Meet Instagram’s New ‘Creator Lab’

Have you ever experienced ‘help-centre rage’?

You’ve got a specific question in mind, but it’s nowhere to be seen in the disappointingly small list of popular FAQs. The frustration begins to set in, as you realise that none of the website’s ‘suggested’ topics relate to your question. So, you arduously type out your query, adding in as much detail as possible in an attempt to receive an equally specific reply, only to hear from a generic chatbot saying that they’ll process your question within ten working days.

Instagram, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, is attempting to curb this all-too-familiar rage by introducing its new ‘Creator Lab’. Aptly titled, Instagram’s Creator Lab is an experimental platform wherein influencers are encouraged to share unique insights into their journeys from user to professional influencer. The growing group of popular influencers featured on the platform aims to answer all of those difficult but essential questions about Instagram marketing that most generic FAQs simply can’t cover.

With the influencer market expected to grow to just over $22.2 billion by 2025, people across the globe are flooding to Instagram to try and launch a new career as a full-time influencer. Eager to encourage more creators to make a living on the social platform, Instagram launched the self-proclaimed ‘educational platform’ to give users the confidence to join the influencer community. And with an average of two billion active users each month, it’s highly likely that the new Creator Lab will attract a healthy following over the next few months.

What is it?

Instagram’s Creator Lab is an online portal where famous online creators post a variety of five-minute videos discussing valuable tips and tricks on how to avoid certain mistakes when first pursuing a career as an influencer. Essentially, the cleverly named ‘lab’ has been designed to store a vast collection of essential ingredients for achieving success in the influencer industry.

What sort of content should I expect to see?

At the time of writing, Instagram’s Creator Lab features 18 five-minute videos that each tackle one of three key themes: self-expression, long-term growth and building a community.

Let’s take a closer look at what each of these topics plan to offer:

• Self-Expression

  The key to achieving a long-lasting and successful career as an influencer is individuality. With approximately 50 million users around the world already claiming to be established creators, playing safe and blending in with the crowd simply won’t pay off. This series of videos in the Creator Lab explores the ever-popular question of ‘what makes you, you?’, and how to market your individual talents and traits as profitable assets. Several topics have already been covered in the Lab, including ‘Defining Your Voice’, ‘Finding Your ‘Why’’ and ‘Building a Content Strategy’.

• Long-term Growth
  

  Just like with any career, the opportunity for long-term growth should be a constant point of interest. Building an Instagram brand is rarely a quick process, as it can take months to attract enough followers to start earning money. According to a recent study, your account will need to reach a following of at least 42,575 to earn the average UK salary of around £29,000. This may sound like a daunting figure, but sharing quality content that expresses your unique voice is likely to attract plenty of loyal followers. Several videos on the topic of transforming your passion into a career have been published on the platform, covering subjects like ‘Mixing Creativity and Money’ and ‘Partnering with Brands’.

• Building a Community
  

  As an online community, becoming a successful creator on Instagram relies almost entirely on making new connections. Spokespeople on the Creator Lab continually emphasise the importance of reaching out to followers with interesting and engaging content.
  The maximum number of accounts that a user can follow at any one time is currently capped at 7,500. A lot, right? Not when you consider the latest predictions suggesting that the total number of Instagram users worldwide will reach nearly 1.2 billion in 2023. That’s a lot of accounts to follow, all of which are competing for the attention of the other 1,199,999,999 billion users on the app. Videos discussing topics like ‘Nurturing Your Community’ and ‘Collaborating with Others’ are a useful resource to anyone hoping to make their mark on the Instagram community.

Are videos the only resource in the Creator Lab?

Although short video clips filmed by creators are the main focus of Instagram’s new Lab, they are not the only useful resource available. The platform also offers written notes on some of the most complex topics of discussion, such as how to understand Instagram’s various algorithms. Although many of the videos touch on subjects like monetization and channel growth, these notes explore the technical side of becoming an Instagram Creator in greater depth.

So, there you have it- a whirlwind introduction to Instagram’s new Creator Lab. Its creator, Adam Mosseri, describes the platform as ‘for creators, by creators’, presenting it as an authentic, user-led environment. We’re expecting to see big things from this new venture, particularly as Instagram continues to attract new generations of creators.

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