Instagram Testing Video Tagging Feature
Depending on how things go, it could be a boon for brands, marketers and social media influencers.
Heads-up, marketers: Instagram is beta-testing a new feature that would allow users to tag friends in their video posts – a development that, if fully rolled out, could help extend the reach and views of posts on the visually-driven social platform.
Currently, Instagrammers can only tag friends in photos.
TechCrunch reported that the video tagging feature being tested works similarly to photo tagging, but with a twist. With photos, clicking an icon at the bottom left prompts a list of tagged names to appear over the image. But with videos, clicking the icon will take users to a list of tagged people.
TechCrunch spotted this example of video tagging on the Instagram account @cablegirlsrd.
As of now, video tagging is only available on Instagram’s mobile platform, not the web version. Only users who opted in to the beta test can access the feature. Unlike with photos, videos do not currently appear in the profiles of tagged Instagrammers. Still, that could change as Instagram refines the feature.
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TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez noted, video tagging opens up some potentially exciting possibilities for brands. “The feature could also make way for shoppable videos, not just photos, and allow Instagram influencers to post videos of their favorite products and places, while pointing fans to those brands’ own Instagram accounts in a more structured fashion than is possible today,” Perez wrote.