Have you seen Instagram’s new feature that is officially rolled out to all accounts called ”channels”? Think of this as a giant group chat, but only you can send updates and anyone else in your chat can send reactions (heart, thumbs up, laughing emoji, etc.) to what you share. 

Instagram previously tried to encourage large group chats, but I have to admit the upkeep of responding to constant messages, moderating, and the limit on the amount of people made it less promising for business purposes. 

The channel feature solves all those problems, but I bet you are wondering what am I going to share in a channel that’s different from stories or in-feed posts or on my blog or the other million of other places you have a platform. 

Think of your channel as a place for you to share about an ongoing project or piece of content that isn’t necessarily in your niche but might be an area you are trying to grow and make part of your platform. But, what does that mean Bailey? 

Well, an example might be the best way to show you what I mean. 

One of my favorite channels I am subscribed to is Olivia Muenter’s. She is a podcast host and writer. She has recently been shifting a lot of her content, including sharing content around her home remodel. Spoiler alert it’s amazing and I have fallen in love with her old home. 

Her channel is primarily covering her Old House Renovation and she shares a few little life tidbits as well. And it’s safe to say I am OBSESSED and you will be too. She shares design inspo, has her channel subscribers vote on paint colors, shares BTS photos of the process, etc. 

3 Reasons Keeping This Content on a Channel is Best

1. The people subscribed are excited to be getting this content, but others might not want to start seeing a bunch of brand-new home content when they were previously used to travel/book recommendations. By keeping the bulk of this content in a channel she is not risking losing followers or the dreaded mute button. 
2. It’s an engaging way to connect with your community while limiting the amount of feedback you will receive. Especially helpful with design projects like this, because boy do people have opinions. 
3. Think of this as a testing ground for new content and a way for new people to connect with you over the topic in your channel. If you are wanting to expand the things you talk about online, but want to see if your community even cares THIS IS THE SPACE. If you have always posted book content but recently got into a new sewing hobby then I would recommend creating a channel all about sewing and testing the waters. 

Ways to Get People to Join Your Channel

1. Cross-promote your channel with an account that you think has an audience that would be interested in your channel niche. That’s how I found Olivia’s. 
2. Let people know that you have one! Mention it at least once a week on Instagram and share some of the screenshots from your channel. 
3. Make the content exclusive, something they won’t find anywhere else!

Let me know in the comments below if you have a favorite channel you subscribe to!