Instagram is perhaps among the current powerful marketing channels. It is great for paid advertising, content marketing, communication, and customer service. It comparably has the capacity to source and drives great engagement, better than the average return on investment any brand, marketer or agency would want.
Since its inception eight years ago, Instagram has been on the rise, recently clocking in more than a billion daily users. To put this to perspective, 80 percent of Instagram users follow at least one business profile and more than 200 million people visit at least one business profile daily.
Such numbers mean that marketers will have access to a huge audience who are not only dedicated but also engaged. To add to this, Instagram registers more than 4 billion daily likes with each image posted getting an average of 23 percent more engagement when compared to its counterpart, Facebook.
It is due to this, that Instagram marketers ought to stay updated with Instagram’s latest development and the trends governing it. Some of the trends you should get ready to experience in 2019 include the following;
1. IGTV is Growing Bigger and Better
Announced in June the previous year, IGTV is a relatively new video platform specially dedicated to mobile users. Unlike any other video platforms such as YouTube, IGTV features a dedicated vertical video playback platform that marketers and content producers can address mobile audience with ease.
Most people questioned the reason why Instagram choose to have it vertical. Well, Instagram responded that they wanted to encourage Instagram users to create more video content but exclusively for mobile. People like using their phone in a vertical position, hence such creation.
SocialChain is a company that takes full advantage of IGTV. It produces and publishes regular podcast and films and shares all its episodes on IGTV. Whereas short-length videos were already available for Instagram, IGTV allows marketers to publish and share long-form content, which is more beneficial.
2. Micro-Brands Will Dominate the Platform
Instagram is comparably quite a different social media platform in that it favors micro-brand marketing. This perhaps explains why there are many small companies making a killing from the platform. The channel favors basic interaction and storytelling, perhaps something different from other social media platforms.
Mass micro brands with an effective marketing strategy experience a bigger impact than you can imagine. Through hyper-targeted marketing, timely manufacturing coupled with social media, microbrands find and engage with their audience more effectively.
A successful brand that was able to grow instantly, thanks to Instagram was MVMT, a crowd-funded watch designer brand. The platform delivered 75 percent more brand awareness and two time’s higher engagement. There are other brands as well that have created and maintained a huge community of followers with whom they share success and news.
3. Shopping Tags Become Global
Instagram is a platform where marketers are open to promotional content and advertising. Following a series of e-commerce updates the previous year, Instagram is becoming a must-use channel for any online retailer in 2019. Initially, shopping tags allowed businesses to tag images with name and price.
A click on the product tag directs the user to the product page, with simplifies the purchase process. Currently, shopping tags are available for Instagram videos and stories, enabling marketers to leverage them fully. As if not enough, Instagram added a shop tab feature for business profiles. This allows Instagram users to browse for specific number of items without exiting the app.
4. Authentic Influencers
Influencer marketing is a trend that won’t go down easily. It has proven the test of time, especially if done correctly. When it comes to working with Instagram influencers, brands should first check the authenticity of the influencer. It is easy to get lots of followers using an Instagram bot if you want to, but finding the best influencers with real followers interested in their content can be daunting.
Before contacting and working with an Instagram influencer, take much time researching on them and their social media influence. This means going beyond numbers. Check out if they are getting enough engagement on their post, do their audience care what they post on their profiles, and what brands have collaborated with the influencer before.
Also, evaluate how their previous campaigns were like among many other aspects to confirm their authenticity. Tools like Social Bakers can help you find Instagram researchers based on their audience and location and their type.
5. Stories Ads – A New Type of Vertical Advertising
Since its inception, Instagram stories have taken the platform by storm. It is a perfect spot for day-to-day users and advertisers who need to communicate directly to their audiences. With Instagram stories ads, marketers can insert banners between other people’s stories. This paid option is effective as it allows Instagram marketers to insert full-screen banners.
For the ads to convert and give a decent ROI, they should be of exceptional design, feel and look. They should also be highly targeted and in-line with what your audience wants to see, hear and buy. Since users are very comfortable with stories, businesses can leverage this opportunity with much effectiveness.
6. Instagram Growth Tools
Regardless of how clever you are in social media, big industry players are taking advantage of growth tools to achieve more likes, followers and other engagements. To grow your Instagram too, consider making use of Instagram tools such as SocialSteeze.
This tool allows you to get real followers who are genuinely interested in your brand products and services. Note that having just many followers won’t better your Instagram results, especially when it comes to sales, traffic, and conversions.
Conclusion
2019 seems to be an exciting year for Instagrammers and any brand using Instagram marketing. There are new and interesting ways of promoting and selling products, exciting ways to create quality content and more ways of engaging Instagram users.
That said, if you want to put in some buzz around your company in 2019, take note of the trends mentioned above and take full advantage of them. As Instagram continues evolving to meet both users and marketers demands, stay updated with the latest trends to keep your brand relevant and at par with your competitors.
