Instagram Live for raising funds amid the coronavirus pandemic

Instagram the renowned photo and video sharing social media app, which is owned by Facebook, recently announced that it will soon be adding a new tool to its Live video streaming feature. This new updated Insta Live will be used for raising funds and donations for charitable organizations and those communities that have been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to the current situation in the entire world, people are bound at home due to social distancing and lockdown measures. In such unprecedented circumstances when everything is full of uncertainty and bleakness, it is inevitable for people to resort to the internet and mobile communication apps for work, study, information, and entertainment purposes.

Initial surveys showed the increased usage of social media in general, but recently, some surveys were carried out between March and April 2020. For Instagram, the reports of those surveys suggested a dynamic surge in the Live videos and Stories by 70%, in comparison to the pre-lockdown months.

It was also noted that more people are preferring to do Live video sessions with their loved ones in general, and many Insta influencers and celebrities are carrying out Live video streaming sessions to engage with their followers.

Influencers and content creators are saying that it is the demand of the public. Their subscribers want to connect with them this way, and their preferred contents are talk shows, live fitness, and dance videos, and live cooking lessons.

People were also found to be interested in fundraising and other philanthropic causes for the support of coronavirus-ridden communities and small businesses.

So, keeping the public interest in mind, Instagram is going to add the Live Fundraising feature for all users.

All you need to do to create a live fundraiser is to tap on the camera icon in the top left of the Instagram feed, and then click on the Live option in the bottom left of the screen. Instagram will then give you an option to select a Fundraiser and choose the nonprofit organization that you want to create the fundraiser for.

You will be able to see the number of people supporting your fundraiser and you can also note the amount collected in real-time by tapping “View.” You can also acknowledge these people by tapping “Wave.”

All the donations will directly go to the nonprofits as per Instagram. But many people are concerned about giving out their credit card information to Instagram while donating, and rightfully so. However, to address this valid concern, Facebook has strict privacy policies for payments that apply to Instagram also. According to these policies, the personal information of users will never be shared with anyone else for marketing purposes without consent.

Instagram Live for raising funds amid the coronavirus pandemic

Apart from raising funds from live videos, Instagram also promotes its Donation Stickers for Stories too that can help and support these nonprofits in these distressing times. Plus the app is also thanking all the front-line and essential workers in its social media updates.

These are not the only features for COVID-related relief measures by Facebook. Facebook has announced to release a feature called Messenger Rooms. This feature will allow users to video chat with up to 50 users at once, something similar to what Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meets allow.

For Instagram, this video calling feature will be called Rooms, and this will allow users to engage with numerous people at once for any cause, fundraising included.

Along with above mentioned updates Instagram also tests new fonts in Stories with a small percentage of people.

Read next: Instagram is Showcasing NEW Camera Features for Stories!
Previous Post Next Post