Are you looking for fresh, new ways to interact with your audience on Instagram?
Do you need ideas for engaging followers with exciting content and visuals?
It’s time to learn about the top Instagram trends available to brands and start using them as part of your Instagram social media strategy.
To get you going with the top Instagram trends, here is an updated look at what’s trending on “The Gram.”
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Challenges
One of the most popular trends on Instagram at the moment, “challenges” are popping up everywhere as a way to keep people entertained and engaged. The “See a Dog, Share a Dog” challenge encourages users to post photos of their beloved or crazy pets, while the Push-Up Challenge aims to keep people fit and active—with some elevating their push-up game by adding another person on their back.
Source: Instagram
To participate in this top Instagram trend, consider a challenge that relates to your brand or your followers. For example, if you are a kitchen appliance brand, perhaps you can start a food challenge and encourage people to join. Instagram even offers a custom challenge sticker (#FOODCHALLENGE, for example) you can add to your posts, so don’t forget to come up with a more clever name than I have.
Instagram Live & IGTV
While Instagram Live—the social platform’s live streaming video feature—was introduced in 2016, adoption has been a bit slow. Today, we see Live taking off as people spend more time on social media.
But it isn’t just time spent on social that makes Live one of the top Instagram trends; it’s also the way in which people are using the streaming video. If you were to open the app right now, you would notice brands using Live as a way to broadcast a series—similar to a TV show (more on this in a moment). Think: live cooking shows, live rap battles, and live dance-offs.
Even more exciting is the recent update, which enables you to save Live videos to IGTV—making your streaming videos available as long as you want, rather than only during the broadcast. And, if you preview that IGTV video to your Instagram Story, you can double the engagement on that video, meaning you reach more people.
You’ll also want to check out the IGTV Series feature, which allows you to create your TV show right on Instagram.
Take advantage of users’ increased video consumption and publish live content that people can view in the moment or any time they’re in the app.
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Stories
Stories themselves are nothing new, but right now, users are seemingly posting more Stories than traditional content. Half of all users are interacting with Stories daily, so brands are saving the more polished content for the regular feed.
Brands are also finding more ways to interact with users in their Stories. Check out some Stories from brands you follow, and you are sure to see countdowns, polls, and questions.
Source: Instagram
Shopping
With 60 percent of users discovering new products on the Gram, the social app has become a significant sales channel for ecommerce brands. If that’s you, then you may want to consider the top Instagram shopping trends to keep up with consumer expectations.
For example, did you know 65 percent of users visited a brand’s website or app after seeing a product on Instagram? Or that 46 percent made a purchase? It’s essential to align your Instagram strategy using data about consumer behaviors:
Source: Sproutsocial
One of the biggest trends in Instagram shopping is tagging your products right from the image and enabling purchases directly within the Instagram app. This creates a seamless shopping experience for users and allows brands to leverage interest “in the moment.”
Soon, Instagram will also enable “Shops” within the app, making it easy for brands to set up an actual shop and add products from their ecommerce site to Instagram. Look for this feature to take off in the near future.
Learn More about Social Media
Looking to take a deeper dive into social media marketing? Check out Simplilearn’s online course, Advanced Social Media Certification Training. You’ll master the concepts of social media, content marketing, and social analytics to elevate your brand and execute successful social campaigns.
