Social media becomes more and more prevalent in our lives with each passing year. We spend more hours on it than ever before, so it makes sense that social media trends will be constantly evolving. Perhaps the best example of this is Instagram.
This article is here to give you a push in the right direction to keep up with the Instagram trends of 2022.
Reels.
Instagram released their ‘Reels’ feature back in 2020 and slowly rolled out to all users across 2021. This feature was added to the platform as a way to compete with the surging popularity of TikTok.
Reels began as a direct competitor to TikTok with 15 seconds being the maximum length for a clip. Fast-forward to now and most users have a 60 second allowance for their clips while Instagram is rolling out 90 second allowances to select users.
Reels have been generating more engagement than the regular Instagram video feature. This surge in popularity for the feature means you would do well to incorporate it into your social media strategy.
Here are some quick tips for Reels;
- Put together quick how-to guides on using your products or services.
- Find a trending meme and add your own spin on it.
- Partner with an influencer to share how they use your products or services.
Link Sticker.
The first iteration of the link sticker was only available to Instagram users with over 10,000 followers. Thankfully, in October of 2021, Instagram announced that links would now be available for everyone in a move that may have annoyed some of the users who worked hard to breach the 10k barrier.
All you need to do for this one is create your Instagram story and tap on the ‘Stickers’ icon on the screen. There are a bunch of stickers to choose from, including questions, polls and music. Click the ‘link’ option and paste your URL in the space provided. You can even change what the link stickers say if you want something like ‘shop here’ or ‘get tickets’ rather than the default.
- Promote products and services, sending followers directly to your sales pages
- Tease an upcoming event or webinar and link to the event details page
- Share information about a blog post and add the link to read more on your blog
- Have influencers link directly to the products they’re promoting
Instagram Stories.
Stories have been bolstered with the addition of multiple new ways to engage your viewers.
One of these recent additions is the ‘Add yours’ feature. You create a prompt to go along with a photo and your viewers can click the prompt ti add their own photo to share to their story.
Stories are looking likely to see an increase to the length of the videos you can add to them, currently the clips max out at 15 seconds. Towards the end of 2021, Instagram began testing out 60 second long story clips, this would allow you to upload videos in much larger chunks.
- Share behind-the-scenes photos and videos that might not fit in with the content on your Instagram feed
- Create stories that you can add to the highlights on your Instagram profile
- Use story stickers to engage with your audience, like creating polls or quizzes, linking to fundraisers, asking questions and more
Story Ads.
If you’ve been considering running some paid promotions on Instagram then look no further than paid story ads. These are the ads that show up between stories, this makes it more likely that users will see your ad and engage with it.
You can try a few different tactics with your story ads, things like brand awareness, website traffic and even conversions. You’ll need to create content that fits the story format for your ads, otherwise your ad won’t take up the whole screen and might affect your goals.
- Create compelling videos that grab attention in the first few seconds to keep users from tapping to the next story
- Add clear calls-to-action that get your viewers to take the desired action after viewing your ad
- Test a variety of different story ad objectives to reach users at every stage of the sales funnel
Cross Promotion.
If you’re an avid Twitter user then you’ll know about link previews in tweets. The platform recently introduced the ability for Instagram photos to have a link preview.
By doing this you can now share your new Instagram photos to your Twitter followers as a way to increase your reach across both platforms.
You can also share tweets from your Twitter account directly to your Instagram stories. Find the tweet you want to share, click the share icon and then select Instagram Stories from the options provided.
- Seamlessly hold conversations with your audience on multiple platforms
- Share your Instagram photos to Twitter to get more reach and engagement
- Post your tweets to your Instagram story when you want to get more insight from followers
Tweets and Memes.
Your brand’s personality will determine whether sharing funny tweets and memes will benefit you. Followers love to see a brand that knows how to have fun and interact with their customers, try to share things that are relevant to your business or personalise a meme format that works well with your business.
Sharing tweets can be a screenshot that is cropped with the tweet by itself, or the better—and more visually appealing—trend is to share your tweet on a colourful background.
- Take a fun tweet that you’ve posted or a customer has posted and use that screenshot in a post
- Find a trending meme and fit your own brand’s voice into it
- Create your own memes to show off your brand personality
Instagram Shopping.
Instagram continues to make it easier and easier for businesses to earn revenue through the platform, especially for e-commerce brands. Many shoppers look to Instagram for inspiration and it makes sense that brands want it to be as easy as possible for customers to make a purchase.
- Create various collections and categories that make your products easy to find
- Share photos with your products and tag the listing in each photo to make them instantly buyable
- Add new products to your shop immediately so they’re available for shoppers
Work with Influencers.
Influencer marketing has risen to such heights on Instagram that the platform has made it easier and easier for brands and businesses to collaborate with individuals.
Instagram understood this need for collaboration and in late 2021 they announced the ability to search for and communicate with creators right inside the Instagram app.
With Instagram streamlining the influencer/brand relationship it helps entice more brands and creators to utilise Instagram for their campaigns.
- Start searching for creators with a similar target audience in the partner discovery list
- Work with influencers to create stunning content that the two of you can share with your respective audiences
- Create (or promote) an affiliate option for creators to use when promoting your products
Instagram Video.
IGTV was Instagram first pass at long form video, but it never quite reached the heights that was desired. Instagram ditched IGTV and worked on improving their existing in-feed video features.
Instagram video can now be up to 60 minutes in length, this allows for long-form video content to exist in your feed.
- Interview thought leaders in your industry to provide value and educational information to your audience
- Create an educational video series
- Make sure to select a cover that matches your feed for your video before you post it
Final thoughts.
These trends are the ones we can comfortably see as ones that will continue to do well in 2022, but there will always be new and interesting ways to leverage Instagram to the benefit of your business. So always be on the lookout for the new trends while keeping these ones in your mind.
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