Social Media Alert: Are you excited about being able to tag brands on Instagram?

Instagram added a new Facebook-like tagging feature on Thursday that could give brands higher visibility on the youth-oriented photo-based platform. Called “Photos of You,” the feature allows any Instagram user to tag any other Instagram account in their photos.

 

This means that the Instagram accounts of businesses and products can tag regular users. So if, for example, H&M were to tag Beyoncé, she could choose to add the photo to her stream, exposing the ad to her 3.6 million followers. Beyoncé (and everyone else) can curate the photos tagged with her name, choosing which to showcase on her profile.

 

Instagram sees the feature as a way for consumers to interact with brands. “People can now add their favorite band to their concert photos from last night, the clothing brand they’re currently wearing or the coffee roaster who brews their morning cup of coffee,” the company said in a blog.

via www.adweek.com

This was a great headline from AdWeek today. While social media research remains a conundrum for many, tags are helpful for all types of organizations to better measure and connect with their customer. We’re excited to see this feature coming to Instagram as a fun, engaging way brands can easily connect with their customers and influencers. Just recently, I had the opportunity be out and about and enjoying a lovely glass of Michael David Petite Petit at the Tysons Corner Seasons52. As a researcher, I’m constantly working to stay on top of the latest trends, especially in social media. So I snapped a photo in Instagram…and I was surprised the next morning to find that Seasons52 had “liked” my photo. I felt a little love from one of my favorite restaurants…they felt a little love from a regular patron…and it was a win, win all around.

So what do you think…is this a good development or do you foresee more problems than benefits?​