his 2022, Instagram has undergone some fundamental changes. If you're not prepared for them, your business could suffer. Here's what you need to know about the changes and how to adapt your marketing strategy accordingly.
Instagram and its parent company Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, have come under intense scrutiny over the potential impact of their services on the mental health, body image, and safety of young users, including after whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents about the company’s approach to younger users. Speaking before a Senate panel, Mosseri said the photo-sharing app had been working “for months" on the option of a feed ordered chronologically and launched this year, in a significant change for the service, which uses algorithmic ranking to personalize a feed based on user preferences.
At the hearing, lawmakers pushed Mosseri for specific answers on what legislative reforms he would support around kids’ online safety, including on targeted advertising. In his opening remarks, Senator Richard Blumenthal said the time for self-regulation was over. In his testimony, Mosseri called for the creation of an industry body to determine best practices to help keep young people safe online. The body, he said, should receive input from civil society, parents, and regulators to create standards on how to verify age, design age-appropriate experiences, and build parental controls.
Mosseri said tech companies should have to adhere to standards by this proposed industry body to “earn" some of their Section 230 protections, referring to a key U.S. internet law that offers tech platforms protections from liability over content posted by users.
Creating social media content for Instagram used to be fairly simple: Plan ahead, look at your promotional calendar and events, then create posts based on that. (At least, this is what social media marketers should have been doing.)
But just recently, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, announced that it will be updating the Instagram feed (the main way users see posts from everyone they follow) to include three options:
1. Home: This will be the default feed, a combination of people you follow and what the algorithm thinks you will like. Let’s be honest: This is exactly how the TikTok FYP works, and Instagram is “borrowing it.”
2. Following: This will be the chronological feed of people you follow.
3. Favorites: This will be a chronological feed of all the accounts you don’t want to miss. You can make your list by favoriting your friends, competitors, influencers, or funny accounts. We will probably be seeing a lot of CTAs from brands on Instagram asking people to add them to their favorites.
Here are the Marketing Trends for 2022
- Suggested and Chronological Content Feeds
- Merged Video Formats
- Creator-led Commerce
- Brand Personalities
- Video Memes
- Community Engagement Features
The Introduction of Chronological and Suggested Content Feeds
We’re putting our money on a new Home feed that has the option to toggle between a “Suggested For You” and a chronological “Following” feed. Sound familiar? Well, that’s because it is. TikTok has already paved the way with this format, and it clearly works; TikTok is now officially more popular than Instagram amongst US-based Gen Z users. Suggested content feeds are coming to Instagram – but there will be an option to see a chronological feed too. Manage your Instagram like a pro – plan, schedule, and auto-publish your posts in advance with Later
Video Formats Will Merge
With the merging of IGTV into feed videos, Instagram is already taking a bold step forward. But we think they'll soon be moving towards even more streamlined offerings that incorporate all these different types in one app or platform for users to enjoy!
Creator-led Commerce Will Change the Way We Shop
The introduction of affiliate (or “commission-based”) revenue on Instagram removes the need for complex agreements and contracts – making influencer marketing on the app much easier for everyone to get involved in. And that’s not all. Instagram is set to make “Creator Shops'' available to more users on the platform – providing a new destination for influencers and creators to showcase products from brands they love (while earning commission from the sales they inspire).
The Rise of Brand Personalities
Gone are the days when Instagram was solely for sharing aesthetically-pleasing pictures. Now, this app has something much more impactful: community and conversation! 'Instagram' is putting the social back in Social Media so what does that mean to brands or creators? In nutshell, it means they need to bring their personality to the table by showing up on an interactive platform with other like-minded individuals who share interests similar to yours.
Video Memes Will Reign Supreme
Video memes are the new hotness on Instagram. In a world where people love to share short videos for instant happiness, these Animated GIFs or TikTok Memes can be tailored specifically towards your needs and preferences with only seconds of turnaround time! "The evolution to video memes is a natural progression,” shares Mel Mckechnie, Later's Social Media Manager. “Video memes allow for the jokes to go a little deeper and for more story to be told with the format. It also keeps your audience on the post for longer, waiting for the next piece of relatability."
New and Improved Community Engagement Features
The one thing that Instagram has over other social media sites is its ability to engage and build community. They'll continue doing this in 2022 by staying creative with conversation prompts like emoji reactions, interactive story stickers, etc., all while knowing how important it is for them not just to be "the" platform but rather have others use alongside (and especially after) Facebook! Have you been thinking about Instagram as a photo-sharing platform? You might want to switch gears and start taking it more seriously because things have changed drastically. This social media site is now an immersive form of communication that demands creativity from its users; if they want success, then there need to be no half measures here!
Be sure to check out our latest blog posts like SEO and Content Marketing Guide and 7 Powerful Marketing Strategies for 2022 and 2022 SEO Trends - What to look forward to.
