How to use the new Instagram Nametag – Instagram is about now rolling out a new feature that would enable users to find and follow people on the app easily. Known as Instagram Nametag, it works by simply scanning the feature using a smartphone camera and presto! Your account is revealed and the person can choose to either follow or take a pass.
This feature would immediately make the current mode of searching for whom to follow on Instagram obsolete. Everybody hates typing especially if they are presented with a better alternative. And Instagram Nametag, if it works the way it is touted, would definitely be a vast improvement.
So how do Instagram Nametags look? Basically, they should appear like a white square with the Instagram logo embossed on it. At the center should be your username.
However, you can customize your nametag to with a different background.
You have the option of using an emoji, basic colors, or your customized selfie. In other words, creating an awesome nametag to attract eyeballs is all in your hands.
How to use the new Instagram Nametag
1. The first step obviously is to find the nametag icon in your Instagram app.
It can be found at the top of your profile page. If you don’t see it immediately, tap the menu icon (it is located at the top right and represented by three bars or dots).
The ‘Nametag‘ should appear at the top of the sidebar that comes out after tapping the menu icon.
You can now proceed to edit the nametag before sharing it. However, you can use it the way it is.
But why leave it that way when you can create something really unique to share with the world.
2. Editing/creating your personalized Instagram Nametag
Though you can edit your Instagram Nametag, the white square with your username at the center cannot be reworked. It is permanent.
But everything else around these two can be customized with emojis, different background colors, and a selfie with your preferred stickers.
The colors are pretty basic for now. They come in blue/purple, light/dark blue, purple/green, purple/orange and red/orange combinations.
If you opt to add your selfie, you can go on and jazz it up with face stickers. These include sunglasses, a mustache, hearts, and unicorns that can be inflated.
The emojis are all familiar. They range from different types of smiley faces to Mr. Poo.
All these might sound a bit much now, but customizing your nametag is quite easy. With time, you would get the hang of it.
3. Sharing your Nametag
After creating your nametag just the way you want it, simply screenshot and share it on your Instagram feed or story with #nametag to accompany it.
Interestingly, sharing your nametag is not restricted to Instagram alone. You can share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn or any other supported social media.
Here is the thing about this feature: you can use it practically anywhere to get followers on Instagram. Remember, it is just a matter of scanning the nametag with a smartphone.
For instance, you could use the edited nametag on your website, as part of your email signature, on your business card, and even on promotional items like a mug or plate.
The possibilities are limitless. Only your imagination can stand between you and the number of ways you can use this feature to attract more followers on Instagram.
Read also Promotion 101: How to get noticed on Social Media
Instagram copying Snapchat again
There is nothing revolutionary about Instagram Nametag. Over the years, Instagram has essentially copied and added several Snapchat features to the app with varying degrees of success.
Instagram Stories and image filters are just two features stolen from Snapchat. The plan was to make Instagram more attractive to a younger audience.
Instagram Nametag is based on Snap Codes found in Snapchat. So Snapchat users would be aware of this means of finding people through the scanning of QR codes.
Other apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Spotify also use the same trick to quickly generate QR codes and find accounts easily.
Global launch
The rollout of this new feature is on a global scale for both Android and iOS devices. If you don’t see the Instagram Nametag icon on your device, don’t fret a bit as it would be rolled out to your location in the coming days.
At this point, it is safe to say this is just a beta version. Depending on how people cotton on to it, it is likely new features would be added or perhaps an overhauled of the design would be undertaken.
So, have you got the Instagram Nametag in your app yet? What do you think of this feature and how do you intend to use it?
