Instagram are on a roll right now! Fresh from launching their “DM Me” sticker at the start of June 2020, they are now rolling out brand new fonts and even more stickers to use in your Instagram Stories.
Let’s take a look at what’s new for you on Instagram Stories.
4 brand new Instagram Stories fonts (finally!)
Remember those days when you just had the “Classic” font to work with? They were tough times! Then, a few years ago, we were greeted with “Typewriter”, “Strong”, “Neon” and “Modern”.
Since then, we’ve had no updates on the font front, so the addition of 4 brand new fonts, cool tweaks to existing fonts, plus a new way to access them, is highly welcomed!
New
— Instagram (@instagram) April 29, 2020
fonts
coming
to
Stories
soon*
🖌
*We’re testing this with a small percentage of people. Stay tuned for updates. ✨ pic.twitter.com/1RfBbtUIYv
Lucky profiles have had these new fonts for a while as they were first hinted at the end of April 2020, while others are still waiting for the update. Keep checking yours ’til you see them!
For those who have the update, you’ll notice that where you select which font you want to use has had a makeover too. Rather than selecting the style at the top of the screen, you can now swipe through the different styles just above your keyboard.
I can now see them when I create Instagram Stories, so here’s how they look:
What are the new Instagram fonts like?
Due to the new layout on Instagram Stories, these new fonts seemingly no longer have names, but they all have a distinctive style to refer to.
The first new font that I’ve used in yellow above is reminiscent of child-like handwriting. It’s playful and friendly.
The second new font that I’ve used in red is a sophisticated italicised serif, which I think would look great on fashion and beauty accounts.
The third one, which I’ve used in white on a rounded black background, reminds me of the pre-existing “Modern” font but a little softer. It looks like a call-to-action button when used with the background, so might be a nice font to use to direct your audience to do something after viewing your stories!
The fourth new font, which I’ve used in black on a white background, is like the second new font. It’s another serif, but this time, it’s not italicised. Having this new font makes me think how much we sorely lacked a serif before!
How have existing fonts changed?
Not to give all the attention to their shiny new siblings, the pre-existing Instagram Stories fonts have all received some tweak-ments too.
- The “Classic” font at the top has benefitted from some rounded corners on the background
- The “Modern” font now comes in a trendy outline version – which you can find when you click through the different styles via the “A**” button
- The “Neon” font doesn’t seem to be that different to me, but I’m sure there are some subtle updates in place
- The “Typography” font looks a bit smarter and you can toggle between alternate background colours using the “A**” button
- My favourite, the “Strong” font, looks bolder to me, and the new 3D layered-style background looks – as I put it on the image above – “so cool”!
How to use the new Instagram Stories fonts
- Open up your Instagram Stories camera, and either select an image to use from your camera roll or take an image
- Click the “Aa” icon in the top-right corner
- Click where you’d like to add your text to the screen (remember, you can drag the text to move this later)
- Your keyboard should now pop up here
- Just above your keyboard, you should see mini previews of each font that you can swipe through to select (see the first image above)
- Choose your favourite font and type your message
- To add a background on selected fonts, click the “A**” icon that you can find at the top-centre of your screen
- To change the colour of your font, click the multicoloured wheel next to the “A**” icon, which will bring up a selection of colours for you to choose from.
2 new Instagram stickers for business profiles
Again, just as the “DM Me” sticker and the “Challenge”, “Thank You” and “Stay Home” stickers were added as a response to the Coronavirus outbreak, the two new stickers just launched by Instagram are ideal for businesses who have struggled during this financially challenging time.
So, what are the new stickers launched by Instagram?
Say hello to “Food Orders” and “Gift Cards” stickers, which look like this:
How does the “Food Orders” sticker work?
The first thing to know is that this feature is more than just a sticker. If you’re an eligible business. you can also have an “Order Food” sticker on your Instagram profile, which you can update via the “Edit Profile” function.
To get started, you’ll need to set up your business with a partner. For UK businesses, you can set up with Deliveroo, JustEat or Uber Eats.
But, in another way to directly order food from your Instagram profile, your followers can tap the “Food Orders” sticker you place in your Stories.
To use the “Food Orders” Instagram sticker:
- Start your Instagram Story by taking a photo or choosing an image from your camera roll
- Tap the stickers icon at the top of the screen – it’s the one that looks like a post-it note!
- Scroll down to the “Food Orders” sticker and click
- Add the partner link for your food ordering service, then tap “Done”
- Drag to move the sticker where you’d like it to feature on your Story
- You can also tap the sticker to change colour.
Here’s how Instagram describe the new Food Orders for Business on Instagram function:
You can set up food orders on Instagram to give people a way to support your business. When someone taps the Order Food button on your Instagram profile or the Food Orders sticker in your Instagram story, they’ll be directed to your partner’s website to order food delivery or take-out from your business.
Learn more about the function here.
How does the “Gift Card” sticker work?
Similar to the “Food Orders” sticker, the ability to link to Gift Cards is part of a larger function on Instagram, which is available to eligible business and creator accounts.
This function will allow your followers to buy a gift card for your brand from an authorised partner. In the UK, authorised partners are Gift Up!, LoyLap, Rise.ai, Square and SumUp.
Here’s how Instagram describe the new Gift Cards for Business on Instagram functionality:
You can set up gift cards on Instagram to give people a way to support your business. When someone taps the Gift Cards button on your Instagram profile or the Gift Cards sticker on your Instagram story, they’ll be directed to your partner’s website to buy your gift cards.
And, just like the “Food Orders” functionality, you can add a “Gift Cards” button as a call to action on your main profile, if you go through the “Edit Profile” link, then update your “Action Buttons”.
To use the “Gift Cards” Instagram sticker:
- Start your Instagram Story by taking a photo or choosing an image from your camera roll
- Tap the stickers icon at the top of the screen – it’s the one that looks like a post-it note!
- Scroll down to the “Gift Cards” sticker and click
- Add the partner link for your gift card service, then tap “Done”
- Drag to move the sticker where you’d like it to feature on your Story
- You can also tap the sticker to change colour.
Although non-essential stores are set to begin reopening in the UK from 15th June 2020, the Gift Card functionality is ideal for those businesses not quite ready to let the public back in, as it still allows fans to support the business in the meantime. Of course, the sticker is also brilliant for e-commerce businesses throughout the year, and I imagine it’ll rise in popularity for occasions like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Christmas.
Learn more from Instagram here.
Overall, the Instagram team are dedicated to enhancing the Stories experience by regularly containing to add new stickers and other features. They’ve also recently updated their Creator Studio mobile app, launched Shops and Facebook Avatar – so there’s lots going on at Facebook HQ!
What do you think? Essential addition or a feature you won’t be using?