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Instagram is experimenting out yet another collaborative feature, this time through Stories that you may create for a friend.
Does this sound weird? It sort of is, but it also makes sense as a sharing alternative.
How it works
As shown in this example submitted by Jonah Manzano, some users are now seeing a new option in the Stories creation flow that allows them to share their Story with a friend via the “Friend’s Story” feature.
If you choose to share a Story in this way, the connection you share it with will be able to review it and, if approved, add it to their Story.
What it is
As previously said, the Story will be forwarded to your connection as a message, allowing them to check it out. If they choose to share it, it will be put to their Stories stream, with your handle shown on the Story to indicate that you produced it.
It could be a useful approach to collaborate with friends while increasing engagement and exposure in the app.
And if brands gain access to it, it might open up a new, easier avenue for sourcing UGC by encouraging fans to contribute their work in order to potentially be included on your brand page.
Instagram has confirmed to SMT that they are testing the option with selected users, but there is no timeframe for a wider launch.
Instagram Says
“We are always working on new ways for people to share and connect on Instagram and are now testing a way to request to share to a friend’s story with a small group of people to start.”
A new feature leading to an interactive option
It’s the latest in a series of collaborative features in the app, which also includes Story “Hype” messages, “Add Yours” templates, public Collections, and more.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has stated that he wants to ensure that Instagram maintains its social focus as it moves more into entertainment, so expect to see the platform experiment with a variety of different choices to boost engagement and interaction on the app this year.
Friend’s Stories is another feature that could be a fascinating interactive option once it is fully launched.
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