If you’ve really been paying attention to the Instagram profile grid over the last couple of days, you will have spotted that your vertical images that you meticulously cropped to 4:5 aspect ratio are now having the sides trimmed just a little bit. That’s because Instagram has switched to a 3:4 grid ratio on profile pages as it introduces support for images with a 3:4 aspect ratio—i.e., the aspect ratio of the vast majority of smartphone sensors.
The change comes only four months after Instagram did away with their square profile grid, causing many carefully crafted profile pages to no longer look quite so cool. Presumably, the latest move will result in a new wave of similarly incensed users—who spent the last four months perfectly lining up their 4:5 aspect images—but the support for the 3:4 aspect ratio is an eminently sensible decision given that an overwhelming majority of users are trying to make full use of the available screen real estate by posting vertical images shot on their phone.
Of course, users of Micro Four Thirds cameras—underwater shooters included—can also pop the champagne, as their days of cropping vertical images are now officially behind them. Meanwhile, everyone else can at least celebrate the little bit extra in our photos we get to show the world. (Instead of a maximum size of 1080 by 1350 pixels, vertical images can now be 1080 by 1440 pixels.) Before you get too excited, though, keep in mind that there’s a very good chance Instagram will not be switching to a 2:3 grid ratio anytime soon, given the ubiquity of the 3:4 smartphone sensor. Still, one can always dream!
You might think everyone is on Instagram. It certainly feels that way sometimes and perhaps it is in Meta’s best interest to promote this. Or at least posit the idea as an inevitability.
Blue red and green letters illustration of social media icons. Photo by Alexander Shatov
Well, you’d be wrong because apparently there are enough people not on the platform to warrant paying creators to bring new to Meta’scrown jewel.
That’s not a new business tactic, but it’s sort of novel for social media which is probably why it is just in a beta testing phase at the moment, FStoppers reports.
When you consider some of the recent legislative action in the States, there is some incentive to push forward such a program.
Creators basically have users sign up via a link and are then paid per sign up or after 1000 “qualified taps.” Successful promoters can earn up to $USD 20,000, the website reports. Naturally, it’s going to be hard to reach that level but there are certainly some accounts that could blow past that requirement with ease given their scale and reach.
This new strategy would seem to be in direct competition with TikTok’s and YouTube who have similar programs, highlighting the intense competition in the social media space.
You might recall some time back there was talk of banning TikTok in the United States. While that hasn’t gone anywhere, it did spur a kind of blood-in-the-water approach by rivals to scoop up users left behind if TikTok were banned.
And while that didn’t happen, the race to secure as many users as possible continues, even while it becomes increasingly harder for creators to make money no matter what the platform.
Any thoughts on this strategy are welcome in the comments.
Check out some of our other photography news at this link.
Why do some people seem to gain Instagram followers effortlessly, while others struggle to get any traction? Find the answer by enrolling in the School of Instagram. It’s completely free to join, and the lessons you learn will take your Instagram account to the next level.
Here’s a quick overview of what you can learn from the School of Instagram. (Hint: it’s just a fraction of what’s on the site itself, so you might want to dive right in and get started with your first free lesson right away!)
1. How to Stand Out on Instagram
Instagram has over a billion active users, with over 100 million photos and videos uploaded every day. How can you possibly stand out in such a crowded field?
Start by binge-reading the ten dedicated lessons in the School of Instagram’s first subject area: How to Stand Out on Instagram.
You’ll learn, among many other things, how to:
Successful Instagrammers seem to do all these things naturally, but the truth is that they’ve spent years honing their techniques and learning what works and what doesn’t. The School of Instagram helps you take a massive shortcut and begin using these tried-and-tested tactics right away.
2. How to Plan Your Instagram Content
What do you mean, you don’t plan your Instagram content?
If you’re just using Instagram to connect with friends and family, it’s fine to post off-the-cuff photos of whatever’s happening in your life from moment to moment. But if you want to use Instagram to reach a wider audience, you need to be more strategic. Learn how to do that in Part 2 of the School of Instagram’s curriculum: How to Plan Your Instagram Content.
You’ll discover time-saving apps you can use to plan your content, create better Instagram Stories, and more. Plus you’ll discover exactly how paid partnerships work and learn how you can grab a slice of the $6.5 billion influencer marketing budget, even if you don’t have a gazillion followers just yet.
If you’re an Instagram old-timer, you probably think you know all there is to know about using it.
Think again.
Instagram may be a fairly simple app, but with a billion users, and with humans being the creative beings they are, Instagrammers have come up with a ton of useful hacks to do things Mark Zuckerberg never thought of. Learn all about them in Part 3: Stuff They Don’t Teach You About Instagram.
For example, do you know how to respond more quickly to comments by using the text replacement feature on your phone? How to add animated GIFs to your stories with a few taps? How to offer more poll options with the emoji slider? These are just a few of the Instagram hacks you’ll discover.
Let’s face it: there’s a ton of Instagram advice out there. But have you ever noticed that a lot of it is written by people whose own Instagram profiles are… kind of underwhelming?
If you want to succeed on Instagram, you probably want to learn from people who have tens or hundreds of thousands of followers. You want to know what they’ve done to achieve that success. What have they learned along the way? What can you do to reach the same level?
That’s where the “Asking for a Friend” interview series comes in. Watch some successful Instagram entrepreneurs talking about their biggest lessons, their best Instagram tips, how they deal with setbacks, and much more.
You can find these fun and inspiring interviews on the School of Instagram homepage. Here’s one of them, with stylist and digital influencer Kristy Wu.
If you follow the lessons from the School of Instagram, you’ll soon be building a healthy and fast-growing Instagram following. But how do you translate that into sales or traffic for your other projects? After all, Instagram only lets you put one link in your profile.
The best solution is to build an “Insta website”: an eye-catching, mobile-friendly site that quickly states who you are and what you do. Forget complex web design and hosting fees: you can set up a site quickly and easily using the free Milkshake app.
With Milkshake, you can build a bespoke Insta-site on your phone in minutes, and use it to connect your followers to everything you offer.
The site is specially designed for Instagram’s mobile web browser, so your followers can swipe through your site just like Instagram Stories. Seamless!
You can update the site as often as you like. It’s free to create, and the best part is that no software or design skills are needed! What’s not to like? Download the Milkshake iOS app to get started.
And don’t forget to enrol for the School of Instagram to ensure you’re getting the most out of the platform. They’re adding more lessons and interviews all the time, so sign up to make sure you’re the first to find out about the latest Instagram tips and tricks!
In honor of Earth Day, National Geographic is offering the chance to feature your best nature-themed image on their “Your Shot” Instagram page. The event is being pitched as less of a formal competition and just a great way to honor the best wildlife photography on the planet, for the planet.
The process is easy: Just post an image using the hashtag #NatGeoYourShotOurHOME between now and April 22nd. Prolific filmmaker Bertie Gregory and a handful of Nat Geo editorial staff will select their favorite shots and share on the Your Shot Instagram page on April 30th.
