Instagram is looking to introduce a ‘donate’ feature to their Stories, meaning that we can all support charitable causes on the platform!
What are Stories?
Stories were introduced to Instagram back in 2016. They allow users to share images, videos, boomerangs, & text in a bite-size format.
The content has a lifespan of 24 hours, & is a great way for people & brands to share news or a tit-bit of their current activities.
There’s been no official date for the ‘donate’ feature to be added to Instagram Stories.
Although Instagram have released statements to a number of tech companies, explaining that the addition is officially being developed & is intended to enhance the user experience on the platform by allowing them to act & support nonprofit organisations.
Why add the feature?
For me, the more obvious reason for Instagram wanting to add the ‘donate’ feature is because of the huge support for nonprofits on the platform.
At the end of 2017, BenchMarks officially reported that nonprofits ended the year with “44% more followers than they had at the beginning.”
And with increasing support for environmental and social justice movements worldwide, I can only assume that the support for these organisations has continued to grow rapidly on Instagram.
As a platform, Instagram has always been transparent in its desire to “bring you closer to the people and things you love.” (Read more here.)
So it would follow that, as a result of the increased support for nonprofits, the platform would introduce an easier method for its users to donate to their favoured charities.
My thoughts…
Personally, I love the idea behind this feature!
From a biased perspective, I’m a big fan of certain nonprofits, and would love to be able to donate directly on Instagram.
But more generally, I think any opportunity to bring Instagram’s users closer to a seamless experience on the platform – in this case, in terms of their interaction with nonprofits – is awesome. And shines a really positive light on Instagram and how they’re responding to how their users are using the platform.
What do you think about the introduction of this feature? Maybe it heralds the start of Instagram introducing official payment systems (an Instagram Marketplace, perhaps) to the platform?
Leave any comments or thought below… 👍👍👍
