Instagram Becoming Like Yelp: Update Makes Photo-Sharing App More Business Friendly

Next time the pang of jealousy hits you hard when you see a delicious looking meal on Instagram, or your friend posts their great new haircut and you want one too, you may be able to book a reservation or appointment through the app.

The photo-sharing app and social media platform is introducing a scheduling feature, James Quarles head of business at Instagram told Bloomberg. The feature won’t be available for a few more months but it’ll allow users to interact with businesses in a whole new way.

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Before and after pictures of hair, makeup and other services are popular on Instagram but it’s difficult for businesses to determine what the impact of such posts actually is.

The new feature will help companies and advertisers know exactly how many people are actually deciding to book appointments or reservations after viewing social media. But the Instagram update could pose a threat to companies that specialize in scheduling like Yelp and OpenTable that allow reviews and information like hours and prices about businesses too.

Instagram has gotten a number updates lately mostly resembling Snapchat features. The app, owned by Facebook, became a serious Snapchat competitor last year with the addition of stories and soon thereafter stickers much like Snap’s. The addition of scheduling is just another way to make Instagram more competitive and well-rounded as a social media platform.