Instagram is introducing another way to encourage interaction: this time through comments on stories, which are then visible to everyone who views the content of that story.
As you can see in this sample sequence shared by Taylor Loren, some IG users are now being notified of a new comment option for Stories.
According to the notification:
“You can now comment on stories. Comments are visible to anyone who views the story.”
Comments on Stories will appear at the bottom of the frame, above the feature controls and viewer details, so they’re not intrusive. And it could be another way to get more people talking about Stories updates, with prompts that essentially act as comment highlights that appear on the main screen.
Instagram is trying to find new ways to get users to participate in the app as more users switch to private DMs for discussions and sharing. In fact, according to Instagram boss Adam MosseriIG users now post a lot more in stories and send a lot more DMs than they post in the main feed.
This limits interaction, but Instagram tries to counteract this with tools like Notes, which allow users to leave conversation prompts at the top of the Inbox tab.
Notes is a great success and is growing “at breakneck speed,” the app says.
But more importantly: Instagram reported last June The Teenagers take notes ten times more often than teenage children. Instagram is keen to retain this user group and interaction and building a social network remain an important differentiator of the app compared to TikTok.
For this reason, the platform has since expanded the note-taking feature to profiles, reels, and feed posts, and added a number of additional note-taking features.
The Comments on Stories application seems to be quite similar, offering users another way to highlight chat prompts based on the content posted, encouraging more discussion and engagement.
Of course, creators can also disable commenting on Stories if they wish, so that these comments do not appear on their content. So there is a way to maintain the presentation integrity of your creations, but allowing Stories comments could be a great way to increase your reach by generating more engagement on your content.
And IG will no doubt be banking on more people using the app. After all, more comments mean more interactions, which in turn means stronger bonds with your network on the app.
And network effects aren’t as easy to replicate, which could keep people more attached to Instagram.
Either way, it’s an interesting update that could lead to further activity.
