IYCMI: Is there actually a brand play for Instagram’s new Instants?
IYCMI: Is there actually a brand play for Instagram’s new Instants?It's Stories meets Snapchat meets BeReal
⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY
💻 ROADMAP📲 Meta UpdatesInstagram dropped Instants (or “Instance” if you’re Adam Mosseri’s caption service). It’s a spontaneous photo-sharing camera that feels like a mashup of Stories, BeReal, and Snapchat — accessible within Instagram or via a standalone app in select countries, including the US. Instants photos are shared immediately with mutuals or Close Friends, with no editing or filtering. They can only be viewed once; and they can’t be captured via screenshot (I tried). According to Mosseri, early global testing showed people using Instants to share more casual, authentic moments from their day. “Sharing personal moments with friends is a core part of Instagram,” he said in a video. He added that since people don’t post a lot to the feed, Instants is designed to help you connect with the people who matter to you the most. (Um, surfacing their content in the feed might also be a solid step but I digress.) Given the obvious comparisons to BeReal and Snapchat, Instants has strong potential with teens. But what does a smart brand play even look like here — especially when some are already calling it a space for thirst traps? Maybe a creator takeover (a throwback to early Instagram) or behind the scenes at exclusive events? What do you think — take the poll or leave a comment below!
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🎙️ QUOTE OF THE WEEKI’ve been writing a monthly blog post for the Adobe Express team and the latest was one of my favorites: What it takes to build a podcast audience on social. Think of your podcast as raw footage, not a finished product, Peter Sleiman, creative director of What’s Uptin, told me. You’re not cutting down a podcast to post a promotional clip to social; you’re building something net new. The branding may look or sound familiar, but the product is different. You’ve probably seen a lot of coverage of clippers lately — creators who chop long-form content (usually someone else’s) down into bite-sized videos. The lesson here is to think like a clipper. You’re creating original social content, not just promotional content for a podcast or show. “I see a lot of companies that take this long podcast and just make it vertical and shorter. But you really have to think of it as a new product. Instead of chopping it down into a short video, I think of the podcast as raw footage,” said Sleiman. 📊 DATA DROPYouTube is the top platform for long-term creator partnerships
🪩 🏢 🚕 UPCOMING EVENTS🎟️ The Press Publish LA: The Hollywood Creator Summit — taking place May 28 — shared its first speaker drop, including Smosh’s Alessandra Catanese, creator Michelle Khare and creator Kinigra Deon, among others. 🎟️ VidCon revealed its full 2026 schedule. Creator economy leaders speaking at the June 25-27 event include Twitch’s Dan Clancy, Pinterest’s Malik Ducard, Snapchat’s Brooke Berry, Tubi’s Rich Bloom, and more. 🎟️ Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta Connect 2026 is officially scheduled for September 23-24 in Menlo Park and is expected to showcase AI, VR and wearables. See: 2026 ICYMI Events Calendar 👀 ICYMI: JUST THE HEADLINES
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