Is Instagram going to be a part of your marketing plan in 2023? Check out some likely trends for 2023 that will be worth keeping an eye on.
Important Instagram movements you shouldn’t miss in 2023
Creators vs Micro-, Nano-, and Macro-Influencers
Why, you may wonder, is there a distinction? Indeed, I can see how this may cause some confusion.
First of all, as I mentioned before, just approximately 14% of all content providers are influencers. This is according to a survey conducted by Adobe. Even more intriguing is the fact that, internationally, over 40% more people aspire to become business owners than influencers.
And when you think about it, influencers are called that because of how many people follow them. The “micro” ones, as you might expect, have the tiniest followings (but, typically, the highest engagement rates, on which I’ll expound momentarily).
What does this differentiation signify for brands now that we know it?
Indeed, you’ll need to be selective when choosing content producers and influencers to collaborate with on your influencer marketing initiatives. The number of an audience is no longer relevant, and has likely become more of a vanity statistic.
A better metric to analyse is participation levels. Moreover, they are often greater for micro and nano influencers. According to research conducted by the Influencer Marketing Hub, nano influencers have a much better average engagement rate of 3.69% compared to bigger accounts.
Also, content producers no longer need to be full-time artists. According to the same Adobe report, 64% of Generation Z social media users intend to monetise a project this year. For this reason, it is prudent to collaborate with a number of minor influencers in order to access a wide variety of interested consumers. Which is why it’s important to factor them into your influencer marketing plans for the year.
Insta Reels and TikTok-esque videos
If you’re a regular user of TikTok, you’ve definitely noticed that many Instagram Reels incorporate content that was popularised on the app. In fact, it’s not a secret, strange as that may sound at first. Instagram content makers frequently rip off TikTok’s popular aesthetic, soundtrack, and banter verbatim. Everything is the same, with the possible exception of a little delay in availability.
If that’s the case, there’s no need to use Instagram.
You may publish images, behind-the-scenes information, feed films, and so on in addition to short-form videos like those seen on TikTok. Stickers, quizzes, polls, and links are all part of the fun here.
For this reason, many producers use both TikTok and Instagram, typically cross-posting between the two but using Instagram to showcase a wider variety of styles. Similarly, they frequently ask their TikTok fans to also follow them on Instagram.
What therefore, would a savvy social media marketer do? Take advantage of the currently popular Instagram content forms (Reels are heavily promoted by the platform) while supplementing them with other content kinds to increase interaction.
Complete Disclosing of Advertisements
Instagram ads have proven to be an efficient means of spreading the word about new products and services. Notwithstanding the obvious limitations of the native ad features, influencer marketing and product placement have long existed in a nebulous realm that hasn’t always been clear to Instagram users.
Ads, sponsored material, and paid partnerships have all grown increasingly common, but they are now clearly labelled as advertisements since the government and authorities have begun regulating this sector as well. Have product placements finally run their course?
The evidence suggests otherwise. We are unquestionably moving into an era in which information on social media is closely examined, both by authorities and by audiences. The onus is on content providers to figure out how to make money off their work while still abiding by the rules.
This coincides with the current trend towards more openness and genuineness on social media. You can’t blame consumers for wanting honest advertising.
Shopping on Instagram
With their own storefronts, collections, product releases, and product tags, Instagram creators and companies were able to sell their wares directly on the platform in 2023. This trend will persist throughout the next year as well.
The ability for influencers to create shoppable posts alongside the items they recommend makes it much simpler to evaluate the efficacy of influencer marketing campaigns. With the prior argument in mind, it’s easy to see how stores are a natural progression of this trend towards more open advertising.
Strategic alliances between brands and content creators
Branded content partnerships on Instagram are a subgenre of Instagram advertising. Instagram now allows you to “tag” another account in your post or highlight reel, making it visible to the viewers of both accounts. What do you think, smart, right?
I also think it may be a cool way to bring new life to the feed and expand your following there, rather than relying solely on Instagram Stories to do it.
Collaborative and user-created media
To be genuine on social media, you need to do more than just be honest about your advertisements. Using posts and videos your consumers made in the material on your Instagram account is another important method marketers can show it off. This is bound to remain a major movement, and it may even gain momentum.
As a result, Instagram has begun working on ways to facilitate the incorporation of user-generated content into business accounts. Community content is a cutting-edge option for this.
Brands can ask to have a user’s unpaid post added to their Instagram store and linked to a specific product if the user has tagged the brand in their photo. A user’s acceptance of the request triggers the display of community content beside the product in the Instagram store.
People are more interested in finding evidence of a product or service’s worth online, and this is a fantastic method to provide such evidence to potential buyers.