New Instagram Features Hairstylists Should and Should NOT Be Using

So I don't know about y'all, but I've been seeing every fucking day, what's his name? Adam Mosseri? What's, what's, what's his name? He be coming on the- Uh- Is that...

Did I get it right? Yeah. I don't, I've never heard him pronounce his own name so in my head I pronounce it Mosseri, um- Mm. No, that's definitely it.

'cause I- That sounds way more like on, on... That sounds good. E- everyday seems like this man's coming on and talking about a new feature on Instagram, right? We can all agree with that.

And I'm just seeing a new feature on Instagram every single day. And I keep on thinking about, like, every time one pops up I'm like, "Oh my god. This would be... We can maybe use this in an interesting way."

I'm always trying to, like, figure out, like, okay is this like a new way that hairstylists can use this platform, right? And then I also see some shit pop up and I'm like, "This is fucking stupid." So, today we're gonna be talking about some of those features that you may have missed and I'm gonna be sharing with you how you can take advantage of the ones that, uh, I think are cool. And I'm gonna tell you the ones to ignore and not pay any attention to.

Well, and I think it's good to ha- practice discernment too 'cause some of them are up and gone within a couple weeks and some of them stay around forever. So, I'm excited to dive into this one. Okay. So, first things first.

Reposts. Oh my god. We're do... Okay, so, like, our whole concept for this, guys, is, like, we're gonna do a smash or pass situation, okay?

Super smash, obviously, I feel like, right? Like, oh my god, like this is such a great way to authentically, like, get more awareness and, like, broadness and reach with your posts. Yeah. The one thing I will say, I think that there's absolutely potential to incentivize this.

Mm. But I think what even better is just make repostable content, you know? Mm. Uh, I think one of the...

Some of the, some of the best advice that I ever got that really stuck with me with content was like, think about s- think about what is something that people are wanting to share, right? And create that and make that, and that's when you'll get natural reposts instead of having to ask people for them. 100%. 'Cause now that this feature is here, I do find myself, like, not reposting everything to stories in the way that I did and hitting repost instead.

So I think that is kind of, like, the... It's like what would've been shared before is, like, the repost is kinda the feed version of that. So I feel like it's very much same strategy. Yeah.

I completely agree. What's the next one? Um, okay. Next feature, trial reels.

Ugh. Fucking super smash. You have more ex- You have more, like, being able to, like, analyze an experience, but like, oh my god, I think that this is, like, so fucking cool. Okay, I would like to ask you, can you please give people...

Okay, please give people the, the definition of this, please. Okay. So a trial reel is a reel that you can post that only reaches non-followers. So, it does not post onto your public feed, it does not post onto your public reels tab.

It posts directly, essentially, into the ether, into the, um, algorithm, and then it... You can choose to add it to your feed afterwards if you want to. There have been changes with this feature and what I would have told you to do, like a couple weeks ago is different maybe than now. Um, but I do think it's, like, a really solid thing and, you know, particularly, like, if you're someone who posted something on TikTok, like, why would you not throw every single TikTok, like remove the watermark, onto your trial reels?

And then it's, to me it feels like free reach. Like free advertising, essentially. Yes. Okay.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Uh, caveat to everybody listening to this, you know, this is of course as of the day that, the day that we're recording this, right? And, like some of these fe- I mean we all know, these features change all the fucking time, especially I see... I can suspect this one just continuously changing a lot.

But, so let me ask you this question. Um, have they changed anything about, like, posting a post that you've already posted? Yes. So that was the major change.

So, um, it used to be a really great way to, like, just repurpose your existing content and then try, you know, to reach more people with it. However, what they've done now is they will actively downrank something that has already been posted on your feed. Now, to be clear, Adam Mosseri even said this, that they are... You are encouraged to repost content to your actual feed.

It's trial reels feed that they do not want people reposting to, and the reason for this is obviously simple. You could post the same reel 100 times with no recourse, right? And then you're just flooding the algorithm. So, what they want is original content.

Having said that, there is no real guidelines right now on what, what constitutes original content. So like, for me, I would think about, like, if you're changing the hook, if you're testing different language, if you're testing... Almost like, um, an AB test, to get a little nerdy with it, which is essentially testing two hooks against each other to see which perform better. I do think you could still get away with that, but at the end of the day the, like, consequence is just not getting reach in trial reels.

It's not gonna ruin your account. I don't think that people realize, and I, you know, I unfortunately just like, I have not, like, delved in too deep into this, especially because, you know, you, you helped me a lot with it anyway. But, like, the potential of this feature is insane. Insane.

Like let's say that you are a hairstylist and you are thinking about running paid ads. To be able to do trial reels first to see which of those as- of those posts do the best with a cold audience, and then-... being confident that if you put dollars behind it, it's gonna be much more likely to actually work for you. That is so powerful from a marketing perspective.

So, this feature is really fucking cool. Again, I- I- I feel like we are gifted with this. This is, like, one of the coolest things that Instagram has ever done, in my opinion. I just am concerned that it's going to change a lot and get shitty very quickly, so I guess take advantage of it while we have it, in my opinion.

I think you're right, because I do think, like, a lot of, um, you know, I thought it was so funny, like, the day after this launch, there was courses about trial Reels like, essentially, it's like ... And th- those are already, like, just not valid anymore, because they're literally like, we're like, "Repost, repost." So, I would just play with it. Expect low reach.

Expect it. But the cool thing about trial Reels is you don't have to schedule them like you would content. Like, we would be ... Like, Instagram would not be happy if I went onto my account and I posted five Reels at the same time.

Trial Reels is totally fine, because they have to actively find the audience for it, so you can post 10 Reels at the same time and it ... Just don't look at them for a couple of days. Yeah, um, and just a tip for you guys who maybe wanna, like, try this out. Like, 'cause I- I brought up, you know, posting the same post earlier, and the reason I bring that up is because, like, we have a philosophy of, like, if ...

Do more of what's working, right? And so, if you've s- if you had a post in the past that did really well for you as far as getting clients, right, then you can take that same post and, you know, the ideal situation would just be to, like, rip it and then just, like, copy it and do the same thing in a trial Reel, but we shouldn't do that anymore, per se. So, what we do instead is we just reformat that same content, right? Yeah.

Just, like, same c- same topic, just flip a little bit of the words and change the visual. Yeah. And then I'm sure that th- their- their- their algorithm, or whatever it is, is not gonna penalize you for at least, you know, having a new take on it, right? Absolutely not, yeah.

And that's definitely do more of what's working. I think that's really good advice. Ah. Broadcast channels.

Okay. Super smash. Uh, the only thing is, is that you- I think you have to be really, really engaged with your clients on Instagram to make it work, right? Uh, uh, because a lotta people will not be willing to join your broadcast channel.

But if you can get people to join your broadcast channel, then what you can do is, is you can only talk internally to your clients and keep them engaged in between visits, or fill in your last-minute gaps without having to worry about sharing your gaps with the public. I know that there's, like, a lot of, like, insecurity sometimes of, like, posting your gaps because you may f- see ... It may create the perception of, like, not being busy, so, like, what's wrong with you? You know what I mean?

So, like, being able to do that on an internal channel on social media might be advantageous for you, especially if you don't want to send an email, right? So, it's just creating, like, another internal channel of communication for you and your clients, which I think could be really powerful. I love that, and I feel like you could make it almost like a very ... Like, I think you could position it as, like, the exclusive space- Yes.

to create, you know, some ... Like, a- a reason for people to be there. Yeah. So, and you can invite people, too, which is cool.

Way back in the day, and I copied this from, uh, I believe I copied this from Lisa Hoff, um, way back in the day. Like, this is OG PVP, all right? This is OG pre-visit pathway, my very first program that I ever put out. I used to teach too, and I had a, um, a client-only Facebook group, and- Mm-hmm.

it was ama- it was so fucking good. It was so cool for so many different reasons and uses, and it was just massively awesome and helpful. I don't teach it anymore. It doesn't work as well as it used to, but I think maybe this might be, like, the modernized today version of that, and I absolutely loved it.

And it did make people feel very special. It absolutely helped with retention. And, like, I would have, like ... I would have, like, special, like, lives that people would show up to.

It was very cool. It was a very cool situation. So yeah, I love that point that you brought up, where you can make it like an exclusive, like, club, and make it something cool. Yeah, I love that.

Okay, so this one's kinda same same but different, and it's not super, super new, but I think it's worth a mention. What about close friends? I think similar concept. I think very similar concept.

Um, I think maybe, like, if you're really particular, like, if you wanna be a really diligent marketer, or if you already are a dili- diligent marketer and you kind of know, like, who your leads are, like, who your followers are, that, like, you really would like to become a client one day, like, adding them to your close friends I think could be a really interesting thing to do, because it, like, lets them into something deeper and it just ... And also, like, if- if- if you are on somebody's close friends, you are, like, n- a hundred thousand times more likely to, for that s- your Stories to show up on that person's feed. So, I think for the- for forced visibility purposes, particularly with ideal clients, if you can capture that, um, I think is a really great idea. But they have to be following you, I'm pretty sure.

Yeah, I think, yeah, I'm pretty sure they do as well. Um, okay. Notes in DMs. So, like, the notes feature at the top of the DMs, which are visible to anyone that you follow that also follows you.

Yes, I think these are absolutely great. I know that they kinda work on me. Like, somebody will be like, "Just posted something nuts," or, "I don't fucking know," and they absolutely work on me. I'm, like, always like, "Oh, what did they post?"

You know? I think there's many different creative ways that you can use those little bubbles that pop up. I haven't really given it a crazy amount of thought, but I think that, like, it, there's- there's many different use cases, and you can definitely get creative with them most likely.And they're kind of, like, a very short, like, I think, five or six words, maybe, are visible.

So, it's almost like I think about it in the way that you would think about, like, a hook. Yeah. So, it's a curiosity peaking, you know? Yeah.

I was thinking, like, the word... Like, you can make something, like, ominous. You can make, you can make something, like, that could, like, really, like, ma- like, capture somebody's attention and then make them want to visit your feed and continuously engage, or even DM you, 'cause I'm pretty sure that you can, like, reply to those, uh, to those little bubbles as well too, right? So, if you wanna create more engagement for whatever reason.

Um, again, uh, maybe another place to, another, like, maybe you could call it, like, safer place to fill in gaps as well too, right? Um, 'cause they're only showing up to people who you follow. Yes, that also follow you. Thank you.

So, another safe, quote-unquote, place where it's not, doesn't feel so public to maybe fill in gaps as well too. Right. Love that. Okay, so this one is kind of, like, rolling out, um, so you may see it, you may not right now, but it is Reel linking.

Like, Reels series linking. Oh, I don't know this. Oh, okay. I don't know what this is, but I could assume what it is.

Is this giving, like ... So, it, like you said, it's a ... If you wanna have a s- a series, what will happen? Yeah.

Like, will it show up, like ... So, like, like, like, okay, so for, for the audience listening, so that me and Jodi don't nerd out and, and make sure everybody's on the same page. You go ahead, Jodi. How about I let you if I can do this?

Okay. So, I love content series in general. Let me just first say. Thank you.

So, I'm very ............................ content series, and anything that will make you do it. Um, so basically, the concept for this is that if you have, say, you have, like, a three-part series, like a three-part Reel series, they are introducing it, and I do not have this on any of the accounts that I have or manage. So, I have not seen actually what the rollout looks like quite yet.

But basically, the, the, the process will be they'll be able to access the part before and after, um- From that Reel? From that Reel. Gotcha. So, it could look like YouTube.

Like, you know at the end of a YouTube video- Yes. where there's, like, card? Like, it could look like that. It could be in the caption.

Um, so we're not 100% sure. I, I'm not even sure if it's, like, officially rolled out, or if it's just, like, a very small subset, 'cause I have accounts in different countries even- Sure. that are not showing it. But, um, I think there's a lot of really cool potential here.

Oh, hella smash. What are your thoughts? And let me tell you why this is a hella smash, is because the more that you can keep people in your ecosphere and continuously consuming, the better. Like, you wanna keep people on the page.

You wanna keep people consuming the, l- uh, uh, uh, more and more and more of your content. Even if you send an email, you wanna send somebody from the email over to the Instagram, and you wanna send Instagram over to the website or the next post, or whatever it may be. You want people to fucking revolve all over the place. So, I love this.

This is big smash. Where's the, where's the passes? You're giving me all smashes. I know.

These ones are freaking good. Um, okay. Um, so Friends Tab in Reels. What is that?

This one is not really something that I think we even have that much control over. Ah. Like, I think it's a pass 'cause I don't know. It's not for me.

But I'm interested to hear your thoughts. Okay. Basically, what it is, is it's like, you know when you are looking at Reels? At the top right-hand corner, you'll see, like, the little bubbles of people that you're friends with, or that, like, you follow?

Yes. Okay. So, click on that. Wait.

It will give you a Reels feed of what your friends are liking. So, PS, the things you like on Instagram are no longer private to you. What is so scary- Right? if this was on TikTok, it would be way worse for me.

Like, it'd be way scarier. No, this is not ... See, this is pass, and I don't see any business, I don't see any business, uh, relevance to this in any way, shape, or form, honestly. No.

Yeah. I mean, maybe if we really wanted to, like, if you were like, "Here's your challenge. I'll give you $100 if you figure it out," I would, but I, no, I'm not going to. Um, okay.

There's a pass. I hate that. If you asked for what, then I- And then, it also, it also, there, it ... So, okay.

So, at first, when I saw that, I thought that that meant, I thought that meant that your friends are, like, liking it or whatever. But then, they had that, those, like, little bu- the bubbles at the bottom, I think, now- Yeah. that, like, show you if one of your friends liked it or whatever. Exactly.

And, and I think that maybe it does, but then when you tap on it, that's when you get brought to a feed. Yes. Which, this is, like, maybe a little conspiracy theory, maybe not. I don't think it's a conspiracy theory.

But my thoughts on this is why we're seeing a lot more consumption and less interaction on posts, because it's no longer private for people. Mm-hmm. And so, I think that ... 'Cause Instagram has introduced a ton of new measures to measure engagement outside of, um, likes.

Likes. Right? And general user behavior, like, I obviously pay a lot of attention to this, is that people aren't liking content at the same frequency they used to. Like, comparative to how many views it gets.

Yeah. I know 100% for me, I absolutely- Yeah. am thinking about when I'm liking something- Yeah. or commenting on something.

The amount of times- Yeah. I've deleted a comment after I fucking co- commented, because I was like, "If somebody else sees this, then it might not, might not give off the perception that I'm trying to give off." Yeah. You know?

Yeah. Like, even, like, this happens to me a lot on Facebook. Like, I'll see, like, Facebook group posts, 'cause I'm in all these hairstylist Facebook groups, ha-, and I just see, like, these, these posts . I just see these posts, and, like, I wanna leave, like, a comment, and then I'm like, "I don't know if everybody should see this."

And it's just, like, it's just, like, I just wanna give, like, I just wanna give, like, direct advice, you know? And then I'm like, "This is not, like, worth giving this advice, and then other people seeing it and then questioning it." You know what I mean? Or, like, even on TikTok, like, I'm very insecure of what my friends are gonna think about what I'm liking and commenting on.

So, this absolutely affects me 100%.Yeah, so I think that's something to keep in mind and I, like, I saw a lot of discourse about this one, like, this is, like, a violation of our privacy kind of thing for when this was introduced, so I'm also on the fence about how long this'll be around, personally. Well, and I know for a damn fact, people talk about this all the time, how many times have you had a client who did not like the post or never engages with your stuff, but then they come in and sit in your chair and they're like, "I just saw your post. Like, how cool was that?"

Or whatever, maybe, I don't fucking know. I was talking to one of, uh, someone the other day about how I, like, rarely will someone engage with my content until after we've already worked together- Sure. Same. or until, like, after they're already a client.

Yeah. So, I mean, aside from, like, random people, but, like, I would say less than 20% of people that I end up working with have engaged on my content prior to us working together, so. Vanity metrics. Vanity metrics.

100%. Okay, so Jodie. So we also have some, like, like, possible features that may have been tested or rumored to maybe be coming out and, you know, just to give a little bit of a bonus and have some fun and ideation, we're gonna go over them as well too. So what's the first one?

Okay. So the first one is maps slash location tagging. So we actually- Super. Fucking.

Smash. Super smash. Sorry to cut you off. Go ahead.

Well, I saw this come up for a short period of time and then go away. Did you- Yes. Okay, so I was on a fucking, I was on a group call with my me- with my MSM members the other day and I really love to, like, put them into action, like, while they're on the call with me. So I was having them go on Instagram and, like, go into their local geotag and their, all their search was, like, changed from, like, what I, what I knew, and this map was showing up for all of them.

So, like, everybody had it at a certain point, it had all these different business locations and things like that, and I was like, oh, like, this is new and unexpected. It was like a roadblock for my training, um, and I was like, well this is interesting though, like, I definitely am gonna look into this because this could definitely help us, like, with growing our clientele. But it's gone now. Would you mind explaining- Yeah.

a little bit more, like, of what it looked... So, 'cause I forget, like, it was like, it was like when somebody searched, like, and it was a very prevalent feature, like it was not h- it was not easy to miss it, I felt like. So I remember, and, and again, the thing about Instagram features that's fun is it shows up differently for, uh, everyone- Mm-hmm. a lot of the time.

But when I would go into my DMs it would be like, "Share location. Don't share location," that kind of thing. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. So I think that, like, I did again see some backlash on that 'cause people are like, "I don't want..."

Like, you know, everyone was posting about like, "Turn off your location. Dah dah dah dah dah." So I think for the business thing, like, maybe they're just, like, reexamining the way that they present it so it's not as much, like, it doesn't feel quite so, like, Snapchat-y, I guess? Well, yes.

Okay. So, I thought we were talking about it s- something else, but it's kinda two in the same a little bit. I think they are the same, yeah. Obviously, obviously they are cons- they are looking at this, like, location situation, right?

Like, they're obviously looking at this map situation, right? Uh, semi smash on, like, the, the S- the Snapchat vibe of, like, map where you are because it shows your stories, like, it's like when you look at the m- I still have access to that. When you look at your, when you look at your, uh, that map, you can see the people who are sharing those locations. You can see the Instagram stories of that person in that location, and so, like, you're actively, like, marketing yourself, like, like showing people your content.

I mean, especially right now where nobody has their shit on and, like, nobody's taking advantage of that. Yeah. I mean, maybe possibly, I don't know, like, people may be curious and checking out the map. Maybe you're the only person who has stuff on there.

Might be fascinating- Mm-hmm. and interesting. But that is, like, that part of what we're talking about here is, it's a pa- it's a pass for me, okay? What- Yeah.

what is a smash and what me and my students ran into was when we were searching our own locations in the search bar, what usually shows up is those listed geotags. Like, it's like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or, like, whatever else or, like, all those different geotags will show up. But that wasn't showing up anymore. It was, like, this big map and it was only, like, other businesses that were showing up.

It was definitely, like, a different thing. It was separate. It was diff- And I was like, "This is fascinating." So, but it's gone now.

It was like- Yeah. I, I went back to find it and now it's like it's peaced out, so I don't know what the fucking tea is. May or may not be back. We shall see.

And if it does come back, y'all, I will let you know because I thought it was really interesting and we could definitely use it to our advantage. Yeah, that is cool. Um, okay, next one. Grid customization.

Oh, is that where you can move shit around? Yes. Um, like, like smash. I, I don't really, I honestly guys, like, yes I ca- I, maybe back in the day I cared a little bit more.

I don't give a f- I don't give a fuck about, like, I don't really care that much about my feed. Look, I know that, like, my, I know that my individual posts are gonna do what they need to do. Right? Like, I know that they are gonna kn- do what they need to do and no matter how it's positioned in the feed, it's gonna look great.

Right? Like, I know that's gonna be great. Um, so I assume for the majority of the people listening to this, particularly hairstylists who everything is very visual and things like that, right? I'm sure this is gonna be awesome for you guys, so I'm here for it for y'all.

Do I think it matters that much? Not particularly. However, maybe you listen to my podcast and you hear me say, "70% of your grid should be work," and then you pull work up to where you're missing work, I think that's kinda badass. So maybe smash in that way.

I have, like, an interesting weigh in on this too, actually. Yeah. Is I think it could be a cool way to, again, do more of what's working, and it may empower people to test more ideas, because if you know that you can pull up the stuff that has worked really well to the top of your feed- Mm-hmm. maybe it'll take away a little bit of that, like-...

fear of posting stuff, 'cause you know that the top of your grid is gonna be great no matter what, so you can put more things out there and try more things. Yeah. What that also brought up for me, too, is we can, uh, have a little bit more control over the customer's journey as well too, right? Because now, like, we can really, like, curatedly think about pre-predict their thoughts when they come onto our Instagram, and then every single post can address those predicted thoughts and journey, and then address it and meet them exactly where they're at.

So, I li- I, I like that. It's interesting to me. I love that, and, like, maybe as, like, a little bonus here, Hunter, we can, like, there is, like, al- kind of semi-customization available. Like, you can pin your top- Yeah.

three, right? 100%. Y- yeah, and- So- ... I mean, we sh- we absolutely...

I, here's the thing. I don't think that those things, like, I think that story highlights and pinned posts are, majority of the time, missed opportunities. Agreed. Uh, I think that there's so much power in them, and I'm gonna give you the one that you absolutely should have.

You should have one that is pinned to the top and it says, and it l- is labeled on the cover, "About Me" and it's an About You post. And, like- Yeah. everybody should have that, period. Love that.

Agreed. Um, okay. So, the next one is expanded notes. So, longer notes, essentially, in DMs.

What is that? You know, like, the notes feature we just talked about? Like, just longer. Like, why?

Oh. Yeah. I don't know. You mean, on the...

So, I guess , I guess we know it's a pass. It's, no, you mean, like the little, the little bubbles on the people's- Yeah. I'm just thinking they're bubbles. I'm just calling them bubbles.

The, the, yes. Bubbles. No, that's true, it's gonna ruin it, I feel like. It ruins it.

But what's the point of... Yeah. I agree. And, and it takes up more space on that screen, and that'll ruin our chance, as business owners, to have a chance to be on that screen because less people will be able to be on the screen.

Yeah, I've seen- Do you know what I'm trying to say? Like, there's less- Yeah. peop- if there's more words, there's less space for people. So, and I like that it's short and ominous and, like...

I love that you keep using the word ominous. It's giving ominous. Like, I be, I be seeing people post the most ominous shit on their fucking, on their little notes thing. Like- I need to know who you follow.

Wait, let me go, let me go into my shit right now. Let me go, particularly maybe my more personal one, like... For example, I, this girl has RIP Joey on her fucking thing right now, like... Oh, God.

That is ominous, I'll give you that, for sure. So, I mean, like the people who are posting, like, anything on there. Anyways. RIP Joey, much love to him, very much so.

Um, next is Reels first home screen. That's the la- this is the last one. It's, went live in India, I think? Okay.

Um, but I don't know if it's coming into the US or Canadian market. Oh, so you open up the Reels tab as soon as you open up, that's the default? Yes. Um, that would be very smart on alg- on Instagram's part.

I think that from a, from, you know, if I was Instagram, I would absolutely be, be doing that. Sucks for the people who don't like doing video, is what I'll, I'll say. You know, I mean, like, if that does happen, then you, I think you should absolutely be getting more into video if you're not already posting video. I think that that's my, that's my tea about it.

So, I don't really have a smash or pass, but I'm, like, just scared for the people who don't love video. I think it's an interesting move because of just, like, how much, like, Reels were pushed, like, to the max, right? And then the appetite, like, the only reason that carousels do well now is because Instagram stopped- Is because we're used to the video. Exactly, right?

So, I, I thought this was a really interesting one, 'cause I'm like, I, I wonder what the, what the purpose of that is, I guess. Well, becau- like, I mean, 'cause it, because it's ti- to compete with TikTok, because, I mean, like, we're opening TikTok and actually, TikTok had, like, the carousel situation. I never see those anymore, actually, on my TikTok feed. Yeah.

I only see videos. Maybe, and, you know, that could be, you know, curated by my algorithm. I don't fucking know. But- True.

um, it's to compete with TikTok, you know? Because as soon as you open TikTok- Yeah. you get a video, right? And I think that- Yeah.

that's, I, I, that would be my theory. Yeah. No, that would make sense. Well, this was so fun.

I feel like, I hope some of these stay rumors, like expanded notes, for example. But that'd be cool. Um, so much love to y'all. Y'all are all so amazing.

Jodi, you're so amazing. Thank you so much for doing the research to bring this to us today. I really appreciate it. Um, I gave you guys some good features to check out today.

How about you guys take one actionable step and use one of them today? Cool? Yes? Great.

Thank you for tuning into the Modern Hairstyles podcast. Peace out (00:07:55), scout. Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2025 Hunter Donia LLC.