If you have ever tried to market on Instagram then you will know how challenging it can be but with roughly one billion active users monthly, not marketing on this platform comes at a huge cost. The key to success when marketing on Instagram is staying on top of the trends. Keeping your content fresh, up to date and relevant will boost your presence, improve your engagement and increase the number of leads you receive. Are you ready to get ahead of the game?
Whether you’re a personal brand or a business, here are the 6 biggest Instagram marketing trends to watch in 2022.
Trends to help you market on Instagram
- Chronological and suggested content feeds:
That’s right! The chronological feed might be making a comeback very soon.
Commenting earlier in the year, an Instagram spokesperson said, “We want people to have meaningful control over their experience. We’ve been experimenting with Favourites, a way for you to decide whose posts you want to see higher up, and we’re working on another option to see posts from people you follow in chronological order.”
What does this mean for Instagram this year?
We’re betting on a new Home feed that gives you the option to toggle between three viewing options:
- A “Suggested For You” Feed
- An “Algorithm Sorted” Feed
- A Chronologically Sorted “Following” Feed.
If this all sounds familiar you’ve probably noticed Tiktok paving the way with this format and it clearly works! In case you missed it, Facebook bought Instagram and Whatsapp and recently changed to ‘Meta’. Since its last transition, Meta is putting the control of Instagram back into the hands of the user. It is going to be up to you to post consistently and offer your audience content that they’re interested in if you want to see brand growth.
To market on Instagram effectively, your content needs to be seen, no matter what the feed option might be. Need some direction?
- To be seen on a suggested feed, you have to beat the algorithm. Not sure how to do that? We wrote a blog about it. Check it out here.
- In order to be seen on a chronological feed, you will need to post consistently. You will also need to post at the suggested times based on when your audience is most active for maximum exposure. Last but not least, you will need to dive into social media analytics to create posts based on previous performance. Have a look at what posts and content had the best engagement and exposure, then create content similar to those posts.
- Merging of video formats
We’ve seen Instagram merge IGTV (the standalone video application that allowed for longer videos than compared to Instagram feeds) and Feed Videos but we’re starting to see even more streamlined Instagram video offerings this year.
In fact, there are already reports on Instagram testing a vertical scroll on the Instagram Stories feed. One streamlined feed is still a little way off but now that we’ve seen a potential version of it, it doesn’t seem far-fetched to have a single feed that brings together feed videos, reels and stories. This could potentially mean that video type content will become increasingly important to your Instagram success.
All of this means that video is definitely here to stay! If you’re a business marketing directly to consumers we highly recommend putting some more thought into your video marketing game if you haven’t already. With feeds merging into one infinite scroll of video content you are going to want to be producing short videos regularly or risk having your content becoming irrelevant, especially to the younger consumers.
- Creator-led business will change the way we shop on the platform and market on instagram
If you’ve felt like Instagram has been turning into a shopping platform, buckle up, because you haven’t seen anything yet!
This year as part of their “ongoing commitment to helping creators turn their passion into a living”, Instagram will be rolling out their ‘native creator affiliate’ programme more extensively. This programme will essentially provide a significant monetary incentive for influencers to market and sell products on behalf of brands.
The implementation of this commission-based revenue on Instagram removes the need for complicated agreements and contracts, making influencer marketing on the platform much easier for both influencers and brands to get involved in.
That’s not the only thing though, Instagram is planning to make “Creator Shops” accessible to more users on the platform, providing yet another destination for influencers and creators to showcase products from brands they love.
This means that creator-led shopping is about to go mainstream, so don’t be surprised when your Instacart receipts reach new heights in 2022. These new marketplaces not only make it easier for influencers to make money but also gives you, as a business, easier access to a wide variety of influencers. The potential to reach new audiences is massive so keep an eye out for the launch of this feature.
- The rise of brand personalities
Instagram is officially putting the “social” back in social media.
The days when Instagram was solely for sharing aesthetically-pleasing pictures of one’s dinner are long gone. The platform is now home to something far more impactful – community and conversation.
What does this mean for brands and creators? Simply put – it’s time to bring your personality to the table. More than ever, it’s time to stop selling your product and start selling yourself and your brand. People want to identify with brands and find connections, the future market is looking to buy into people before buying into a brand.
How does this translate for businesses?
- Be authentic: People prefer real and organic over perfect and packaged. Stay true to who you are personally and as a brand.
- Express your opinion: Your beliefs show your audience what you believe in and why you do what you do. Express your opinion and you will ultimately attract more people who resonate with you.
- Provide value: The more value you provide, the more growth you will ultimately achieve. Giving value can mean to educate, entertain, inspire and connect.
- Be Relatable: Create emotional content that your community can relate to. One mistake businesses make is to simply market products and services with little to no emotional weight behind them. You can evoke emotion through effective storytelling. You need to highlight their problem/pain, show that you care and suffer from similar issues, present them with your solution, and paint a clear picture of what their life would be like after they have your product or service.
- Video memes will surpass other formats
Humour in the form of memes will always be a recipe for success, but this year video memes are where it’s at on Instagram. Taking off in 2021, they have continued to soar and video memes have become the millennial communication tool to use.
Video memes are very much like static memes, something funny or cute paired with a relatable sentiment, but in a much more dynamic and engaging format.
As Instagram continues to prioritize short-form videos above the other formats, video memes are a sure way to great success. Find out how to create engaging video content in this blog.
- Better community engagement features
When it comes down to promoting conversations, no one does it better than Instagram.
Reactions, stories and expressive stickers; being emotive video and image content based, Instagram is an expert on how to drive conversation and build a community. This is a strength that they will not compromise on this year. We foresee them only improving their tools for engagement with the use of things like engagement driving stickers in the Reels chat and inviting more users to use links in their stories.
If you still view Instagram as merely a photo-sharing platform, then listen carefully because the game has changed dramatically. Instagram has developed into an immersive communication channel and if you want to succeed, it’s time to let your personality shine!
So there you have it, Six Instagram Marketing Trends you need to know in 2022. As long as you stay on top of these trends, keeping your content fresh, up to date, and relevant, you will skyrocket your presence, improve your engagement and increase the number of leads you receive.
Need help incorporating these trends into your social media strategy and taking your Instagram to another level? Get in touch and let us help you do what we do best!