Instagram update lets companies slide into your DMs
New feature is latest in Facebook’s bid to monetise free photo-sharing app
![Users left bereft as websites hit with outage on Monday night](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2020/06/15/22/instagram-down.jpg)
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
![Head shot of Andrew Feinberg](https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/support-us/andrew-feinberg.png)
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
The latest Instagram update will allow companies to chat with users through direct messages, the photo sharing app has announced.
The Facebook-owned app will add support to allow brands and businesses to connect with users through live customer service representatives, with Adidas, H&M and Michael Kors among those who have already signed up.
The feature had already been introduced to the Facebook Messenger app and Instagram’s system operates on the same platform.
“The new API features enable businesses to integrate Instagram messaging with their preferred business applications and workflows, helping drive more meaningful conversations, increase customer satisfaction and grow sales,” Marion Boiteux, product manager at Messenger, wrote in a post introducing the tool.
“Instagram is a place for emerging culture and trend creation, and discovering new brands is a valuable part of this experience."
Conversations between businesses and users of Instagram and Messenger have grown by over 40 per cent over the last year, according to Facebook’s own figures.
It marks a steady shift away from the user-led experience that saw it explode in popularity in its early years.
When Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, the app had no way of making money but has since morphed into a revenue juggernaut raking in billions through advertising and partnerships.
Brands have capitalised on the monetisation opportunities afforded to them in recent years and the latest update will further solidify their presence and dependence on Facebook-owned apps.
“Instagram is a platform for community building, and we’ve long approached it as a way for us to connect with our customers in a place where they are already spending a lot of their time,” a spokesperson for Michael Kors’ marketing department said.
“With the newly launched Messenger API support for Instagram, we are now able to increase efficiency, drive even stronger user engagement, and easily maintain a two-way dialogue with our followers.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments