Dive Brief:

• Instagram added an “Explore” channel to its mobile app letting users easily find trending hashtags
• The Explore page includes photos related to trending locations and hashtags along with curated collections of photos.
• The new feature helps Instagram’s 300 million active users find relevant content among the 70 million photos and videos shared daily on the platform.

Dive Insight:

With Explore, Instagram is creating an intriguing opportunity for marketers. The announcement on the new channel didn’t address monetizing the feature, but marketers are likely to see this new way to engage with Instagram users as an opportunity.

The Facebook-owned photo sharing social media platform rolled out a new feature on its Android and iOS apps adding an Explore channel that lets users more easily find real-time content around trending hashtags. The Explore section includes curated collections such as “extreme athletes” and “glimmering islands,” and search within the app has expanded beyond people and hashtags to now include places.

According to Facebook executive Carolyn Everson, the company intends to include Instagram in Facebook’s suite of ad targeting.