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Instagram Feature Upgrade
Instagram Feature Upgrade
Customer Research - Survey
User Acceptance Criteria
Internal Press Release
Required Workflows
Competitor Analysis
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Instagram Feature Upgrade

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Project:
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Product Score:
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TEAM
Lead Engineer:
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Front-End Engineer:
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Lead Product Manager:
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Lead Product Marketer:
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Customer Success Advocate:
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TL;DR:
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Stage:
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Launch:
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MARKETING
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Marketing Launch:
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Jira Link:
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Prototype Link:
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PRD Complete:
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Date last modified:
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Problem Alignment

The Problem/Opportunity

Describe the problem (or opportunity) you’re trying to solve. Why is it important to our users and our business? What insights are you operating on? And if relevant, what problems are you not intending to solve?
We have heard from several customers that they want more functionality and flexibility from the Compose page. Some of this will include new functionality but it will also include taking existing functionality and adding more ability to use from the Compose page. An example of using existing features is adding a calendar view on the Compose page.

Background

Supply any background information necessary for the problem/opportunity
Compose is the most used area of the platform. It is the foundation to which our publishing solution is built on. We need to continue to improve this feature to keep customers satisfied. We want them to know we are listening to their feedback and staying current with the social media landscape. Our competitors are offering more features when it comes to creating posts and we must not fall behind.
When using a content library post, some customers want the ability to schedule the same post more than one time.

Key Flows

Show some mocks/embeds of the experience. Link to any other documentation as necessary. In general, it’s helpful to organize these around certain user journeys / use cases. Show enough of a clickthrough where people can walk away with a reasonable understanding of how the product works.

User Flows

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https://www.figma.com/file/8LrFZKoH8NegY4rET52MDP/Compose-Workflow-Aug-2023?type=whiteboard&node-id=0%3A1&t=EqoxXQY7wGhCnFPl-1
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Prototypes

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https://www.figma.com/file/ZAMTldoZVShkBc7YbNNjgC/Compose-Maze-Prototype?type=design&mode=design&t=EqoxXQY7wGhCnFPl-1
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Opportunity

Describe the opportunity that lies ahead of us should we decide to build this product. What do we gain? What’s your first guess as to how we can achieve it?
If we build this, we will gain a competitive advantage in the FinServ industry. This positions us for what some FinServ companies are looking for but also new functionality they may not be thinking of yet. It will show us as not only being a tech provider, but a thought leader in our market when showing prospects the functionality within the Compose section.

High-level Approach

Describe briefly the approach you’re taking to solve this problem. This should be enough for the reader to imagine possible solution directions and get a very rough sense of the scope of this project. (e.g., if “The Problem” was engagement in the design process from non-designers, “The Approach” might be a feed which surfaces work that's relevant to them.)

Instagram Reels
Adding the ability to Post to Instagram Reels directly from Denim Social
Also post Reel to profile feed
up to 30 hashtags can be included
Ability to post IG first comment
Post carousels to IG
Improved Experience when attempting to publish post with link to Instagram

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Goals & Success

What does success look like? What metrics are you intending to move? Explain why these metrics are important if not obvious.
Goal
Metric
1
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2
​
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3
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Solution Alignment

Give an overview of what we’re building. Provide an organized list of features, with priorities if relevant. Discuss what you’re not building (or saving for a future release) if relevant.
Instagram Reels
0
Story Name
Description
Design
Importance
Notes
In Jira?
Dev Notes
1
Post a Reel to Instagram
As a post creator, I want the ability to post a Reel to Instagram so that I can take advantage of this popular form of posting on Instagram and generate more social activity.
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Medium
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https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-api/guides/content-publishing/
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2
Select Post to Reels
As a post creator, when Instagram is selected, I want the default post to go to Instagram as a post unless I select to customize the post for Instagram where Post to Reels can be selected.
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Medium
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3
Post to Reels and Post to Feed
As a post creator, when posting a Reel, I want the option to “Also share to feed” to be enabled by default with the option to toggle off. Toggling off will only share the Reel to your Reels and not to the feed.
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Medium
This may happen automatically when publishing through the API but we need to be sure.
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4
Reels Validation Requirements
As a post creator, I want Reels to be validated against these requirments so that my video is shared and recognized by Instagram
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Reel Specifications
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Container: MOV or MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14), no edit lists, moov atom at the front of the file. Audio codec: AAC, 48khz sample rate maximum, 1 or 2 channels (mono or stereo). Video codec: HEVC or H264, progressive scan, closed GOP, 4:2:0 chroma subsampling. Frame rate: 23-60 FPS. Picture size: Maximum columns (horizontal pixels): 1920 Required aspect ratio is between 0.01:1 and 10:1 but we recommend 9:16 to avoid cropping or blank spaces. Video bitrate: VBR, 25Mbps maximum Audio bitrate: 128kbps Duration: 15 mins maximum, 3 seconds minimum File size: 1GB maximum (Current DS maximum is 100MB)
2200 characters max
max 30 hashtags
max 20 mentions
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Medium
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5
Provide Message about preferred Reel size
As a post creator, when selecting Instagram Reels, provide a message indicating the recommended size for Instagram Reels. This recommended size will allow your Reel to be more visible on Instagram. This message is not going to prevent sharing but alert the user of the recommended size by Instagram. Size: 1080x1920 Duration: between 5 to 90 seconds
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Medium
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6
As a post creator and admin, I want the ability to see metrics within analytics for posts that were posted as Reels to Instagram to see how Reels perform agains other Reels and other posts.

Reels Metrics

MetricDescription

comments
Number of comments on the reel. Metric
in development
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.

likes
Number of likes on the reel. Metric
in development
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plays
Number of times the reels starts to play after an impression is already counted. This is defined as video sessions with 1 ms or more of playback and excludes replays. Metric
in development
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reach
Number of unique accounts that have seen the reel at least once. Reach is different from impressions, which can include multiple views of a reel by the same account. Metric is
estimated
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and
in development
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.

saved
Number of saves of the reel. Metric
in development
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.

shares
Number of shares of the reel. Metric
in development
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.

total_interactions
Number of likes, saves, comments, and shares on the reel, minus the number of unlikes, unsaves, and deleted comments. Metric
in development
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.

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Medium
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@Meghana Hermes
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I’ll need your help on this one. All metrics seem to line up with fields we’re already reporting on for analytics except it appears “Impressions” is missing for Reels. “plays” seems similar to impressions but still different. All show “in development” as well.
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7
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Carousels on Instagram
0
Story Name
Description
Design
Importance
Notes
In Jira?
Dev Notes
1
Can we do carousels on Instagram? with different size images?
Currently when posting a carousel of images to IG, the first image sets the height and width of the post. Every image after the first is cropped to fit the size of the first image. Because of this, we currently have disabled sharing more than one image to IG. As a post creator, I want the ability to post a carousel of images to IG.
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Medium
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2875
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2
As a content publisher and admin, I want the ability to see analytics on my Instagram posts that contain multiple media so that I can compare these types of posts against others
Photo and Video Metrics ​Metrics on media within an album are not supported. Get metrics on the album instead. Below are all insights available for Instagram Albums and are currently a part of DS Analytics today so we should report on all these. We will need to pull insights differently when a post to Instagram contains more than one media. ​Album Metrics
MetricDescription

carousel_album_engagement
Total number of likes and
IG Comments
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on the album
IG Media
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object.

carousel_album_impressions
Total number of times the album
IG Media
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object has been seen.

carousel_album_reach
Total number of unique Instagram accounts that have seen the album
IG Media
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object.

carousel_album_saved
Total number of unique Instagram accounts that have saved the album
IG Media
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object.

carousel_album_video_views
Total number of unique Instagram accounts that have viewed video
IG Media
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within the album.

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Medium
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https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-api/reference/ig-media/insights
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2966
There are no rows in this table
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Improved Post with Link to Instagram
0
Story Name
Description
Design
Importance
Notes
In Jira?
Dev Notes
Column 8
1
As a post creator, if I create a post with a link (and do not select media) or select a post from the content library that contains a link (and no media) AND I select to post to Instagram, the Instagram network preview should not contain an image unless I manually add an image to the post so that I’m not confused by seeing a link preview and thinking it is an image.
While we have validation that currently prevents a user from sharing a post to Instagram that doesn’t contain media, the validation doesn’t appear until after the user attempts to publish the post. This will help guide the user to the correct behavior.
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Medium
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2967
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2
As a post creator, if I create a post with a link (and do not select media) or select a post from the content library that contains a link (and no media) AND I select to post to Instagram, the Instagram tab for publishing should warn me that the post needs media in order to be published to Instagram so that the user doesn’t have to submit the post first to see the error.
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​
Medium
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2968
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3
Mentions/Tagging a Public Profile Inside an Image - Instagram
As a post creator, I want to have the ability to tag person or company on the image so that more engagement is created on a post. This is only available on Instagram and will not work for private profiles.
Instagram only
Any images that tag a private profile on Instagram will fail.
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Low
Check Social Pilot as an example. See video in Competitor Analysis -
Competitor Analysis
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false
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4
Search Ig Handles to add Mentions to posts
Ability to search for IG business accounts similar to other SN’s
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Medium
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5
Instagram First Comment
As post creator, I want the ability to add the first comment to my Instagram post so that I can create more engagement with my post by adding content to the first comment and not clutter up the post. This is commonly done by adding hashtags to the first comment of a post so the post is still searchable on Instagram via the hashtags but doesn’t clutter up the post itself. This is a use case for recalling text stored in an Asset Library.
Instagram Posts + Reels
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Medium
​
​
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6
Ability to add up to 30 Hashtags
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​
​
​
​
​
7
Ability to Post Story
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​
​
​
​
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There are no rows in this table
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Affected Personas

Persona Name
Platform User Type
Link to Persona
Affected?
How?
1
CMO Scott
Admin
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Here
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2
Admin Alice
Admin
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Here
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3
Producer Pat
Sales
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Here
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4
Compliance Charlie
Compliance
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Here
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5
Partner Priscilla
Partner
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6
Marketing Mary
Marketing
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There are no rows in this table
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Feedback: KILLUM:
APM and Cardinal Financial both requesting. Being able to post to multiple networks from drafting the same post so that you can add different verbiage and images. Cardinal specifically having to make separate post for Instagram on images.They are looking for a way to add a feature to be able to add auto images to articles. When scheduling post to all accounts, images will not post to Instagram so users are having to make separate post for Instagram and this is causing a delay. Also having issues with GIFs on Instagram. APM and Cardinal Financial both requesting.
Part of Media Resizing
AC: Ability to customize post for each social network in Compose.

KYLIE OBO Amy Leonard:
Meg: User should be able to save a post that you're still editing so that you can come back to it later to publish.
Kylie: An area for an admin or end user to create a draft and save it for editing later. This has been requested by Community Bank of the Chesapeake, Fox Valley Savings, Mortgage Financial Services and First State Bank of Wyoming.
[ADAM] should use common components of Compose, adding a button on the bottom of the screen for “save as a draft” which saves the post as a new status of “draft.” We’ll need to add a new post status (in addition to pending approval, scheduled, posted, failed) for Draft, and create a new filter view in publishing > posts for this. This would only apply to publishing > posts, not content library. (should be noted though; a user could save to a content library when they’re done drafting the post still)

ALI FAROOQUI:
it would be nice to have the Editorial Calendar available when scheduling a post. Currently, the user workflow is disjointed as the Calendar is in the Posts window but not where you are actually need it when scheduling a Post in the compose window.

KYLIE PANKE:
The option to have 12 hour time or 24 hour time (military time) as the time scheduling option when scheduling out a post in Compose. Brought up by Prosperity Home Mortgage.

TAYLOR:
right now, i’m struggling to remember which dates Connor has already scheduled posts for me + which dates I have already scheduled posts for myself. I’ll have created a post and then realize I have no idea which date I should schedule it for. since i can’t save as a draft nor can I check my content calendar from compose, I have to either exit out of my post to check my calendar, or schedule it and then reschedule it after i check my post calendar. CLUNK!

KYLIE:
The ability to pre-schedule the first comment on a post along with your original post. This is a feature that Sprout offers and was requested by a customer.

SARA HARRIS:
Ability to post a piece of content to social pages while simultaneously checking a box that adds the content to the library too. This would provide efficiency for admins to post to both places at one time.

ANDREW:
The social network selection dropdown within Compose is not user friendly. It is difficult to see what you have selected when the text turns from gray to blue. The user doesn’t have a way to keep track of what networks have been selected without scrolling the entire list. There is also no ability to filter based on the social network (FB, LI, IG) when making selections.

KYLIE:
In the Calendar function, populate times to post for your specific audience (or even best times to post for the specific day of the week) along with populating some sort of national holiday calendar to give users/admins more ideas on what to post. This was a request from Chelsea Groton Bank from using Meta.

TAYLOR:
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https://www.figma.com/file/ZAMTldoZVShkBc7YbNNjgC/Compose-Maze-Prototype?type=design&mode=design&t=EqoxXQY7wGhCnFPl-1
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Open Issues & Key Decisions

Keep track of open issues / key decisions here. Sometimes, certain decisions are made that might feel controversial; document these here so people know that the discussions have happened and there’s strong awareness of the tradeoffs.
Is customized post per network a part of our standard product or an upsell feature?
How do we handle custom post per network as it relates to the content library?
Do we want to set a content rating filter on a giphy integration (G, PG, PG13, R) - My thoughts are allow up to PG but filter out PG13 and R - AN
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https://developers.giphy.com/docs/optional-settings/#rating
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Are there other features within Compose that should be reserved for a higher pricing tier?
Hootsuite Business account to access campaigns
Should we add the ability to add .srt files for Facebook videos which adds subtitles to videos.
Do we want to add posting to Reels as a user permission? Should we consider customers who may not want to allow their users to post Reels? We will scope in restricting access at the institution level within compliance PRD.
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What are we NOT doing?

Reels - Trending Audio / Stickers / Effects
Cannot add Trending Audio / effects / stickers from Instagram to Reels. These are all features only available when creating the Reel directly on Instagram. Reels publishing only allows uploading an already created video to the Reels area of Instagram. This is a limitation in the API of Instagram and there is no way to create the Reel on Instagram and save it with the audio to upload into Denim Social.
Optimal Posting Times
This will tie into data that we will leverage from analytics in the future. Not in scope for current Renovated Compose.
Adding Location Tagging to posts
Ability to tag a location in a social network post
We are limited in the APIs on what social networks this is available to and we haven’t had any customers requesting this yet.
Compose post and post to content library all at once
Giving the admin the ability to create a post and schedule it or post it, and add to content library at the same time.
Create “Asset Library” that stores media and blocks of text
Add the ability to store text as a template


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