Instagram just gave creators a new way to make Reels shoppable, and brand marketers should be paying attention. The new "Add Products" feature lets creators tag products and affiliate links directly in Reels, creating a shorter path from content to purchase. Here's what changed, why it matters for influencer campaigns, and how to get your brand ready.

Instagram is closing out 2025 with a major app redesign that puts Reels and DMs at the center of the user experience. The navigation bar now prioritizes Feed + Stories, Reels, and direct messaging in a cleaner layout. Profile grids have ditched square thumbnails for taller previews built for vertical video. Translation features and messaging tools got upgrades too. The changes reflect actual user behavior. People watch more video and send more private messages than ever befo

Skip Rate is the percentage of viewers who scroll past your Instagram Reel within the first 3 seconds. Instagram added it to Reels Insights in August 2025, replacing the older View Rate metric. Lower is better — though Instagram hasn’t published official benchmarks, industry trackers point to under ~30–40% as healthy and over ~50% as a sign that your hook isn’t working. You’ll find Skip Rate inside any of your Reels → View insights → scroll to the Retention card. It sits next