Instagram’s Main Focus for Creators in 2022
“Instagram is no longer just a photo sharing app”
– Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram.
The instagram you see today is definitely not the instagram you remember from a few years ago, from the implementation of messages and video calls via Facebook (now known as meta) to the birth of IGTV that has now transitioned into Reels - Instagram is nearly unrecognisable.
If you’re looking to build your Instagram account in 2022 - and feeling a little lost I'm going to go over a few of the more major changes such as Reels, Instagram Stories’ bigger roles, and relatability and candidness.
Prioritize Reels
The year is 2019 and you’re at home during the very first COVID-19 lockdowns, your friend told you to download this app called TikTok; so as a joke, you do. The first things you see are short 30 second videos with dances, cat videos and memes; you think “hey this is kinda cool”. Fast forward to 2021 and that app you downloaded as a joke? Yeah, you’re still using it and can’t stop. Instagram knew that TikTok had struck gold and they wanted in on the spoils so they launched their short form video “Reels” as a direct competitor to TikTok.
As an incentive to get creators and influencers to begin posting more and more Reels, the algorithm that Instagram uses began to prioritise Reels over Photo posts and opened the digital floodgates leading to the hundreds of thousands of Reels you see today.
If you’re trying to grow and not posting reels, you’re going to see diminishing returns in the time you invest in preparing photo posts. Instead, use the time you would usually spend on photo editing on creating Instagram Reels instead - you’d be amazed by how quickly you’ll start seeing results.
Instagram Stories hold the power
I’m sure by now you know what instagram stories are and require no introduction; they are essential for follower engagement. There are a multitude of ways to incorporate stories from the ability to create polls, Q&A’s, link stickers and many more features.
Instagram is also currently experimenting with 60 second stories as opposed to its usual 15 seconds, this means that you’ll be able to fit a lot more content into one story slide. Stories are already one of the most powerful ways to create a relationship with your audience, but this definitely be taking it to a new level. It just goes to show how much Instagram is prioritising video and Stories. Some creators actually focus their entire content strategy around Stories alone.
If you’re posting photos or Reels and not engaging with your following over stories, you’re missing out on reaching not only them but new potential followers as well. If you’re struggling to think of what to post on stories here’s a few ideas for your next post!
Product of the week
Run a monthly poll
Open up your story for a Q&A
Have a conversation with chat stickers
Teach something with a tutorial
Re-share content you’re loving
Shout out your favourite creators
Don’t forget to save some of your most popular Stories series’ to highlights too!
Candidness and relatability are key
If you’ve been following me for a while you’d know that I was a Travel and Lifestyle influencer and relied heavily on using a camera to capture all of the incredible moments I experienced, always trying to get the perfect frame, the perfect lighting, the perfect dress - everything had to be perfect 100 percent of the time. Then 2019 came around and everything changed, perfect photos weren’t performing as well and the overall reception of perfectly captured photos was dropping, almost like people got tired of seeing it - and that's exactly what happened.
People didn’t want to see perfectly taken images and curated feeds anymore, people wanted something more real, more…relatable. I believe this had a lot to do with COVID’s effect on morale and how people wanted to relate more closely to their favourite creators and place them in more of a human category instead of a pedestal. This change allowed creators to finally feel as if they could let their hair down to actually be themselves, instead of just what they used to share on instagram.
In 2021 the shift between shooting on a camera to then shooting strictly on iPhone was massive - the fact that anyone could just post an iPhone photo straight to instagram, was something that hadn’t been seen in years and a huge breath of fresh air.
Being able to relate to your followers on a personal level is essential for growth on Instagram, so don’t be afraid to take your phone out and take photos and videos, if you don’t think it’s strong enough for a post - put it on stories!
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