If you use Instagram for marketing, or you're considering it, it's important to stay on top of the latest Instagram marketing trends. As it has such a large user base, it can be really easy to get lost in the noise.
By focusing on the Instagram marketing trends we've included here, you'll be able to build an effective Instagram marketing strategy and create high-quality content that gets your followers excited. This way, you can get more followers, increase engagement, and earn more revenue via the platform.
13 Instagram Marketing Trends for 2023 You Need to Watch:
- 1. Content (Still) Reigns
- 2. Reels Usage Will Rise
- 3. Working With Relatable Influencers Will Be the Most Effective
- 4. More Live Content, Specifically Live Shopping
- 5. More In-app Shopping Too
- 6. There Will Be More Focus on (Instagram) Video
- 7. AI Content Recommendations Will Be Given More Time
- 8. Ad Practices Will Need to Change
- 9. Misinformation Won’t be Tolerated
- 10. Representing Diversity Will Get (You) More Limelight
- 11. Meme Marketing Will Increase
- 12. Prioritize Engagement
- 13. Better Integrations
- Frequently Asked Questions
13 Instagram Marketing Trends You Need to Watch:
If you use Instagram for marketing, or you're considering it, it's important to stay on top of the latest Instagram marketing trends. Instagram has more than 2 billion monthly active users; 500+ million check the platform every day. In addition, 90% of Instagrammers follow a business on the platform. With such a large user base, it can be really easy to get lost in the noise. By focusing on the Instagram marketing trends we've included here, you'll be able to build an effective Instagram marketing strategy and create high-quality content that gets your followers excited. Let's take a look at 13 Instagram marketing trends you can adapt to meet your goals. If you're looking for additional ways to amplify your efforts, consider exploring Influencer marketing platforms as a strategic tool to enhance your brand's reach and engagement.
1. Content (Still) Reigns
Virtually every year, we highlight how content will play an important role moving forward. So, in 2023, it should come as no surprise that content is still the most important thing to consider when planning your Instagram marketing strategy.
There are several content marketing tools that can help you create amazing Instagram content, but don't stress too much over production value. Over the last few years, we've seen a trend toward unfiltered and "authentic" content from Instagram influencers and brands, and that trend will continue (but more about that later).
Of course, this doesn't mean that you can just capture and share any old thing.
While more candid content is on the rise, you still need to ensure that your content is eye-catching and tells a story. Instagram users have become increasingly better at determining if the content they're seeing is genuine and authentic, thanks in large part to accounts like Humans of New York and the influencers who are sharing their failures too, instead of curating their feeds only to show their successes.
Source: instagram.com
The point is you don’t need a reminder that high-quality content matters. It’s like having to remind someone working in customer service that they need to be friendly and respectful. If you’ll be using Instagram, or any other social media platform for that matter, you’ll need to ensure that every single post is high-quality. Though, as mentioned, quality shouldn’t be confused for perfection. Authentic content that shows you in a real light can also be high-quality posts.
2. Reels Usage Will Rise
Instagram Reels, Instagram's response to TikTok, lets users create and edit short-form video content of 60 seconds each. It’s not a new feature, but you can expect to see many more Reels in 2023. What makes it so popular is that it’s a great option to capitalize on TikTok-style content, trends, and challenges without having to move to another platform and build your audience again.
Brands can leverage Instagram Reels in their marketing strategy in several ways. For starters, even if you're not going to create content on TikTok, it can pay off big to stay up to date on what's happening on the platform. You can then be one of the first creators to launch those trends on Instagram Reels. It's also helpful to ease into Instagram Reels through informational content. Create content on things you're already knowledgeable about and share that with your audience.
3. Working With Relatable Influencers Will Be the Most Effective
Influencer marketing will continue to be effective in 2023. With the trend toward authentic and unfiltered content continuing into the future, brands need to partner with relatable influencers.
The average Instagram user is looking to connect with real people whose lives look like their own — not celebrities. When looking for an Instagram influencer to represent your brand, consider all types of influencers. More and more nano and micro-influencers are being tapped for collaborations because of their connection with their audiences. While they might only have a couple of thousand followers, these influencers tend to have better engagement simply because it's easier for them to stay in touch with a few thousand people than hundreds of thousands.
What’s more, by working with nano and micro-influencers that are relevant to your brand, you can stretch your Instagram marketing budgets as they typically charge less. So, it’s really a win-win.
4. More Live Content, Specifically Live Shopping
Instagram Live use skyrocketed over recent years. What makes Instagram Live such a popular and effective tool is that it lets you interact with viewers right then and there on the spot, ultimately helping to create a deeper connection. It also lets you leverage storytelling which can help to humanize your brand.
From new product updates to brand announcements to live events, there are many ways how you can incorporate Instagram Live into your marketing strategy. In some instances, you can simply use your mobile device. Raw, live footage shot with your smartphone can be more authentic.
When used for commerce, it can help to drive sales during the discovery phase. It gives consumers an immersive way to discover new products in a way that online stores just can’t. According to a survey, after Facebook, Instagram was the most popular social media platform for live streaming shopping among internet users. While TikTok might be breathing in Instagram’s neck in many ways, Instagram was twice as popular for live stream shopping as TikTok.
Source: statista.com
Expect to see big announcements on live shopping on Instagram in 2023.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for inspo as to how you can leverage live shopping via Instagram, you can, for example, follow Tanya Taylor (@tanyataylor).
5. More In-app Shopping Too
Fact: increasingly more consumers are turning to the internet for their shopping needs for everything from clothing to food to cars. And, it’s no longer reserved for official business websites. Social commerce is also on the increase. According to social commerce stats, global social commerce sales are expected to reach over $1 trillion by 2023.
Even if you don’t want to put live shopping to the test (after all, it doesn’t suit all brands), try Shoppable Posts.
In the Instagram mobile app, Shoppable Posts show up in your feed with a little shopping bag in the lower-left corner, and you can tap the products to see more information about them. Instagram also has a shopping section, so if you're interested in selling on Instagram, now's the time to get started.
6. There Will Be More Focus on (Instagram) Video
Along with the increase in Instagram Live and Instagram Reels content, keep your eyes on Instagram Video going into 2023. With Meta encouraging Instagram to make more use of video so that it can rival TikTok, video content will continue to dominate.
Instagram Video is Instagram's video platform, combining IGTV and feed videos. For a while, from 2018, IGTV was Instagram's push into long-form video. However, IGTV never took off as a YouTube killer, and in late 2021 Instagram rebranded IGTV as "Instagram Video", merging it with the videos people share in their regular Instagram feed.
With Instagram Video, creators have the option to use video editing software tools to make their video content pop. Though, as we mentioned earlier in this article, users are seeking a more authentic view of influencers and brands, so you'll probably want to opt for a mix of "candid" videos and those that have a more polished and produced look.
7. AI Content Recommendations Will Be Given More Time
Love it or hate it, Instagram isn’t going to give up on AI content recommendations. Similarly to Facebook, it’s anticipated that Instagram will continue to see how it can be used to boost user engagement next year.
So far, the reception, though, hasn’t been great. After the platform received a number of complaints (including from the likes of Kylie Jenner that started a petition to “Make Instagram Instagram Again”), it announced in July 2022 that it will reduce the number of AI-recommended posts users saw in their feeds. Though, Mark Zuckerberg posted that they expected that the number of content recommended by their AI would double from 15% to 30% by the end of 2023.
The main issue with AI content recommendations is that users want to see more updates from their friends instead of random content from profiles that they don’t even follow. Adam Mosseri, the chief at Instagram, explained that these changes were based on usage trends. For this reason, the platform will continue to use them as it wants to match their users’ interests.
If you’re confused, so are we. So, only time will tell how much AI-recommended content you’ll see moving forward, but by the sound of it, Instagram is going to stick with it in 2023.
8. Ad Practices Will Need to Change
The ad industry has been impacted significantly by the launch of iOS 14. If you haven’t managed to navigate your way around Apple’s App Tracking Transparency policy in 2022, here are some ideas that WebFX, one of the leading digital marketing agencies in the US, shares:
- Incorporate a more aggressive approach, but remember to stay adaptable
- Give your ads between two to four weeks extra so that you can assess their performance better
- “Go back” to traditional best advertising practices like highlighting benefits instead of features
9. Misinformation Won’t be Tolerated
Social media platforms have more actively tried to reduce the spread of misinformation over the last couple of years. While this might not be a brand new change in behavior, brands and marketers can expect that moving forward curbing the spread of misleading or deceptive content via Instagram will become a bigger priority.
If you need to change your practices, do so. If you’re not sure if you’re guilty of this, it’s time to do some introspection.
In short, brand accountability is only going to become more critical. More and more social media users are starting to hold their brands to higher standards on social media. Users have no issue with calling out brands that they (used to) love out in the open on social media.
Moving forward, ensure that you communicate where you stand on different social issues clearly and tactfully. And, when doing so (or rather beforehand), ensure that you assess your own labor practices. Just like users want their brands to be more authentic, they also demand more transparency and honesty.
10. Representing Diversity Will Get (You) More Limelight
Adding to our previous point about brand accountability, diversity and inclusivity will also enjoy more attention in 2023. Ensure that you treat minority groups fairly and not just members of your own target audience, but also your own employees.
Create inclusive content by ensuring that everyone is represented. This applies to both your visuals as well as your messaging.
11. Meme Marketing Will Increase
Memes aren’t new, but what will be new in 2023 is how often they get used in social media marketing. Neal Schaffer predicts on his blog that memes will be used more often as a marketing tool. While society might be quick to resort to social media for serious matters like inclusivity, diversity, wages, etc. they still enjoy a good laugh. Not only can memes deliver a quick laugh, but it can also be used to provide humorous commentary on current situations. In other words, when done right, memes can help you to stay relevant.
12. Prioritize Engagement
Whether it’s using Instagram’s reaction stickers in Reels, sharing a Q&A session, or typing out an actual reply, brands will need to encourage interactivity and engagement if they want to stay relevant in the eyes of their target audience and the algorithm. Those brands that successfully create and maintain two-way communication will be rewarded.
Another way that brands will encourage engagement is by using user-generated content (UGC) more often. That said, it won’t replace influencer-generated content (IGC). Instead, moving forward, we’ll just see a better balance.
13. Better Integrations
If you’re a creator and none of these trend predictions have excited you much about the new year, this will. In 2023, you can expect to see Instagram introduce new forms of content creation. Meta is very keen to get users more excited about virtual reality.
Social Media Today predicts that instead of turning to their own internal engineering team, Meta will work with external creators on Instagram to get digital artists onboard and excited. Some of the tools that Social Media Today anticipates are GIFs generated from Live Photos on Instagram, AR and 3D posts, and the integration of 3D creation tools from the Spark AR platform.
Grow Your Brand in 2023 With These Instagram Marketing Trends
Creating a strong brand presence on Instagram is a big part of any successful social media marketing strategy. It's continually proving to be the platform for influencers, providing tools and even education that help brands reach and engage with followers. As Instagram continues to evolve, adding functionality and features that make it easier to keep users on the platform, influencers and brands that have already built a following on the platform will find it more and more important to focus their efforts here. With the 13 Instagram marketing trends for 2023 we've shared here, you have more than enough to help you create a brilliant, engaging, and effective Instagram marketing strategy that will help you outperform your competitors every step of the way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of content works well on Instagram?
Content remains the most important thing to give thought to when you are planning your Instagram marketing strategy. Since 2019, there has been a trend toward unfiltered and "authentic" content from Instagram influencers and brands. Candid content that is eye-catching and tells a story works well. So, it can be a good idea actually to share your failures as well and not just your success stories. This type of content will make you a lot more relatable to your audience.
How can I make my Instagram Stories more successful?
It is important to have an effective strategy for Instagram Stories so that you can get the most from this feature. For starters, it is a good idea to take advantage of polls, emoji sliders, and stickers that are available to all users. The Instagram Link Sticker feature lets you add links in specific stories that can work well. This way, you don't have to constantly change the link in your bio to match your marketing campaign.
How can I use Instagram Reels?
You can take advantage of Instagram Reels in various ways. Firstly, you should stay up to date with what is happening on TikTok (even if you do not use TikTok to create content) and then make sure that you are one of the first to launch those trends on Instagram Reels. Another way is to create content on subject matter that you already know a lot about, and then you can share that with your audience.
Should I work with a micro-influencer?
Yes! Increasingly more nano and micro-influencers are being used for collaborations because of the connection they have with their audiences. They tend to have better engagement with their users as it is not as hard for them to stay in touch with a few thousand followers as opposed to hundreds of thousands. Considering that authentic and unfiltered content is trending, it makes sense to work with a relatable influencer who can connect with real people.
Should I use Cause Marketing?
In July 2020, Instagram launched a very successful social fundraising feature in response to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy. This feature lets users create fundraisers for personal causes, their business, or on behalf of a friend or cause that is important to them. It is a great way to let your followers know what is important to you as Instagram users are looking for brands that are willing to take a stand on the same issues that are important to them.
