First, Google updates their logo, now Instagram. The company announced the change on their blog on May 11. The nostalgic, retro camera has been replaced by a sleek and colorful new look. The app was also updated to a minimalist black and white to allow its user’s images to stand out.
Whether you like it or not doesn’t really matter. Instagram’s new logo symbolizes its increasing departure from being considered a photo-sharing app to “building a global community of storytellers”. Simply put, their new logo is a positioning strategy.
Started five years ago, Instagram mainly focused on providing a platform to share photos. Today, Instagram is owned by Facebook and has released a family of other complimentary apps including Boomerang, Hyperlapse and Layout. Instagram has grown very quickly in a short amount of time. However, Snapchat which started at the same time is considered by some, including entrepreneur and social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk, to be the next big thing.
To attract advertisers and generate revenue there are two very important metrics for an app: number of users and level of engagement. Instagram has a strong user base; however, Snapchat far exceeds their number of uploads. The more time a user spends on your app, the more appealing it is to attract advertisers.
Now let’s take a closer look at Instagram’s announcement: “sharing more than 80 million photos and videos every day.”
I don’t think that was an accidental italicization of and. Instagram is eager to dominate the video-sharing landscape, too. And it doesn’t stop there.
By broadening its medium and loosening their ties with photography, Instagram has the ability to be agile and innovative with their product offerings.
Mishka Alarcon 