Social media is the ultimate equaliser. It gives a voice and a platform to anyone willing to engage. — Amy Jo Martin
For Instagram, some of their newest features were clearly responses to the ongoing pandemic, fuelling new and maintaining old connections. Other trends were driven by the users themselves. Here, we’re highlighting some Instagram trends to keep an eye on as you continue to develop your 2021 social media marketing strategy.
- Instagram Live streams get longer
First introduced in 2016, Instagram Live has evolved as a way for businesses and individuals to broadcast in the moment. During 2020, they experienced a spike in interest as a way to maintain connection and conduct announcements and events digitally. From February to March 2020 alone, there was a 70% increase in Live views.
- Generate revenue through Instagram
No longer relegated to shopping for products from businesses, Instagram now offers several ways for customers to convert without leaving the app. In 2020, Instagram Shop was extended to all business accounts, offering customers a way to save, purchase, and checkout in the app. To support Shop, product tags are available not just on posts but also in stories and Live broadcasts.
- Short, digestible graphics in carousel posts
With the help of free and easy apps, creating Instagram graphics is easier than ever. Carousel posts include up to 10 posts and accounts of all kinds are using it for education. Topics range from mental health to racial justice to relationship advice and everything in between.
- Educate or summarize with Instagram Guides
The original introduction of Guides in May 2020 was meant to be for well-being tips. Instagram worked with companies and creators to put together self-care Guides that might help alleviate grief or anxiety while sheltering in place. Since then, Guides have been introduced to everyone and have been used in a variety of ways.
- Reel out your silliness
Inspired by TikTok’s features of easily creating short videos with fun music pairings, Instagram Reels was also newly introduced in 2020. Reels are limited to 15 seconds and offer you the ability to string multiple clips together into one video. These tend to be casual and a little bit silly.
- Accept an Instagram Challenge
Challenges aren’t exactly a new thing on Instagram but they’ve certainly exploded during the pandemic, likely due to extra time on creators’ hands. Challenges might include the word “challenge” in them but one thing they all have in common is their own hashtag.
- Support small businesses & nonprofits with stickers
Stickers in Instagram Stories have been around for a while but new ones are being continually added. Because small businesses are having a tough time with ever-changing dining guidelines, Instagram introduced new ways to help support them.
sticker to support local restaurants in IG stories
- Don’t be afraid to be more casual
With the spillover of challenges and memes from both Twitter and TikTok, Instagram brand accounts are not as beautifully curated as they used to be. And that’s a good thing! Creating content in a pandemic is challenging, which means videos and photos take on a more casual and fun tone.
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