A New Drag and Drop Feature Will Forever Change Your Instagram Feed

Social media platforms aren’t set up to allow you to rearrange your posts once published. This includes Instagram. Due to the visual nature of an Instagram account, it’s the one platform where users would benefit most from being able to change the position of posts.

So far the only solution, for users wanting to change the chronological order of posts, has been to delete and republish the post. This means losing any current views, likes, and comments. Just imagine a drag and drop feature that allows you to rearrange your current posts to achieve a perfectly organized, thematic, and beautiful Instagram feed. It might become a reality soon.

What is Drag and Drop?

In a recent post on Twitter, reverse engineer Alexandro Paluzzi reveals that Instagram is supposedly working on a new feature called Edit Grid that allows users to tweak the arrangement of their published Instagram posts. Functioning like a drag and drop, Edit Grid will allow users to rearrange Instagram Feed posts in the order they like, without losing any of the statistics accumulated on the post such as views, likes, or comments. 

How to Drag and Drop on Instagram?

The Instragram “drag and drop” feature will be accessible in Settings, under the Profile Information section. There you will see the Edit Grid option from where you can start organizing your posts! 

Dragging and dropping will involve 3 quick and simple steps:

• Click and hold the post you want to move

• Drag it to the new position

• Drop it

When you are done with the re-arrangement, click Done and you are good to go. Go back to your profile and you will see that the desired changes have been made to how your profile appears to you and others. Remember that these features are still in development, slated to launch soon.

Why Instagram Drag and Drop looks so promising

Have you ever looked back at your IG feed and wished you had color-coordinated it, created a pattern in your grid layout, or simply put posts in chronologically for storytelling purposes? Well, this is exactly what the Instagram drag and drop feature plans to help you do. Let’s dig deeper into the benefits of managing the position of your Instagram posts in your grid layout. 

Change the chronological order of Instagram posts

The greatest benefit of drag and drop is editing the chronological order of Instagram posts, allowing you to change the order they are seen in regardless of the time and date they were posted.

Create a visually appealing IG Feed

You will be able to conveniently rearrange any part of your IG Feed that looks disorganized to create cohesion and flow. Put posts and pictures with the same aesthetic adjacent to each other, or break up a series of the same posts with alternating ones to form a pattern in your grid. 

Attract more followers

When people check out your profile, they immediately see the first 9 posts of your Instagram Feed, and more if they begin scrolling down. Your first impression on viewers determines if they’ll stay and choose to follow you or not. An organized, branded, and visually-appealing Instagram Feed is one of the best ways to get new followers and boost follower retention.

Increase engagement

When there is a rhyme or reason to your IG Feed, viewers are more likely to engage with posts. Visitors will pick up on the intentional layout whether you are storytelling, grouping posts according to theme or alternating posts in a pattern.

Create brand recognition

We think the drag and drop feature is going to level up your social media strategy on Instagram. The ability to put posts where you want them, either now, or in hindsight, is an invaluable tool for branding. Show your audience the evolution of your brand through a timeline of perfectly ordered posts.  

How Else Can You Improve Your Instagram Feed? 

While the Instagram Drag and Drop feature looks promising, it is yet to release. In the meanwhile, how else can you improve your Instagram Feed going forward to yield higher levels of engagement?

Take high-quality images

This is the first step to improving your IG Feed. High-quality pictures or creative assets are essential before considering filters, layouts, or themes. To shoot clear and high-quality images, influencers should consider natural light, or make use of ring lights or other artificial lights. Make sure to also check the background of your image since a noisy background is as bad as a low quality image. 

Choose a Theme

Your theme is the mood of your Instagram Feed. It should match your brand persona. Make sure your fonts, colors, and designs reflect your brand and attract the right followers. If you use the filters in the Instagram app, be sure to stick to either cool or warm tones.

Balance the Look of Your Feed to Ensure Flow

You can balance the look of your feed by spacing your pictures based on their colors. Since the idea is to create a seamless flow, putting two similar pictures together would not look as great as it would if you space them out. Spacing similar pictures would create a contrast, thereby creating balance. Asides from spacing by colors, you can also space based on the background of the pictures. 

Choose a grid template or layout

This is how your posts are shown on your IG Feed. Patterns can be beautiful and make it easy for viewers to find similar posts, like monthly Q&As or a weekly carousel tutorial. Grouped posts are a series of 3 or more posts consecutively that serve a purpose, such as a campaign, new product launch, event series, or brand pivot. Seeing the posts grouped together is more immersive. 

The UNUM marketplace has free templates, grid layouts, and post ideas you can download for your next set of Instagram posts.

Decide on post formats

As a media strategist your goal is to understand your audience and speak their language. If you are a lifestyle brand, maybe your audience enjoys imagery paired with a descriptive caption. B2B audiences will probably be more responsive to carousel posts that answer a question. Retailers might do well with a combination of clever mixed-media posts and user-generated content.   

Use Storytelling

Sequential groups of posts, or posts appear at regular intervals, can tell a story. In fact your whole Instagram account should be the story of your brand. How your brand fits in with seasons, responds to current events, and celebrates holidays—all of these things make your brand more than just another account to follow. Storytelling is immersive. 

Love What You Do

As cliche as it may sound, it’s the truth. Your audience can sense when you’re happy and having fun with social media. Trust us on this—the effort you put into your account will connects you to your audience and reaps engagements like no other!

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UNUM is your best tool for planning, creating, and executing beautiful social media feeds and stories. Signup today for a free account.

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Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash