Get ready for brands to be much more pushy on Instagram

Instagram is starting to look more and more like Facebook.

The app is testing a new feature that would let brands add prominent buttons linking back to their business inside the app.

The feature, which an Instagram spokesperson confirmed is being tested right now, was spotted in the app this week on a post for the Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach. A big “book now” button, which appeared to link out directly to the hotel’s website, appeared underneath a post.

These buttons are called “call to action” buttons in industry parlance. A Instagram spokesperson declined to share specifics on the test.

Though the one spotted in the wild was a “book now” button for a hotel, there are likely other forms of CTA buttons being tested as well. Facebook has a number of different CTA options available to Pages, including the ability to book services, make purchases and donations, download apps and games, and contact a business.

Having these also available on Instagram would offer businesses more flexibility than the current options available to them. For now, businesses can add various types of shopping links to their content and pay for shoppable ads, but these aren’t as useful for non-retail brands. Offering options that could appeal to other industries like app developers and hotels would make Instagram a more attractive platform to those companies.

It’s also the latest sign that Instagram is becoming more and more like Facebook, which offers may more options for brands and businesses to promote content than Instagram currently does. 

(h/t: Matt Navarra)