Top 7 Instagram Marketing Trends of 2023

Whether you’re a business owner or a fellow digital marketer, staying on top of the latest Instagram trends is essential. Social media platforms like Instagram are constantly changing, which means that you have to stay “in the know” if you want to be an effective Instagram marketer.

7 Instagram Trends Every Marketer Should Know

One of our recent blog posts focused on how to build a Facebook marketing strategy. This article will cover the seven top Instagram marketing trends you should keep in mind. As one of the largest social media marketing platforms, if your brand doesn’t currently have a presence on the channel, it’s time to start building one.

1. Reels are here to stay.

One of the most obvious Instagram trends is the push of video content on the platform. To compete with TikTok, Instagram released “Reels” in 2019. Since then, they have become an integral part of the platform. Study after study suggests that posting Reels generates more reach, impressions, and engagement.

One of the five options on the Instagram navigation bar, which is SUPER valuable in-app real estate, is the Reels icon. This icon’s placement is a sign to all Instagram marketers that the platform will continue to focus on Reels. Meta wants to enable their users to scroll endlessly to consume content that matches their interests.

2. Video is “in,” but photos are, too.

“I think we were overfocused on video in 2022 and pushed ranking too far and basically showed too many videos and not enough photos,” said Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram.

While the importance of Instagram Reels shows no signs of slowing, expect a slow transition to more “traditional” photo-based content from Instagram marketers. Heavy users of the app would likely agree that Instagram’s push of Reels and video content was quick (and, to some, jarring).

Some probably forget that Instagram was a photo-only social media platform back “in the old days!” While video content certainly has a place on the platform, users still demand high-quality, aesthetically pleasing photo content and graphics – and the leaders at Instagram realize this. In 2023, try to post more still-image content in addition to Reels.

3. Say goodbye to the Instagram shopping tab.

Instagram quickly released and then removed the Instagram shopping tab from the navigation menu. This initial addition of the shopping tab was part of a broader push from Meta to promote users to purchase directly from brands on the platform. They used the shopping tab to show personalized product recommendations based on the user’s interests.

What does the removal of this icon mean for marketers? Well, while there will still be some in-app shopping functionality throughout the platform, this is a pretty clear signal that Instagram marketers should offer users other ways to purchase their products.

Whether this is directly through the website or through a different means, you shouldn’t count on Instagram Shopping becoming more prevalent in 2023. Perhaps this is a sign that Instagram marketers and business owners should invest more in their websites to offer customers a seamless, easy online shopping experience.

4. Interactive features are on the rise.

Instagram is adding more and more features to the platform each month to encourage engagement and interactions between users and brands. Instagram accounts can now include clickable links in their Instagram stories to help drive users to their websites. This can be especially useful if you are trying to capture lead information or sell products online.

Polls, quizzes, emoji sliders, and other interactive “widgets” have been available on Instagram stories for a while, but they are slowly being introduced to Reels as well! As an Instagram marketer, getting followers to engage with your brand should be a number one priority, and this is an easy way to encourage that.

Another notable Instagram marketing tidbit is that the platform now shows users the number of “sends” on Reels, in addition to the number of likes and comments. This is an extremely valuable metric that Instagram marketers can now start tracking to understand what types of video content are most shareable amongst their audiences.

5. Don’t forget about Instagram ads.

As an Instagram marketer, you should always appreciate the power of paid social media advertising. In addition to content creation and an engagement strategy, we consider paid ads to be one of the three areas of social media marketing. While organic growth and engagement are every Instagram marketer’s dream (who doesn’t love the free exposure?), paid ads aren’t going anywhere in 2023.

The great thing about Meta’s Ads Manager platform is that you can target by area, interests, age, and much more. This allows brands to get their content in front of the right people with extreme precision. Instagram ads can be offered in video, carousel, or still-image format, and show up in various areas throughout the platform.

In fact, Instagram ads recently began displaying to those scrolling through specific users’ posts. In other words, if you navigate to another person’s account and start scrolling through their posts, you will see ads!

6. The importance of an engagement strategy.

One of the most important Instagram trends is the increasing importance of implementing an engagement strategy. What does this mean exactly?

First, it’s important to define “engagement.” What does it mean, and why is it important? We define Instagram engagement as the amount of interaction your account receives from others. Interaction includes likes, comments, saves, and DMs. The more interactions you receive, the better, because this indicates that your content is interesting to users.

To get more engagement, you should not only post interesting and relevant content, but you should also make an effort to follow other accounts in your space, leave comments on posts, and send DMs. These are all signals to other accounts that your brand is a legitimate player in the industry, increasing the odds they follow you back and engage with your content in the future. The Instagram algorithm, while mysterious, clearly favors accounts that both engage with content, and receive engagement from others.

7. User-generated content.

What is user-generated content? UGC simply refers to posts from your customers or clients talking about your brand. Ideally, the UGC is positive and acts as a testimonial or review about the brand that you can share.

UGC is important for a couple of reasons: it helps make your brand look more authentic, and it can signal to others that your business is legitimate and offers a solid product/service.

In 2023, brands should brainstorm ways how to integrate UGC into their feeds. It’s undoubtedly an Instagram trend that businesses are taking advantage of as a source of social proof.

Main Takeaways of 2023 Instagram Trends

Instagram is one of the largest social media platforms in the world. As a marketer or business owner, it’s vital to have an Instagram strategy to engage with your existing customers and to reach new ones. While the Instagram algorithm is always changing, these seven 2023 trends can act as a guide on how you should spend your time and efforts growing on the platform.

Have questions? Get in touch with the Two Step Social team today. We have experience helping hundreds of brands grow on the Instagram platform, and we can help you, too. Our plans start at only $99 per month, and you can cancel anytime. What are you waiting for – start building an online presence today!