Instagram Introduces ‘Photos of You,’ Enabling Brands and Others to Tag Users in Photos
On Thursday, Instagram unveiled “Photos of You,” a new feature enabling users to tag people in photos. It also gives users a new way to view all photos that have tagged a particular business or brand.
“People can now add their favorite band to their concert photos from last night, the clothing brand they’re currently wearing or the coffee roaster who brews their morning cup of coffee,” according to the Instagram for Business blog. “As a business or brand, Photos of You gives you a new way to curate and share the photos that best showcase your brand your brand as documented by your biggest fans.”
This feature offers a more dynamic form of engagement beyond merely mentioning others in the comments section with the “@” symbol. While the company denies that the feature is aimed at helping Facebook’s photo-filter darling make more money, it certainly makes the social network more appealing for brands and marketers. Besides, why else would it announce the feature so proudly on its business blog?
“Photos of You,” which is available now for users who download Instagram version 3.5 on their iPhone or Android phones, gives brands an opportunity for more visibility. It also opens the door for more creative forms of interaction. For instance, it’s not too hard to imagine a campaign that rewards participating users with a tagged photo of them in the brand’s photo stream.
Users who are concerned about being tagged in photos of their wild weekend have a way to choose whether the photos that appear in the “Photos of You” section on their profile are added automatically or are manually approved one by one.
