Influencers can now post to Instagram from their desktops

At the end of October 2021, global social media marvel, Instagram, finally enabled a feature that has been available on most other social platforms forever - uploading photos and videos from a browser on your local computer. This isn’t a particularly revolutionary feature, and for a few select users, the feature has been available since the middle of the year. But it's now available to everyone, and it does mark an important shift in the strategy for the mobile-first social platform.??

Why they did it and why it matters

Instagram says that it made the move because many people access Instagram from their computer, and they wanted to support those users. But importantly, posting from a desktop is a key activity for paid advertisers on the platform, and so the shift will be as much about that as it is about facilitating desktop app use.

But why does this matter? What’s so valuable to the average business user about posting to Instagram from your desktop? In my view, the true value of this change is in activating influencers.?

Instagram is the edit of my life - Kendall Jenner

Sure, a lot of influencers are using their mobile device to talk to their followers on Instagram. It’s easy to do a quick Instagram Live video while an influencer is out in some fabulous location. And it’s simple to punch out a quick Instagram Story while they are on the move.?

But if an influencer has an audience that is interested in something technical, they are likely to want to conduct research on their area of expertise before they post.? And let’s face it, conducting research is a lot easier with a keyboard, a mouse and a browser.?

Why this helps businesses

Increasingly, Instagram influencers with a strong follower base are using partnerships with brands to provide value to their followers. There is also a trend of influencers building relationships between brands who may have very different products, simply to serve the needs of their follower communities. This means the influencer is really thinking about the lifecycle of a customer, and trying to bridge any gaps or weaknesses in life experiences.?

Not only is this effectively a kind of consultancy service that the influencer is providing to their audience, it’s significant to their partner brands, too.

But think about it. If the influencer is going to provide that service, they will occasionally have to look at the user experience offered from one brand and then jump over to the next brand for the next stage of the user journey. That’s hard on a mobile device. But it can be fairly easy, flipping between websites and messaging of different brands on a desktop environment.

So Instagram’s desktop posting is going to make life substantially easier for an influencer who is swapping between multiple sources of content and wants to draw a link between how you move between one experience and the next.?

How brands can help capitalise on the change

Brands can help their influencers take advantage of this change, too. Sending an influencer the basic resources they need to make a post simple to generate helps them schedule their posts more easily. If you are partnering with an influencer make sure you send them the following:

• Recommended copy about your product in 125 characters or fewer
• Feature images or quotes that can help structure an Instagram Story post - images in JPG or PNG format
• Take care with images to ensure they are visually appealing - depth of field (near/far focus) is a useful choice
• Links to landing pages or documents that are specifically related to your copy
• Consider breaking a single image into up to 9 squares for a ‘Big Square’ post
• Pre-approve any use of stickers on images

Summing it up

Instagram’s new desktop post facility is a boon - for influencers more than probably any other user. Instagram knows that. Now you do, too. All that remains is for you to ensure you get the best from the opportunity.?