Instagram has rolled out a new feature to support small businesses facing certain challenges due to coronavirus lockdown. Since the lockdown began, many small businesses have been forced to close physicals stalls and outlets and are left with social media as the only option. As a result, tech giants such as Facebook have been doing all they can to support these businesses.
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The latest development is Instagram’s new feature called the “Support Small Business” sticker. Announcing the new feature on Twitter, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri posted: “Today we’re launching a ‘Support Small Business’ sticker in Stories so you can shout out your favorite small biz.” He added: “We want to make it as easy as possible to support amazing small businesses right now.”
Users can view the story added to the Stories feed with “Support Small” written beneath it. Tapping on this enables them to see the names of small businesses around them. If you’re looking to promote your favourite business on the platform, you can add the “Support Small Businesses” sticker to your story and post a story to the Stories feed. This will make the sticker visible to your followers, thus creating more exposure for the business you are promoting.
“As many stores remain closed and social media serves as an online Main Street, the shift to doing business online is more urgent than ever. We’re announcing new ways for people to support and discover small businesses, along with more tools for keeping businesses informed and connected with their customers,” Instagram said in a statement.
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In a similar vein, Facebook is introducing a new feature called the Businesses Nearby, which allows users to see the latest posts and updates from businesses near them on the platform. This will benefit users by helping them locate shops that satisfy their demands and will benefit businesses by helping them connect better with their customers.
“We want to do everything we can to support small businesses right now, whether that”s building new tools to help them stay in touch with customers or giving people the power to easily show their love to businesses they care about,” said Instagram COO Justin Osofsky.
Facebook will also keep small businesses abreast of COVID-19 related information on its platform and will equip them with tools and tips for scaling successfully.
Featured Image Source: Neil Patel
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