Are You Aware Of The 8 Major Instagram Marketing Trends In 2021?

Instagram is a powerful social media application owned by Facebook. Many sellers are already using Instagram to attract traffic to their stores and expand their brand influence. 2021 has arrived. What development trends will Instagram show in the new year?

1. Follow Instagram’s e-commerce tools

2020 is a critical year for Instagram to enter the e-commerce business. During this year, Instagram launched Instagram Shop, allowing users to "browse the store" and view "editor's selections", thus simplifying the process of users discovering purchasable products. .

In addition to Instagram Shop, the e-commerce shopping tools released by Instagram include:

lShopping posts

lStory Stickers

l Easily search for the same style as the creator

lCheckout counter

lLive shopping

Following Instagram's addition of 15-second short video reels "Reels" at the bottom of the home screen on November 12 this year, the company officially launched a new shopping feature "Shopping in Reels" to compete with TikTok globally on December 10. .

Instagram itself is a social application for sharing pictures, but it is now moving towards an e-commerce platform that allows brands and content creators to benefit from each other, and the pace of Instagram's transformation is not expected to slow down in the future.

2. Short video content dominates Insatgram

TikTok, the "originator" of short videos, has swept the world in 2020 with its novel, interesting and creative videos. It is very popular among the young Generation Z group, but gradually, people of all ages such as Millennials have also joined TikTok. Social platforms. Data shows that TikTok users downloaded 960 million times in 2020. The top three markets for downloads are India, Brazil and the United States, with spending as high as US$1.26 billion.

In order to compete with TikTok and take a share of the short video market, Instagram also launched its 15-second short video reel Reels in August 2020, allowing users to create short videos with background music and other visual effects and share them in public spaces Or within the circle of friends.

Although Instagram Reels is a new feature, it has already gained a lot of fans, and the number of daily active users has reached 500 million.

Short videos supported by Instagram Reels can shorten users’ attention span, while being easy to share and viral. With the help of this tool, brands and creators can create content such as operation instructions in a more creative way to showcase the brand's products and services and bring the brand closer to consumers.

According to foreign media predictions, by 2021, Instagram will likely extend the length of Reels short videos to 60 seconds, apply a more personalized recommendation algorithm, and attract more brands and Internet celebrities to cooperate on this platform.

3. Carousels and emoticons on Instagram will continue to be popular

Instagram’s carousel posts and emoticons, which allow multiple images to slide through, are perfect growth tools for attracting more users because they are easy to share and spread. And as the likes feature disappears on Instagram, content that is easy to share and save will become even more important.

If you don’t know what kind of content you should use for your carousel posts, you may wish to refer to existing popular posts. Educational posts that include tips and tricks, public welfare posts that raise environmental awareness and make suggestions, and displaying the same content in different colors and creative backgrounds so that viewers can spontaneously share the frame they think looks best are all worthy of reference. .

In terms of emoticons, properly crafted words can produce humorous effects and promote spontaneous sharing by users, which is a win-win situation for both creators and audiences. But if it involves brand promotion, you must carefully consider the close connection between the emoticon and the brand. If it is not suitable, it is better to choose a carousel post.

4. Instagram’s diversity and inclusion continues to improve

Social activities held in various places in 2020 have highlighted the lack of cultural diversity in influencer marketing, social media marketing and brand core culture. It is expected that influencers of different skin colors and different nationalities will appear more in brand social media promotions in the future. Active. Food blogger Danielle Salmon advises brands: “Brands can research ideas relevant to your industry and involve the right black people, negotiate terms with them, be fair, and provide reasonable compensation within the budget.”

At the same time, more and more brands have publicly pledged to assume corresponding social responsibilities, issuing initiatives such as "promoting changes in organizational employee structures" and "reserving 15% of shelf space for black-owned businesses."

Cultural diversity and inclusion is an issue that social media platforms should have addressed long ago, and foreign media predict that this trend will become a priority for many brands in 2021.

5. Influencer marketing will have “explosive” growth in 2021

By 2022, influencer marketing is expected to grow into a $15 billion industry. And with the help of Instagram and its e-commerce tools, influencers will be able to continue to expand their influence and gain more opportunities to cooperate with brands in the next few years.

Fohr’s research shows that as of March 2020, nearly 80% of influencers reported an increase in audience engagement, and this upward trend is expected to continue.

In addition, it is expected that influencer marketing will usher in the following four major trends in 2021:

lCollaboration between content creators and brands is growing, and annual partnerships between the two will become more common;

l Reshape the membership model by embedding brand tags in posts posted by internet celebrities;

l Pay more attention to the diversity of influencer marketing subjects and content;

lMore and more brands will choose to cooperate with small and medium-sized Internet celebrities to save marketing investment while tapping into the communities established by Internet celebrities.

6. More authentic Instagram captions and content are preferred

In 2020, more and more influencers tend to publish less-embellished content on social media that is closer to real life, such as topics such as loneliness and self-esteem. Brands and companies have also chosen real content expressions. .

For example, stationery brand Papersmiths expressed its gratitude to its fan base for their support during the epidemic and solicited suggestions for improving the website experience:

Likewise, Shy Wolf Candles posted details about supply delays, health concerns, and team changes:

Being open and honest about your business' operations and practices can help build a stronger, more solid fan community and help drive traffic to your website. In 2020, attention around topics such as physical and mental health and entrepreneurship will be on the rise. It is expected that by 2021, there will be more public statements and other social media content that can be "candid" with users.

7. Instagram’s “Weibo” format will rise

Fohr reported in 2019 that the average text content length on Instagram has doubled from 2016. Longer content not only means longer reading time for the creator’s community, it also encourages them to comment and share their own stories.

Larger content space helps brands develop their own "educational" communities, becoming the preferred format for sharing content such as advice, while generating revenue for creators and brands.

8. Brands will hold more online virtual events

During the epidemic, most people turned to online social networking, and brand activities also shifted to be held online. This not only solves the problem of epidemic prevention, but also expands the geographical scope of participating users. More importantly, holding virtual brand events online can save money, as there is no need to rent a venue, and there is no need to prepare drinks, gifts and decorations.