Instagram announced that it created enhanced tags to ensure Black and underrepresented creators are credited for the content they post to the platform.
The social media giant made the announcement via their official website on Mar. 7, explaining the importance of their new feature and how it worked.
“As creators collaborate, inspire each other, and drive culture forward on Instagram, proper crediting has never been more important,” the company wrote. “This is especially crucial for marginalized and underrepresented creators and collaborators whose contributions are often behind the scenes. Today, we’re launching enhanced tags on Instagram to make it easier for creators to receive credit for their work.”
Enhanced tags would enable users to share a creator’s specific contribution to a photo or video post by allowing them to have a self-designated profile category on their professional accounts, which would be displayed in their People Tag. As such, their work would be more visible, thus giving them more exposure and, hopefully, recognition.
“Proper creative credit and recognition is a starting point for discovery, new opportunities, and economic empowerment,” Instagram said.
It’s crucial for Black creators, whose work would often be copied and capitalized on without permission. On many occasions, they’d even disappear into obscurity. Such has been the case on all social media platforms, including Instagram’s competitor, TikTok, where many Black creatives felt their content was being ripped off and weren’t gaining the credit they deserved. However, Instagram has been working towards changing that.
“For many Black and underrepresented creators, crediting is an entryway to building a sustainable career as a creator while combating cultural appropriation and ensuring the world knows who is driving culture,” they added.
To use enhanced tags, one must do a few simple steps. First, you would tap “Tag People” after uploading an image or video and writing its caption. Then, you’d tap on “Add Tag” to search and select your contributors. Afterward, you’d choose “Show Profile Category” to display the creator category, such as “makeup artist” or “songwriter.” Then, you would tap “Done” and “Share.”
