Niharika Pande of Meta on harnessing the power of Instagram

On the sidelines of the recently held #IGUxIndia, a product education workshop, Niharika Pande shares the best use of features and trends for creators on Meta.

As Instagram continues to become one of the most consumed social media platforms for creators and users, it has become crucial to understand the best ways to utilize its features effectively. 

In an interview with Niharika Pande, Head- Creative, Curation & Programs, Meta India, Social Samosa speaks to her about harnessing the power of Instagram features and navigating the landscape of trends that dominate on the platform.

At the recently held #IGUxIndia, a product education workshop, she uncovered the possibilities of experimenting with various features available and how trends like Photo Dump and #GRWM have become content formats that are widely popular and have out-lived the life of a trend. She decodes these trends and also uncovers how creators can prioritize and maintain their mental well-being amidst the fast-paced world of Instagram while discussing the various features and tools that the platform provides to support their journey.

Edited Excerpts:

Can you tell me about #IGUxIndia? What made you start something like this?

Instagram University is a global program that actually launched in the US in the month of March. We have hosted it in APAC, and we have now hosted it in India now. The idea is to bring together the community, including emerging creators and media, and as a product education workshop, talk about the latest of what's happening on the platform and share some insider tips, making it almost like a refresher on what's happening on the platform.

It’s our attempt to start a conversation on how you can actually drive Instagram the way you want because Instagram is about all of our choices. So making sure that we use it as a way to connect with folks who are very deeply connected to the platform and give them the opportunity to learn more as well as adapt their own experience to what piques their interest.

How is the program going to help Content Creators? What bridge is Meta creating with such programs?

I think the way we structured the session and it was live on Meta India’s Instagram handle so that folks who were not in the room could actually go and see it as well. We spoke about every surface, specifically, so we spoke about the feed and how you can actually make sure that you're using the feed in the best way possible, including using carousel posts and making sure that you're also leveraging features like ‘Not Interested’ and ‘Taking a break’ when you want to take a break from content that's coming on your feed. We spoke about DMS and how people are using our DMS as a way of having a conversation. And then we also spoke about Reels and the latest updates about editing.

The key takeaway really is that each surface exists for a reason, and there are multiple things you can do with it. And it really is up to the Creator how they want to leverage it together and build their own content strategy. So you don't have to focus only on one surface versus the other. They all have their own unique case. And hopefully, we showed a lot of examples that showed creators on how they can be creative in leveraging various features like Stories or DMS or how they can even look at reels content strategy.

Talking about trends, some trends become content formats, like Photo Dump is not restricted to only creators; any user with a private profile can also opt for it. Can you dissect its popularity? 

Yes, like aptly said, Photo Dump has actually been happening for the last couple of years and but it has now become very mainstream. It has consistently been seen for the last one and a half years. One of the reasons is that a lot of young creators and teens relate to the idea of sharing everyday pieces of their life. They are not waiting for the perfect moment, these are all the moments that made them happy, and it comes together as a curated photo dump.   

They are also doing fun things with it, in the middle of 10 photos, they will put like a funny easter egg or will put something different so that people have to engage with them. So it's almost becoming a new way of showcasing what matters to you. And I think a lot of like the younger people I think is excited about it, but I think what we're seeing is the many variations within it.

And we actually saw these towards the end of the year trends. If you remember, at the end of the year, a lot of people were posting my 2022 recap, or here's what happened. People shared in the form of pictures, reels format, etc. It was really a way of showing the highlights from the year. We also see a lot of these monthly dumps like April Dump, Birthday Dump, Travel Dump, etc. It is a good way to keep track of the big things that are happening in life and take a moment to be grateful for the opportunities that are coming, and celebrate the small stuff.

GRWM has become as good as content format for all fashion and beauty creators; as per Meta, what is the reason behind it being a go-to format for many? 

GRWM has existed for a while now. But we are seeing different versions of it. There is one get-ready with me for an event, which is the most regular way of doing it. Now there is GRWM, where people are sharing a story while actually getting ready for something. So a lot of times, you also see creators talking about something which is totally different from what they're wearing because they're just sharing an interesting anecdote.

Then there is GRWM which actually talks about products that they love or the brands they are using. It is a good way to bring the behind-the-scenes front of the stage as well. So you're taking something which just behind the scenes about getting ready, but making people part of it and almost making it like a key part of your content.

I think the other thing, we are seeing is that people like seeing the behind-the-scenes process, so they actually enjoy getting to know this is how a Creator is getting ready for a big event, you almost feel invested in that process. If you have seen them get ready and if you see them at the event, you are almost rooting for their success. It's a way of bringing your community into the big moments. So it's a really great way for creators to engage their fans. 

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Do you recall any other trends that have lasted for long and become a format of sorts?

One trend we have been seeing, and we have actually quite enjoyed watching and consuming as well, is nostalgia. So you see a lot of nostalgia in content these days. And what is nostalgia is that it takes you back to a different time. Whether it is looking at 60’s fashion and doing makeup and dressing up that way, or the songs of the 80s and 90s coming back like Backstreet Boys are actually having a world tour which is sold out, I mean, that's almost 30 years later from the time they were at a peak. So you have seen nostalgia come out in every way!

Pepsi’s new campaign has a song from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander or Hailey Bieber for her brand Rhode she launched a new lip product, and the aesthetic of that video is a 90s vibe.  Why would people want Nostalgia, that's an interesting question. And what we feel is when you grow up with such uncertainty and things that you can’t control. Going back to a different time is always comforting, and also different eras give you very good creative ammunition.

I think nostalgia with a twist, something old but coming up in a new way, is definitely exciting. We see it with a lot of content, a lot of songs going viral, and a lot of the aesthetic of it is seen on the platform.

What are a couple of features that a creator/user can use to keep mental health in check on the platform or the practices Instagram follow to facilitate that?

Creators and Users have the same features, so the list is valid for everyone who is on the platform. 

First thing first, for your own security to make sure that you have 2 Factor Authentication On, and you don't get hacked.

The other option is that for every reel or post, you have the option to select ‘not interested.’ So if you see any content that seems like spam or you don't want to see you can say not interested and that gives a signal back to us that you don’t want to see such kind of content, and eventually the distribution of similar content reduces towards your account.  

Every time you see a spam account or somebody that's trying to spam your comments, you can actually go and block the, and this is now multi-block which means that if they try and come with new accounts those get blocked too. So you should be more active in curating your comments. For people who you think should not be in the comments, make sure you ae blocking them. 

Fourth I would say is having set certain words as restricted words so you can actually go to your settings and set up words that you don’t want to see in your comments. We have seen creators actually talk about this, where there might be certain triggers that they don't want to deal with and they actually put those words and those words immediately gets removed. 

And the last is that the time you have on the platform is meaningful. There are option like muting people for short time in case you are getting overwhelmed with the kind of content they are sharing. Or going to your settings and putting time limit, so you can have something called as take a break which is like a reminder after X number of minutes that you don’t want to see content anymore or time to take a break from Instagram. So that's another way in which you can make sure that you're putting limits for yourself and you are not mindlessly scrolling. But you actually spend that one hour in a very joyful way and enjoy what you see.

There is a lot we are doing at the backend to clean up spam accounts, but these are some actions you can take to kind of curate your feed.