Instagram was launched in 2010 as a photo-sharing platform. It has since grown to be a vital tool for digital marketing and business growth.

Instagram is used by over 1 billion people every month. This makes it a crucial strategy to help your business succeed.

However, social media’s constantly evolving nature and fast-paced trends can overwhelm users. This keeps marketers and users on their toes.

Kobe Digital has created a guide to keeping all current and aspiring social media marketing services in Phoenix, brands, content creators, and social media marketers up-to-date with Instagram’s 2022 trends. This will help you to drive consistent success on this ever-changing platform.

Top 5 Instagram Trends for 2022

1. Reels

People expect easy-to-understand information. Instagram introduced “Reels”, a short-form video content option, which allows users to upload videos up to 60 seconds in length. These videos are aggressively promoted by Instagram to compete with TikTok’s huge success in short video content production.

Both platforms are crucial in expanding your business’ reach and building your network. It is important to consistently post relevant and high-quality reels that target your niche. This will help you attract the right audience through Instagram’s recommended feed content as well as users’ personal explore pages.

Reels, which are similar to regular Instagram grid posts offer creators greater visibility and reach. Creators have the option to use as many as 30 hashtags in their 2,000-character caption limit, which is higher than TikTok’s 100-character limit per posting.

2. Public Activism

Gen Z and Millennials should be passionate about social justice and are now bringing their activism online. Many brands took this opportunity to show their support for marginalized communities after a difficult couple of years.

Many organizations are now “boycotting” and “canceling” companies because of their controversial socio-political beliefs. They have learned firsthand how important it is to use their influence and platform to voice and/or financially support certain charities and social movements.

Social initiatives include implementing new programs and initiatives that show support for employees who are affected by social issues.

You can support causes online by sharing Instagram content related to social issues. This creates a new expectation that brands will engage in social media activism.

Younger consumers love to follow and shop only with brands that are vocal in times when injustice occurs and who are open about their policies. This is because it aligns with their political and personal values.

Don’t be afraid to tell your followers that you support any charity or movement if you are a brand. You will see your engagement soar!

3. Influencer Marketing

In Instagram’s 2022 Trend Report, it was revealed that 80% of Gen Z think that content creators/social-media influencers have a greater influence on society than celebrities. Projections show that 72.5% of US marketers will use influencer marketing in 2018. What is influencer marketing? And why is it so important right now?

Influencer marketing is simply a partnership between brands and social media content creators. These influencers have a niche following that is engaged and established. The influencer promotes the brand’s products and services via social media.

This marketing approach is similar to celebrity endorsements. However, influencer marketing relies more on the trust created by creators and their followers. Because they are less famous than A-list celebrities, they are more relatable. This is because their fame is usually earned through their efforts. Their audience trusts them.

Your influencer marketing strategy will be successful if you choose the right influencers that reflect your brand’s style and target audience. If you do this, your influencers’ followers will be more likely to take an interest in your products or services because they have received endorsements from creators who share their interests.

3. Showcase Your Brand Personality

It’s great to share beautiful, high-quality photos. But if you seem too professional, your brand’s social media may come across as uninteresting. Social media is becoming a more popular platform for establishing community and initiating conversations.

These changes are not uncommon on Instagram, and your brand account should reflect these changes. Your personality should shine through! You can show your brand’s personality in many ways, including through your writing style, memes, Instagram stories, questions, and answers, relatable content that isn’t business-focused, or by having someone from your team join you on Instagram live.

Avoid repetitive and repeated promotion of your products/services. Instead, focus on content that is fun, interesting, educational, and not sales. Users will disengage from this content, which is why we believe in the 80/20 rule for content marketing.

Kobe Digital aims to create 80% educational and entertaining content for clients. Only 20% of our content is promotional.

4. For more engagement, use Instagram carousels

Each brand and creator wants high engagement for their content, but it can be difficult to make it happen consistently. Carousel posts can help increase engagement.

Carousels are a swipe feature that allows users up to 10 photos and videos at once. They have an average engagement rate of almost 22%, as opposed to 1.7% for images, and 1.45% for videos.

This is due to carousels being more appealing to viewers. They give them the incentive to stay on your posts for longer periods and prompt them to scroll through them to see the entire post.

Engagement on Instagram doesn’t just include likes, comments, and follows. It also includes scrolling through all images and/or videos included, which can help you to improve your Instagram ranking.

Carousels can also be used to enhance informative content by allowing users “swipe” to learn more, to show different product angles, and to display multiple photos from an event without having to have multiple posts of the same content.

Conclusion

Despite Instagram’s constantly changing nature making it seem daunting, Instagram and its trends can be a great place to start. 2022 is a promising year in social media. The Kobe Digital team is available to assist brands who need guidance.

Our marketing in Miami and research team specializes in digital strategy and marketing. They will help you find the best platforms to create a successful marketing campaign for your company. For a free consultation, contact us.