Instagram launches two new features for 'Stories'

In a bid to empower users and advertisers, Facebook-owned Instagram on Friday launched "Type Mode" and "Carousel Ads" for "Stories" With "Type Mode," users can now share text with different styles and backgrounds. The "Carousel Ads" feature allows advertisers to have up to three pieces of media per "Stories" ad, as before it was just one.

"We're introducing 'Type' mode in stories, a new way to share anything that's on your mind with creative text styles and backgrounds - no photo or video required. Now, you can turn your most random thoughts into something colourful and expressive," the company wrote in a blog post. After opening the camera, users will see "Type" next to "Normal" under the record button. "Tap 'Type' and write whatever comes to mind and play with different styles to change the look and feel. Then, you can pick different background colours, highlight words and phrases or add a background photo," the company added. Users can also use new styles when adding text to any photo or video. Like everything else shared to Stories, it will also disappear from their story after 24 hours.

To access the new feature, users have to swipe along the bottom of the screen and "Type" will show up as a new option after "Normal" and "Live" if they swipe all the way to the left. The feature is available for iOS and Android devices. The photo-sharing platform also introduced "Carousel Ads" for Instagram "Stories", thus, allowing advertisers to have up to three pieces of media per "Stories" ad. Before it was just one.

"Carousel Ads for Instagram 'Stories' behave the same way as other 'Stories' content, meaning you can tap through, swipe back and forth or pause the content whenever you'd like," the company added in the blog post To learn how the community and brands engage with this new ad format, Instagram is starting with a limited set of global advertisers such as Coca-Cola (@cocacolamx) and Paramount (@paramountpics). "We'll share more when Carousel Ads for Instagram Stories is more widely available," the Facebook-owned company said.

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