When I originally curated this list, they were mere predictions for the year ahead. Here we are today, almost a year since this list was made and these Instagram trends have not only shown up on scene, but they’ve settled in to stay when it comes to creating woo-worthy content for your audience.
What’s in these trends for you?
When you plan ahead to create valuable and entertaining content, you’ll reap long-lasting benefits with an engaged audience, word of mouth referrals from your greatest customers, and followers who are more likely to purchase in the near future.
Here are 7 Instagram trends you’ll surely want to use yourself:
1 Treat your profile like a website home page
While it’s something that more businesses are building into their profiles, this is something I’ve instructed my clients to do from the beginning. Remember that your profile name and name are searchable through the Instagram search bar. Think about including a business name, industry category, and/or a city location if relevant. Wondering if the rest of your profile is on point? Use this blog post for a quick 5-minute makeover.
2 The no-edit look
These are images with just tiny tweaks to the original photo, hints of color and way less of the over-the-top filtered looks we’ve seen in earlier life stages of Instagram. Although brand tone maintains an essential role on your feed.
3 User generated content continues to increase across brand pages
Using images that your own customers and followers have shared, and tagged you in, has become a powerful way to increase engagement and spread the word about who uses your product and why they love it.
4 Audiences crave, almost demand, authenticity
Viewers find honest and real insights relatable and appealing. They’ll look for behind the scenes footage, less than perfect stories, and customer service that shows your support makes an actual impact.
5 Inclusive feeds
Forward thinking businesses are making strides to show more of the communities that their business exists to serve in their own digital content.
6 More video, more motion
Between boomerangs, gifs, IGTV, and now Reels there is just no denying the value of video in your Instagram grid. Video shows higher engagement and longer viewer retention than plain text posts.
7 Carousel posts
Placing multiple images in one post has become a no-brainer for capturing your audience’s attention. It’s commonly used for inspirational or infographic material. When your viewer scrolls by the post, Instagram automatically advances the images. If your content didn’t grab their attention the first time, you’ll have another chance with the following image.
Thanks to Later who originally shared these trends on their blog.
Looking for post inspiration as you begin to include these trends in your own social plan? Try one of my proven post prompts and knock your audience’s socks off with some savvy + persuasion posting. Click here to snag your free download.