Much like how YouTube offers specialized features for "partner" channels, or those with high viewership and subscriber count, Instagram might be testing a new set of features reserved for "influencers" or high-profile users.
Part of the reported move involves giving celebrities more control over their account, such as the ability to filter direct messages and access more in-depth analytics over their follower counts.
Instagram Might Give High-Profile Accounts More Control
The company is testing the new feature with a small group of users, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It's expected to become available to more high-profile accounts starting next year.
One of the features is quality filters for direct messages, which lets creators allow only specific people to contact them. Influencers can also access data regarding how many people are following or unfollowing their account, and they can even use various labels to help point media inquiries to the right channels.
Instagram Growth Insights
Growth insights can give creators a broader overview of their profile's progress, and it works across the feed, Stories, and IGTV. It also shows creators what content was a hit, so they can understand how that might have led to more people following their account, and vice versa.
Creators are "an important part of our community," according to Ashley Yuki, product manager for Instagram who oversees media solutions and IGTV, among other services.
"We want to make sure that Instagram is the best place, and the easiest place, to build fan communities and also build [creators'] personal brands."
More Tools Coming
Without specialized features for creator accounts, celebrity Instagrams are virtually similar to regular Instagram profiles, lacking any sort of customized experience. According to Yuki, some creators choose to designate themselves as business pages instead as a recourse, but they say the feature simply isn't tailored to meet their needs.
As such, Instagram sought to create a "space where we can now start to specialize the experience for the needs of creators."
Yuki says specialized features for creator accounts are only the first set of tools it plans to roll out in support of creators. The company failed to provide specific release dates for future initiatives, however.
In any case, more specialized control would be a huge boon for high-profile Instagram accounts, especially since notifications can get pretty crazy for someone big. Twitter already solved this problem with "Verified" tags, and although Instagram is a little late in the game, it's at least catching up steadily.
