Weekly News Insight: Instagram Marketing
What makes this visual-based social network so attractive?
Everyone knows that today, Instagram is a staple for marketing campaigns. 80% of Instagram users follow at least one brand with 60% of them discovered new products of services through the platform and 30% of them have purchased products. Indeed, Instagram marketing is extremely competitive with more than 25 million businesses using the platform to capture attention, entice interest, create desire, and compel action from the users.
A killer Instagram marketing strategy is necessary for your brands or businesses to stand out! And to do that, you need to constantly keep up with the updates regarding the platform. This week, Viral Access has compiled some articles that cover interesting updates about Instagram which you can consider before you design your next Instagram marketing strategy!
Instagram Aesthetic is Over
It’s no secret that Instagram’s rise to the top of the leader board of most popular social media app, has ushered a particular look: bright walls, articulately arranged poses, artfully arranged lattes, and millennial’s favorite pink, all with carefully staged, color-corrected, glossy-looking aesthetic. No one has capitalized on this look’s popularity more than influencers. But, every trend has its shelf life. Most fast rising, new influencers reject the notion of a curated feed in favor of messier and more unfiltered vibe. In fact many of the teens now go out of their ways to make their pictures look worse.
Over the past years, Instagram vs reality photos have grown in popularity as influencers attempt to make themselves seem more accessible. In short, everyone is trying to be more authentic. Instagram’s aesthetic-saturation might also be because of the platform itself. Whereas Instagram started out as a purely visual feed or filtered photos, now it has morphed into a messy, tangled social network where photos fight with stories, IGTV, GIFs, and video clips for attention. These days, many influencers agree that their audiences are more interested in interactive Instagram stories compare to flat photos. Ultimately, audiences are just looking for things they can relate to and the carefully crafted aesthetic post simply doesn’t cut it out anymore.
Here is what the influencers have to say regarding the end of the aesthetic-era on Instagram, as covered by The Atlantic!
Instagram is Testing on Way to Hide the Number of Likes on Posts
The word on the street is, Instagram is testing out a prototype on how to hide the “likes” on its posts. Now, it is clear that Instagram is currently the hottest social media app in the world, thanks to its countless new, upgraded features (i.e. Stories). So the latest ‘rumor’ about Instagram’s attempt to hide the number of likes on posts is clearly catching the attention of every individual and business alike. Some reason that this approach is to counter the ‘popularity’ contest in Instagram, as stated by the official Instagram app that they want the users’ followers to focus on what they share. Well, although there’s a silver lining in this approach, but many brands worry that this strategy will cost Instagram much of its advertising momentum because of the lack of open, accurate and binary measure of success.
Nevertheless, Inc. made some implications for entrepreneurs regarding this rumor:
1. Entrepreneurs are encouraged not to go “All-In” on a single social media platform, despite the popularity of a specific app.
2. Instagram Stories will increase in terms importance and popularity.
3. Less analytical metrics will lead to less marketing dollars.
4. Less metrics will cause poorer user experience.
Instagram Officially Launches Quiz Stickers for IG Stories
Instagram officially got an update! The new Quiz Stickers feature provides users with another way to generate engagement with their InstaStories while prompting your followers to give feedback right away! As the popularity of Stories rises, brands are looking for another way to formulate the best approach without having to spare significant marketing budget. The arrival of Quiz stickers proves to be a creative solution to this while still minimizing cost.
One can argue that this feature is similar to poll stickers back in 2017, but quiz stickers add more of a fun, competitive element by giving users the options to get the right answer and feel a sense of achievement, as opposed to just providing feedback. Moreover, creative brands can also utilize this new IG feature as lead-in to a new research report!
Read the full story via Social Media Today here!
