Instagram now allows users to share photos and videos in both portrait and landscape orientations.
Instagram is thinking outside the square to make sure nothing gets left out of the perfect shot.
The social networking site known for its square, Polaroid-style photos now allows users to share photos and videos in both portrait and landscape orientations. Square is still the focus of Instagram, but users can choose how they want to share their stories.
Instagram made the significant change after discovering that nearly one in five photos or videos posted to the site aren’t in the square format. As a result, people get cut out of group shots, videos look squished and long or wide subjects aren’t fully captured.
To avoid that, users can tap a format icon to adjust the orientation when choosing a photo or video to share. To maintain the sleek, uniform look, profile grids are same, regardless of the orientation, and any portrait or landscape shot is center cropped.
The latest update also means more options for videos, which now can be adjusted with the same filters as photos.
The changes are part of a major transformation for the fast-growing platform that boasts more than 300 million active monthly users.
Instagram, which was bought by Facebook in 2012 for about $1 billion, recently began focusing on ways to make money and this year is expected to earn nearly $600 million in ad revenue.
In August, the media technology company Adaptly Inc. announced it has been selected to receive early access to Instagram Ads API, allowing advertisers to run paid media campaigns on the site.
Among Adaptly’s first clients to use Instagram for advertising solutions are retail giant Sears and the advertising agency Assembly.
Also new to providing ad campaigns on Instagram is Growmobile, which helps mobile marketers promote their apps and maximize their campaigns. Growmobile’s Instagram campaigns are available to customers in Germany, France and the United Kingdom, with additional locations expected to follow.
Other initiatives on Instagram include Have2Have.it, an app launched by social solutions company Soldsie that helps Instagram users become consumers. The app creates a direct link from Instagram to a specific product or content a business is trying to sell.
Together, these efforts offer marketers the opportunity to extend their advertising reach to Instagram’s massive community of users. According to eMarketer, Instagram’s ad revenue is expected to reach $2.81 billion by 2017 as the number of users continues to grow worldwide.
