You can endlessly look at 3 things: how the water flows, how the fire burns, and how Instagram is introducing updates. It seems to me that this is the only social network where it is impossible to get bored, because every month there are some updates, some new features and trends. Today I will share with you what is now at the peak of popularity on Insta, and how, thanks to these tools, we can increase our reach, popularity and earnings.
Travel guides
A new feature from Instagram that allows you to collect and combine your posts into certain collections. If earlier we used hashtags to make headings, now it is very convenient to put together blog articles on a specific topic in sections of the guide. So you can, for example, make a section “About yourself“, “About product X“, “Customers talk“, “Services“, etc.
After creating one guide, you will have an icon on the main page, and you can share the entire section in stories or send to friends in a personal message.
After creating one guide, you will have an icon on the main page
Today, few people actively use this trend, but in vain. Such thematic collections are very convenient. Thanks to them, you can increase the reach and engagement of old posts if you add them to sections of travel guides.
Reels
Since 2019, all marketers, SMM specialists, PR people have shouted: “People, shoot a video. Learn to do the editing of creative videos, it will be in great demand in 2021–2022 ”. Everyone nodded, and few took these words seriously. Alas.
What do we see now? TikTok captured the younger generation, and Instagram, trying to reach different age audiences, launched Reels – “sticky” videos for 15–30 seconds (sometimes 60 seconds) with music or voice acting, like in TikTok.
At the time of this writing, Reels is not fully functional. It works only on iOS (not on Android yet), not in all countries you can run ads in Reels. In some countries, the functionality inside the Reels itself is limited (there is no way to add music), and there is no separate feed for Reels (they are shown in the general feed, and the icon and the entire section with their videos are visible only to the owner).
BUT! Regardless, if you have an iPhone, I recommend that you shoot the reels anyway. Firstly, with their help, you can reach those subscribers who are subscribed to you, but were not active, because Instagram is strongly promoting a new platform, and reels videos are shown to the maximum. Secondly, while now this trend is only gaining momentum, you can practice and test what works well for you and what does not, so that when it becomes available to absolutely everyone, you are already a pro and can immediately create videos that will go viral and give you tens of thousands of new subscribers.
You can get ideas for reels at TikTok. Add music and your own font – in any video application (for example, InShot, VN). Look for ideas in videos with many Youtube likes.
Launch advertising to your audience if it suits you (for example, if you have an online business and you can provide services outside of one country).
Masks and filters
A couple of years ago, to process a photo or video, you had to spend hours and understand third–party applications. Now Instagram users have created so many masks and filters for stories that you can save time and use basic tools to process your content.
To find filters, go to the stories section of the camera, scroll to the right to the “Magnifier” icon, click “View Effects” and look for the filter or mask that we need. You can try it right away or save stories to your camera.
To find filters, go to the stories section of the camera
You can also pick your favorite filter into your collection by viewing other people’s stories. To do this, click on the filter name in the upper left corner.
Joint live broadcasts
Live broadcasts are a trend of the past, which is gaining popularity more and more every year. With their help, you can build loyalty to the brand, to yourself as a person, to show your expertise, to become closer to your subscribers.
Being on the air with your subscribers, it is as if you are sitting next to them in the company. They can read your emotions, ask you questions in the moment and get answers to them.
Joint live broadcasts are another great opportunity to declare yourself, share with subscribers information not only your own, but also an invited expert, and, of course, exchange audiences with the guest.
To make the result from joint live broadcast better – advertise each other in stories, announce your live broadcast in posts. It is advisable to do this 2–3 days before the broadcast and then repeat for the day and on the day of the joint meeting. You can also add a counter sticker to stories so that your subscribers receive a broadcast reminder notification.
And to motivate subscribers to be online, I recommend announcing useful gifts. For example, you are broadcasting and say the code word in the middle or in the end. Those who write it to you within 10 minutes after the end of the stream will receive a bonus – a discount on a product, a checklist, a useful lesson or some other bun.
Subtitles in stories
Treat your audience with understanding. Remember that people often scroll through stories on the road, at work, in a public place – where it is inconvenient to watch a video with sound. Therefore, be sure to prescribe the main thoughts in text or do subtitles.
Meanings in stories
The time for salads and cats in stories is over. No one is interested in watching stories of the same type with the statement of facts: “I left home”, “I came to work”, “Here is my table”, “Here is my coffee”, etc.
Now emotions are important in stories, what you felt, what you are worried about, how you will cope with this or that situation. This all makes you a real person, you become closer and more understandable to your audience. They gain confidence in you, and then the process of selling themselves, their goods and services is simplified. They buy not SOMETHING, but from SOMEONE.
Stories style
A lot of people got stuck in 2016 creatives when stories first appeared. This is NOT stylish now, NOT fashionable and NOT youthful.
If you want to be different and be in the style of stories, you need to study and apply trendy features: stickers, animated inscriptions, exclusive fonts, personal elements, colors, backgrounds, various effects.
Your stories should be stylish and amaze your subscribers. If you do not receive messages “How did you do it?” In Direct, then you urgently need to change something in your stories.
If you need ready-made trend stories, I invite you to my free Telegram channel. Here I share tricks and ideas for stories every day.
Let’s summarize
Want to be trendy on Instagram and get Instagram followers? Use as many tools and communication channels as possible. Publications, stories, reels, broadcasts, Igtv, guides, filters and masks. Study video editing, make creatives, surprise your subscribers and let your Insta fire.
