After months of speculation, one of Instagram’s new business features has been revealed: a white ‘contact’ button.
Displayed on Later, the contact button – which appears at the top of the new business profile pages Instagram is testing – will enable followers to easily make contact with brands and business owners.
When the contact button is clicked, a drop down menu is shown with the option to email or get directions.
In addition to immediately being able to see where the business is located, Instagram has also created business categories such as ‘Health/Wellness Website’ which appear under the page name.
Until now, the ability to contact businesses directly on Instagram has been a bit of rabbit hunt, with users having to navigate to an account’s profile description, click on the link and then search for contact details back on the business’s home site.
Some businesses place their email address in the profile description.
The contact button reveal comes in anticipation of a line of new features that Instagram confirmed it will be rolling out and testing this year.
Sydney business owner Chris Berents, co-founder of florist Little Flowers, has more than 14,000 Instagram followers.
He believes the contact button would definitely help his business grow.
“We use Facebook to tell stories and Instagram is more of ‘a day in the life’ to introduce people to our couriers, our florists, our staff members,” he tells SmartCompany.
Following in Facebook’s footsteps, Instagram has been busy developing an advertising strategy similar to the social network to help businesses better understand their customers and followers.
Earlier this year, an Instagram spokesperson told Re/Code the social media giant was building a range of new features, including business-specific profiles where account holders can access more data on how posts are performing and buy ad space on mobile devices.
This month, Berents plans to take advantage of Instagram advertising as he expands his social media marketing beyond Facebook.
Being able to share beautiful photos of his flowers allows Berents to create brand awareness and make more sales, he says.
But there is one thing he really wishes for.
“I’d love for people to be able to buy on Instagram,” he says.
Dinushi Dias is a freelance journalist and a former StartupSmart reporter and multimedia content producer. She is the co-founder of Melbourne-based production house Dinushi & Power.
