With the arrival of every New Year, social marketers go into overdrive trying to predict what’s going to create a big impact on their industries. However, the continuing coronavirus pandemic has made it considerably difficult and 2020 witnessed extreme market dynamism. Some of the newest features of Instagram are responses to the situation created by the pandemic while many other trends were sparked off by the users themselves. Some of the Instagram trends you should be prepared to face in 2021:

Longer Instagram Live Streaming Videos 

Launched in 2016, Instagram Live has quickly gained traction with businesses for sharing live streaming content with their followers. In 2020, with the situation being extremely dynamic, the feature became even more popular. As businesses took to it in increasingly large numbers to remain connected with their customers with digital events and announcements. Instagram has extended the maximum permissible length of live videos to four hours from the earlier one hour, and they also appear on the Explore page. Instagram Live is a great way of introducing products to new users while keeping them connected to social media. Some of the ways businesses can use Instagram Live include sharing live streaming content with other creators and Instagram accounts. Introducing new products and services, and using the Q&A sticker to announce readiness to respond to question in real-time.

More E-Commerce Opportunities

Not so long back, you could only shop for products from Instagram by visiting the website link in the bio. But now Instagram offers multiple avenues of shopping without having to leave the app. All business accounts got the opportunity of using the Instagram Shop feature in 2020. For the first time giving users the opportunity of saving, purchase, and checking out while staying within Instagram. In a bid to extend support to Instagram Shop, product tags are allowed on posts, Stories, and also Instagram Live.

Support for creators that was strengthened last year is expected to continue even in 2021. Now creators are allowed to retain 55% of the charge of IGTV video advertisements. Simultaneously, the concept of badges to extend support during the live stream to creators has been introduced. Supporters can now buy badges – there are three different types of badges with different prices. The badge purchases will show up in the comments, get included in the list of badge holders of the creator, and also reveal a special heart.

Carousel Posts Featuring Short Graphics

Carousel posts that can include a maximum of 10 posts have already been used widely for various kinds of education exercises on diverse topics ranging from relationship advice to mental health and more. Creating Instagram graphics is so much simpler with the help of various easy-to-use free apps. A daily newspaper, Anti-Racism Daily that publishes a different topic on racism issues every day put Instagram to good use with its carousel posts summing up the stories in a format that is easy to read. You can create Instagram graphics on any subject you are passionate about and convert them into educational slides. You can also use the templates available on various graphics apps that you can use to transform existing infographics into attractive slides. If you lack engagement, you can work with social media marketing agencies like Blastup.com to acquire more likes, comments, and followers.

Using Instagram Reels to Have Silly Fun

Instagram Reels was launched in 2020 as a response to the success met by TikTok with its short videos paired with fun music. While individual Reels are restricted to a maximum of 15 seconds, you can join several clips to make a longer video. The point of Instagram Reels is that they tend to be rather silly and allow brands to let their guards down and have fun. You can share Reels, and if you save them, they will be viewable from their tabs on the profile page of your account. There is also a likelihood of them being displayed on the Explore page. The ideal ways of using Reels are to create how-to guides for using your products and services properly, putting your own spin on a trending meme, or collaborating with an influencer to share how they use the products they are endorsing for you.

Increasing Use of Instagram Guides for Education 

Originally introduced in May 2020, Guides were primarily intended to contain tips for physical and mental wellbeing, according to Social Media Examiner. It was an Instagram initiative to collaborate with businesses and content creators to create self-care guides to alleviating the anxiety and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic while taking shelter at home.

However, since they proved to be very useful and popular, their use has now been extended to three different types. They are recommendations on various places to visit in your city and elsewhere. The introduction of products, and recommend Instagram posts that you have saved or created. Each guide has a provision to include a small section right at the top. Where a summary of the contents of the guide can be provided.

The guides are also available for users to access from its tab on your Instagram profile page. Next to where the IGTV tab is located. Due to its premium placement, the guides are also a very effective method of highlighting your most important Instagram content quite similarly to the highlights of Instagram Stories. Some of the best uses of Instagram Guides are for introducing your product range. Highlight your favorite business in your locality, or create informative pieces on just about anything you are passionate about.

Conclusion 

The ground conditions are changing fast, and not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With other social media like Twitter and TikTok coming up with a slew of challenges. Instagram too has loosened its collars and is quickly becoming more casual. Rather than the perfectly curated Instagram content prevalent earlier, the focus has shifted to more realistic and authentic content. All their imperfections make the brand appear more authentic and relatable. By keeping up with the trends, you will be able to use Instagram to connect better with users who are also influenced by other social media attitudes and trends.