Following reports earlier in the year of upcoming changes that would revolutionize brand advertising and customer engagement, Instagram has commenced testing of new profiles for businesses.

The test profiles, snapshots of which recently appeared online, have so far revealed a number of noticeable features that are not only similar to Facebook brand pages but are designed to make communication easier, as well as enabling better brand identity and categorization. Among the most prominent features of the new profile layout for brands includes a contact button, a new option to categorize your business, and a linkable location.

Based on the sneak-peek images that have been displayed on websites such as Later.com, the addition of these features could help brands promote themselves even better. For one, the Contact button eliminates the need for businesses to use their email addresses in their bio info, which is a recipe for spam as many have found out. Genuine fans who need to contact the company or individual can simply tap on ‘Contact’ and send their messages. Furthermore, it is expected that Facebook’s Messenger could play a bigger part in how people contact Instagram business accounts as the brand profiles feature is fine-tuned in the future.

The addition of a location tag is also a neat new feature that most brands will probably like. As is currently the case, business accounts on Instagram have to provide directions within the bio section, which only provides a mere 150 characters.

The linkable location feature allows fans to view a map with a drop pin that shows exactly where the business can be found.

For the page category feature, which is found directly under the business name, it is significant in that it helps with how people search for content on the platform, as well as assists Instagram with organizing its millions of accounts. For example, it will now be easier for someone searching for a sushi restaurant to actually find one when they type in those search terms in Instagram, since those businesses can now categorize themselves as such.

With reports earlier in the year indicating a decline in engagement for Instagram accounts since it opened up to advertising, the new Facebook-like brand profiles could help the photo-sharing social media app regain its footing in that department. Nonetheless, Instagram is poised to continue being a dominant force in the world of social media. Currently, the platform boasts 400 million active monthly users, has seen over 40 billion photos shared to date and is currently seeing 80 million being shared every day. Additionally, it also remains one of the most engaging social media apps with more than 3.5 billion likes daily.

Currently, the platform boasts 400 million active monthly users, has seen over 40 billion photos shared to date and is currently seeing 80 million being shared every day. Additionally, it also remains one of the most engaging social media apps with more than 3.5 billion likes daily.

If you currently have a business page on Instagram, exciting days could be ahead for you. The new brand profiles are expected to roll out fully to the public during the upcoming summer.