Instagram Publishes Second Digital Zine
Instagram has launched the second incarnation of “Instagram Insider,” its digital zine.
The zine was released in full on Instagram’s blog as well as on various Instagram accounts, including the company’s @shop account, on Thursday. Similar to the last one, it focuses on trends in fashion and beauty among creators and small business owners on the platform.
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The initiative is spearheaded by Instagram’s team for @shop, its in-platform marketplace, and is meant to bolster story-based selling, according to Leigh Belz Ray, the zine’s editor in chief and lead of shopping editorial and @shop.
“Shop launched in May 2019, and the idea was to be a real-time reflection of the community interests and brands that are popping up across different shopping categories, like fashion, beauty and home decor. For us, it was really focused on founder storytelling,” Belz Ray told WWD. “It’s using all of Instagram’s superpowers, essentially, to come together and see what’s happening in the community.”
The trends in this edition of Insider were heavily inspired by the changes of the past 18 months, Belz Ray said. “The past year and a half, everyone has had a very different reality. Creativity is now starting to bubble up through these brands,” she said. “People are really embracing things that bring them joy, so that’s the trend we’re calling ‘Come On, Get Happy,’ which is that joyful, kid-core.”
Other trends include Retro Western, New Prep and The Great Outdoors.
The zine features QR codes for various sections, allowing readers to shop the pages digitally. “That’s part of our 360-degree storytelling around @shop, you can watch an IGTV, you can shop the posts and you can go to these collections. It’s deepening our way of storytelling,” Belz Ray said.
The zine’s cover even has a commerce angle. “We shot the cover that’s going to be rolling out in @shop,” Belz Ray said. “It represents some of the trends and has some of the small brands that we’ll be introducing the week of Sept. 1,” adding that to date, @shop has highlighted over 700 brands.
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