A New Way to Chat on Instagram

Instagram is the latest social media platform to expand their ever-growing list of new features. The latest addition is a brand new way for users to chat with their friends. 

By now, you’re probably familiar with Instagram stories and how they can increase follower engagement. But, if you’re not as familiar, here’s a quick overview. Stories allow users to post images, videos, and text (or all three) that can be edited using filters, GIFs, stickers, tags, and more. The thing that sets stories apart from regular posts is that they disappear after twenty-four hours, kind of similar to a photo sent on SnapChat.

You do have the option to save your stories however, or add them to your Instagram highlights (if you have any set up). 

So, what is this new feature and how is it used? 

The new chat feature is accessed through stories, and it’s pretty user friendly. Once you create a new story and edit it the way you’d like, go to the sticker selection icon, and select the new ‘Join Chat’ sticker, which adds it to your story. It will prompt you to name the chat so your followers know what it’s for (ex. ‘John’s birthday party’). 

Once the story is published, your followers can decide to click on the sticker. If they do, it will let you know they’re requesting to join the chat. The friends you approve to join the chat will be added to it in your DM’s, and you can chat away!

If you’re worried that every single one of your followers will see this when you’d rather it be a private invite, you can always limit your story to be shown to ‘close friends’ (which is another relatively new feature).

Instagram has been mainly advertising this chat sticker as a way to plan events with friends or schedule hangout sessions, but it can be used to chat about anything.

Stories are still hugely popular, so expect new features like this one to continue to roll out consistently for the foreseeable future.