With over 800 million users, who wouldn’t want to market on Instagram?

Instagram, a social media platform and mobile app for photos and videos, have ballooned their numbers over the years. What seemed to be a simple photo-sharing platform has become one of – if not – the biggest social media platforms in online marketing.
 
Companies have invested in using the platform to increase brand followers, loyalty, and sales. And so far, it has never let them down.
 
So what’s in store for the merchants using Instagram?
 
Here are a few trends that are set to emerge this year. Some of them are still in progress, while some are already evident in the app.
 

Videos, Stories, & Live

 
One of the social media trends in online marketing this 2018 is the use of videos; Instagram has all the right features for this.
 
Aside from posting videos on your timeline, you can post videos on through Instagram stories and do live broadcasts, too.
 
It seems like people are giving more attention to videos than still photos; that means it’s more engagement for you.
 
Aside from videos, Boomerang posts would also trend this year.
 
So how can you maximize the video, stories, livestream, and Boomerang features and convert it into engagement and sales?
 
Learn the craft. Be creative especially in creating stories. Have an influencer who is comfortable facing the camera. The possibilities are endless!
 

Sandwiched Timeline

 
Ever noticed how the Instagram timeline is not in chronological order anymore?
 
That is because influencers have been trying to defy the IG algorithm by ‘sandwiching’ their less popular posts with some promotional posts (or vice versa).
 
Although this doesn’t solve the algorithm dilemma directly, it somehow finds a way to bring up engagement in other posts.
 

Shopping on Instagram

 
It’s finally here! It would soon be possible to shop through Instagram.
 
The social media platform has been partnering with Shopify to make online shopping more convenient for brands and merchants.
 
However, this doesn’t mean that IG already allows links on the posts. It allows a merchant to tag their product from Shopify listing, the name, and price of the item.
 
We think this is even better than adding links to your post! Why?
 
Because any IG user can simply tap the ‘tag’ and buy the item right then and there. No redirects and all.
 
With this amazing innovation, merchants would surely take advantage of it. And user? Do watch out for easy browsing and shopping!
 

Other upcoming trends on Instagram

• Promotional Posts. Since Instagram has become a very useful online marketing platform, more companies would promote posts to increase engagement. As mentioned a while ago, promotional posts would most likely be sandwiched with other posts with lesser engagements.

 

• Content Over Aesthetic. Out with the old IG posts of doing too many artsy shots. While creativity is still key, it would be wise to focus more on the content. Ask yourself: what is the most important element in my post? Then, you can style it up to look good when you got your content in focus.

 

• New Profile Layout. Rumor has it that the old 3×3 profile layout will be changed to 2×2. Yay? Or nay?