LAST week we discussed business changes that are coming to Instagram, mainly the move from a photo-sharing app to being focused on short-form video. “We’re no longer a photo-sharing app or a square photo-sharing app,” head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri said.

This week I want to discuss what these changes mean for the content and social media strategies that advertisers and businesses have. Knowing the coming changes will allow you to begin planning, and that way, you won’t be caught off guard. Instagram is banking on video content, driving creativity and engagement to draw more people onto their platform.

1. Video Is The Focus: We know that video will be the focus. Although we do not have an in-depth breakdown of the dimensions, Moserri did say that it will be full screen, mobile-first and immersive video. That means you should start looking at how you can translate your product to ‘video best’.

Do not panic. Video has always been king in the social media space, and with TikTok and YouTube having such an enormous impact, it was only a matter of time. Most businesses have been incorporating video in their online strategies; it just means that it’s time to increase the video allotment in the marketing strategy.

2. Increase Ad Budget : With the lion’s share of Facebook’s income being from advertising somewhere in the region of $25.44 billion, we should expect that there will be new guidelines with these changes. Video has always given better bang for the buck when it comes to advertising on Instagram. The shift in focus will more than likely see pricing changes and increases surrounding video content advertising.

The changes coming to Instagram will take a while to reach our region as Instagram Reels are not even available in Jamaica as yet. To compete with TikTok, Instagram will also have to figure out how to circumvent the music copyright issue they are very strict about; this is a major driving force of TikTok. Therefore, it is safe to say that businesses have a good lead way to prepare for the coming changes. One benefit of getting the features at a later date is that we will get to see them hammer out the kinks and plan accordingly.

Chelan Smith is CEO of Chelan Communications. With over 13 years of experience in social media, she has worked with local and international companies to implement strategy and develop and solidify their digital brand voice.