and affordable to all. Me and my beloved team have been fulfilling this vision for over 15 years now and will continue to get even bigger and better.
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