Instagram Adds New ‘Audio’ Tab to its Search Options to Boost Reels Engagement

Instagram has added the capacity to search for audio specifically within the search tab in the app, making it easier to tap into trends based on music clips, with a focus on Reels creation based on the same.

As you can see here, now, when you search on Instagram, you’ll be able to switch across to a new ‘Audio’ tab, which will highlight the various tracks available for use within the app. Tap on any track and you’ll see a TikTok-like display of the Reels that have utilized samples of that song.

You can then save the audio for your own usage, while also getting a full overview of relevant trends and clips for inspiration.

I mean, it is pretty much a TikTok feature, replicating the ‘Sounds’ tab, down to the example clips that use each track.

So it isn’t anything new, as such, in a broader sense. But with Instagram looking to push Reels usage, in an effort to fend off rising competition from TikTok, it makes sense for it to align with usage trends, and facilitate related discovery as best it can.

Will that get more people creating trending Reels too?

I mean, probably. It certainly plays a big role on TikTok, and with similar capacity in Reels, it will also help to maximize usage.

Interestingly, this also comes on the same day that YouTube has launched a new ad campaign which promotes how to do the exact same thing within its own TikTok-like Shorts feature.

So, all of these tools are the same, and they’re getting even more similar to each other every day. And as TikTok continues to add more users, and grow its influence among younger audiences specifically, you can bet that both Instagram and YouTube are going to continue adding replica tools in a bid to quell user migrations wherever possible, and stop TikTok eating into their respective audience bases.

Because as we saw when Facebook took over from MySpace, trends among younger users can lead to much bigger shifts. And while TikTok may not be set to take over the big blue app just yet, it is clearly becoming a bigger consideration, in many respects.