KEY TAKEAWAYS
– Instagram announced new features focused on improving user experience.
– One of the features is Rage Shake, a new way for users to report app issues.
– App usage worldwide is on the rise.
– UX improvements benefit you as a business.
– Prioritizing improvements to your website, app, or in-store UX can help to boost your business performance.
Freezing screens, malfunctioning features, and app crashes are all enough to make us want to throw our phones across the room. Instagram heard our complaints loud and clear!
What is the Rage Shake Feature on Instagram?
In a video on his Twitter account, Instagram Head Adam Mosseri discussed two new features designed with the app’s fans in mind:
- Carousel Deletion
Users will now be able to delete single photos from their carousel feed posts, rather than scrapping the entire photo set because of one bad image. Users have been clamoring to have this flexibility added to the app’s many new features for what feels like ages! - Rage Shake
An instant answer to user agitation, Instagram’s Rage Shake feature lets you brandish and buffet your phone in frustration whenever the app misbehaves. This takes a solution-focused approach to resolving user experience (UX) issues that’s certainly a more productive alternative than abandoning the app altogether in a fit of irritation.
You ever use Instagram and it wasn’t working like it was supposed to? Maybe Stories didn’t load, maybe the audio wasn’t working, maybe you just couldn’t upload a photo and it was just really getting you, really just pissing you off? Now, you can literally shake the phone and a little option will come up that allows you to report a problem.
Adam Mosseri, Instagram Head
Average daily app time skyrocketed in emerging economies like India (up 80% from Q1 2019), Russia (up 50%) and Brazil (up 35%), but even in a mature market like the U.S., app time was up 25%.
James Smith for Forbes
App Usage is on the Rise
Instagram enjoys an audience of more than 1 billion people worldwide, which includes 73.5 million users who weren’t using the app until this year. That’s a lot of daily scrollers to keep happy! But it isn’t just the photo sharing social media app that’s seeing a bump in its usership:
Usage data from App Annie in Q1 of 2021 shows that consumers across the globe spent an average of 4.2 hours per day using apps. This represents a 30% jump year over year, putting a renewed importance on reliable a UX to meet consumer expectations.
The Impact of User Experience
The average person who uses apps for personal use obviously benefits from quality-of-life improvements made to the app, but businesses are major benefactors to these updates too. Regardless of if you’re brand new to Instagram, are trying your hand at Instagram advertising, or you’re trying to diversify your content marketing with additional bells and whistles, your ability to use the app seamlessly is critical.
Naturally, you can see the perk of investing in UX improvements when the shoe is on the other foot. But what about when you’re the business behind the experience?
Features like Rage Shake give users a chance to immediately and easily report problems with platforms they love, allowing the conversation about improving UX to happen in real time, rather than in negative app reviews. Every business – whether you operate an app, manage a website, or offer an in-store experience – needs to find ways to confront the needs and complaints of its users.
Our advice?
Gather feedback and really listen to what your users want and need. Putting their ideas into practice shows your audience that you care – and it can limit the obstacles to conversion at the same time.
Up Your Instagram Game & Improve UX While You’re at It!
Understanding Instagram starts with our library of on-demand training sessions. We offer sessions for novices and newbies as well as posting pros – a little something for everyone! We handpicked these sessions that we think are right for you, including a few on how to gather customer feedback and improve your website. Check them out!
