Instagram is one of the powerful marketing tools for businesses worldwide. Since the time Facebook owns Instagram, it has drastically changed to more than a picture-sharing app. It boasts over half the billion active users. With all the noise on other social media networks, Instagram keeps it elegant and simple, which is one of the reasons Instagram is the right marketing platform.
Every user on the platform follows at least one brand page. Most businesses own a profile on Instagram, but how do you reach your target audience? Anyway, simply having an account and sharing pictures regularly with different hashtags won’t help establish your business on the platform. You have to make sure to follow the existing trends. In this article, we shall see the top eleven Instagram trends that you need to follow.
1. Carousel Posts
The carousel feature launched in 2017, and it has become trendy since then. In 2021, this feature is trending as one post in every five posts is a Carousel, becoming one of the prominent trends on Instagram. Carousel posts allow you to upload multiple pictures or videos, and the audience can see them by swiping left. You can publish up to ten photos or videos on a single share and get automatic Instagram likes, high interactions that encourage engagement. Several brands are using it to showcase their products and services to their audience. You could use these posts to explain something with pictures.
2. Instagram Reels
Reels are the latest Instagram feature that has sky-rocketed like no other features on the platform. Although Instagram Stories is a big success, Reels have taken Instagram to the next level. It has been widely used by many people, making it one of the most prominent trends on the platform. Instagram Reels are similar to TikTok videos; the main advantage of creating reels is that you need not have a separate account. You could do the same as you would do on TikTok without another account. Reels are a massive success with decreased efforts within a year of their launch, and the reel trend would flourish even more. Influencers on Instagram create reels consistently to share trending content. Instagram Reels enables you to create tiny and attractive videos on the platform. Depending on the requirement of your content, you could capture a 15-second or 30-second video with audio, effects, and creative tools. Many people have started creating Reels for their needs; also, brands and businesses are using them.
3. Instagram stories
While reels are essential and famous today on the platform, influential marketing is Instagram Stories. It was launched four years back and has become one of the top trends on Instagram shortly, similar to Reels. Instagram Stories have entirely reshaped the way brands used influencers to attract their target audience. According to a report, eight out of ten brands say that creating stories have created the right impact for their businesses. Most of the influencers across the globe make use of Stories to post their content, and it is going to be the most happening and evergreen trend on Instagram.
4. Augmented Reality(AR) Filters
Ultimately, Instagram is all about posting appealing pictures and videos. These days, the majority of people make use of filters to create trending content. The perfect way to ensure you are sharing beautiful photos and videos is by using AR filters. It lets you enhance your posts and Instagram Stories with significant visual effects. With AR filters, you could create your filters using the Spark AR Studio platform. The filter is an excellent way to communicate with your followers and increase engagement. If you wish to acquire high likes on Instagram, you could use AR filters in your Reels and Stories features.
5. Go Live on Instagram
As people love to communicate more often, the Live trend has become very famous on Instagram. It allows you to interact with your followers. Based on a survey, Instagram Live usage maximized 70% last year. Due to lockdown, the Live trend has acquired great popularity, and although now the situation has changed, the live features stay as the notable trend on Instagram in 2021. Also, businesses and brands use this feature to increase their target reach. For example, Jay Shetty used the Live feature to launch his new book “Think like a Monk,” sharing the book signing events and thus triggering interactions with his audience.
6. Crossposting for Wider visibility
Crossposting is another Instagram trend that is highly popular on the platform. Creating a post and sharing it across other social media platforms is crossposting that is significantly increasing. For instance, Facebook Inc allows you to post your Instagram Stories to Facebook Stories, reaching a high number of people and gaining engagement with the same content. People use their Twitter content to share on Instagram stories or in-feed posts. The crossposting trend, expected to continue as people discover attractive ways to acquire engagement from multiple platforms.
7. Instagram Shops and Instagram Checkout
We all know the familiarity of Instagram and the total number of people actively using the platform. With this, online purchasing has become widely famous in the previous decade. Consequently, online buyers across the globe are increasing continuously.
By combining these factors, we have one of the familiar trends, that is, Instagram Shopping. People use social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to discover products they want to buy. The fact is, as people spend more time on Instagram, it would not be surprising if Instagram shopping grows thereby. For example, “Lisa Says Gah” is a unique boutique dedicated to connecting people. Rooted in San Francisco, Lisa shortly became an Instagram-famous shop. She has a massive following on Instagram, where the unique style and fun prints stand out.
8. Influencer advertising Regulations
There are tons of influencers with a huge following, and these are trending on the platform in no time. The app is continuously working to ensure the influencers are not promoting fake information about a product or a service to their audience. For that, Instagram has set up some guidelines for them to follow. Additionally, they also need to have a clear understanding between paid partnership and branded content.
9. Instagram Guides
Perhaps, Instagram Guide is the newest addition to Instagram, and it has already acquired its popularity. The feature lets people share and use helpful suggestions and tips in an easy way. Rather than sharing valuable content on the home feed for the audience to search by themselves, you could create an easy to consume by letting them mix up your posts like a guide. His feature is mainly helpful for brands where they could make a guide for every service or product and share all content relevant to the product within the same guide. That way, the audience won’t have to move through thousands of posts while searching for particular content in your profile.
10. The Explore Page
The other exciting trend to build visibility, the Explore page. Based on the data, above 50% of Instagram users use this page once a month. The app frequently creates new designs for this page to make it user-friendly and attractive. If you could increase your business or brand’s presence strategically on the Explore page, then you could get high engagement and visits to your profile. Thereby maximizing the opportunity to reach a large audience, gain additional customers, and drive sales. Explore page, found to be a significant Instagram trend that businesses and brands appreciate, as it promises a vast reach.
11. IGTV Ads
The IGTV feature was launched this year early and is only accessible by some countries across the globe. Brands could monetize their content with this feature. By clicking on IGTV Video, you could watch the complete IGTV ad videos. With Youtube ads in the middle of videos, IGTV ads would be successful and stay on top of trends in the upcoming years. Currently, it is fresh to the platform, but it is a time-experimented formula.
Conclusion
Instagram is the most potent tool in recent times for businesses and brands to utilize. The vast audience base it provides with different ways to reach them makes it a beneficial platform for businesses and brands.
