From miniature scavenger hunts to #foodpornBy Lauren Johnson
Article- September 1, 2016, 3:51 PM EDT
- Technology
Zoom is Instagram's newest Snapchat-like feature. Instagram: @angietribecatbs
Less than a month after launching Instagram Stories—the Facebook-owned app's version of the popular Snapchat feature, which strings together photos and videos for 24 hours—Instagram moved a step ahead of Snapchat on Wednesday by giving users the ability tozoom in while viewing photos and videos.
Now, iPhone users can now pinch photos and videos to get a closer look at them, and there's plans to roll out zoom for Android phones in the coming weeks.
And when a social platform introduces something fresh, brands always follow, whipping up posts that incorporate what's new. Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners has already created posts for Morning Star Farms and Reyka Vodka using the feature, but marketers should be cautious before going-all in.
"With the zoom feature, there needs to be some inherent reason to look at an image closer to discover something, but that action of discovery still needs to connect to the brands messaging in some way or it'll just feel like a gimmick," said Steve O'Connell, ecd and partner at Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners. "That said, eventually the novelty of zooming in will wear off, and it'll simply be another tool in a brand's Instagram arsenal to be used specifically, only in special instances."
Take a look at how a handful of brands—including RTO+P's work for Morning Star Farms and Reyka Vodka—are using the feature below. Note: To see the zoom feature in action, click on each post from a mobile device, open it in the Instagram app and pinch and zoom across the screen.
#1 Reyka Vodka
A photo posted by Reyka Vodka (@reyka_vodka) on
#2 The Cheesecake Factory
A photo posted by The Cheesecake Factory (@cheesecakefactory) on
#3 TBS' Angie Tribeca
A photo posted by @angietribecatbs on
#4 General Electric
A photo posted by GE (@generalelectric) on
#5 Noosa yogurt
A photo posted by noosa yoghurt (@noosayoghurt) on
#6 Morning Star Farms
A video posted by MorningStar Farms (@morningstarfarms) on
#7 Bud Light Lime-A-Rita
A photo posted by Lime-A-Rita (@lime_a_rita) on
#8 KFC Australia
A photo posted by KFC Australia (@kfcaustralia) on
#9 Primark
A photo posted by Primark (@primark) on
#10 British Airways
#11 TurboTax
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