Instagram is Taking on BeReal: Do Marketers Need to Care? Remember a few years ago when Instagram launched a Snapchat-like feature to its app? More recently, the brand announced that it will shift to a video-first approach, presumably to compete against short-form video platform TikTok. Well, today, Instagram is reportedly testing a feature that’s eerily close to the trending platform BeReal. In this article, we’ll talk about what this could mean for marketers. Is Instagram Becoming a BeReal Copycat? Before we get into Instagram, here’s a quick refresher on BeReal. This social media app has been around for a few years but it only took off this year. The app has been labeled the anti-Instagram – encouraging users to strip away the filters and the glitz, and be more authentic. Here’s how it works: The app uses a dual camera feature – front and back cameras – and at a random time throughout the day, users will be prompted to take a photo in their current environment within two minutes. They can’t upload a picture, it has to be taken from the camera. Then, once you’ve shared, you’re able to see your friends’ posts who were prompted at the same time. BeReal’s ad reads “No filters. No likes. No followers. No bullsh*t. No ads. Just your friends, for real.” The shade toward Instagram isn’t exactly subtle but it does reflect a critique many users have made, including influencers like Kylie Jenner. There’s...

20+ Fun and Engaging Instagram Story Ideas for 2022 Are you struggling with what to post on Instagram? In this post, we’ll cover the best Instagram Story ideas to keep your audience engaged and entertained. We’ve broken them down by content type: Follower engagement Conduct a poll. Host a Q&A. Spotlight your customers. Quiz your followers. Repost user-generated content. Host a giveaway. Start a challenge. Team/Company Spotlights Introduce your team. Share behind-the-scenes footage. Celebrate milestones. Do a takeover. Share company updates. Products and Services Share testimonials and reviews. Spotlight products and services. Announce discounts and specials. Educational Content Share industry news. Post quick tutorials. Miscellaneous Direct traffic to other sources. Start a countdown. Promote new posts. 20 Best Instagram Story Ideas for 2022 Cool Instagram Story Ideas for Follower Engagement 1. Conduct a poll. Running a poll on your Story is a great way...

Instagram Cancels Plans for TikTok-Like Full-Screen Video Feed: What Brands Can Learn Gone almost as fast as it was introduced — Instagram’s full-screen video feed proposal has been retired. Earlier this summer, Instagram revealed plans to test out a new full-screen mode for its feed and an updated navigation bar, hoping to make content on the platform more immersive than its signature, scrollable picture feed. This decision was congruent with the company's stated goal of making its competition with TikTok a major priority, as the appeal of TikTok lies within its fullscreen randomized video feed, intuitive algorithm, and easy to navigate UX. Image Source To rival their competitor in the form of mimicry entailed putting more reels and suggested content into the feeds of Instagram users, and to put more an emphasis on video content as opposed to stills. Michael Sayman, a former software engineer with experience working in Facebook, Google and Twitter says, "Everyone's eyes are glued to TikTok and the way it works right now," in regard to the way it's won over younger age demographics. Instagram knew their target demographic was primarily Millennials; roughly 31% of global Instagram audiences were aged between 25 and 34 years. TikTok, on the other hand, has amassed a massive following of Gen X and Gen Z; 25% aged between 10 to 19 years, and 22% to users aged between 20 and 29. Instagram wanted to tap into the success garnered from younger audiences as TikTok grew exponentially in 2021,...

Instagram Takeover: How to Host One in 7 Easy Steps Influencer marketing is a trendy topic these days, but it doesn't require a lot of work or a ton of money to harness the power of influencers on your brand's social media channels — and hosting something called an Instagram takeover is one of the lowest-effort, most organic ways to do just that. Not sure what we're talking about? Instagram takeovers involve a person or brand posting on your Instagram channel to give followers a peek at new and unique content from another perspective. Here's an example of our friends at WeWork taking over our Instagram account:   In this post, we'll dive into how to host your own Instagram takeover to drive engagement, brand awareness, and positive outcomes for your brand. But there are several different approaches to Instagram takeovers that can be beneficial to your brand. Other types of Instagram takeovers can include: Employee takeovers Customer or community member takeovers Event takeovers Product or offer promotions Instagram takeovers are mutually beneficial for the guest Instagrammer and the host account. The host can bring valuable new content to their followers without having to create it themselves, and the guest is able to reach an entirely new audience by posting on another account. Plus, Instagram takeovers help cultivate good-faith relationships between influencers that can create inroads for future collaboration and cross-promotion. Now, let's dive into how to get...

How to Plan Your Instagram Posts When you're not following a plan on social media, it's easy to forget to post regularly. Additionally, creating image and video-based content meant to drive revenue for your business can seem far from your bottom line. However, 90% of people on Instagram follow at least one business nowadays. To compete with other companies in your industry, you must have a solid Instagram strategy, especially if your intended audience uses the app. Fortunately, once you have an ideal plan for your Instagram content, you can create content more intentionally and ultimately drive more results for your team and organization. In this post, we'll cover everything from determining what kind of content you want to post to picking a content theme. Then, we'll get into the details of planning individual posts. HubSpot, AdobeSpark, and Iconosquare teamed up to create a 30-day planning guide for business Instagram planning. We've also thrown in 30 templates to help you get started. Click here to get the planning guide. Your Instagram's Visual Theme Once you've decided on the type of content you want to post, you'll want to select a visual theme for your posts. Aesthetic consistency will help you in several ways: When an Instagram user finds your business' account, the images will appear coordinated and well-thought-out. Your followers will begin to sense patterns in your content and pause when they see your post as they scroll because they recognize that pattern. When...

Instagram Questions: 16 Ways to Boost Story Engagement Instagram is a powerful channel for businesses to reach a larger audience — in fact, approximately 80% of the platform's one billion users follow at least one business on Instagram. If your brand is on Instagram, you need to be communicating and engaging with your audience, and Instagram Questions can help you do just that. Introduced in 2018, Questions Sticker found within Instagram stories is a feature that makes it easier than ever to engage with, and receive feedback from, your followers. Here, we're going to explore 15 creative ways to use Instagram's Questions Sticker to engage with your followers. But first, let's review how to use it. Table of Contents: How to Use Instagram’s Questions Sticker Instagram Story Questions Ideas How to Use Instagram's Questions Sticker 1. Go to your Stories feature, and either upload a photo or take one (I took one within the Stories feature of my pizza box). Then, click the square smiley face in the top right of your screen. 2. Click the "Questions" module. 3. The default for the Questions Sticker is "Ask me a question" but you can click the text to type a customized question — for instance, I typed "I love this pizza place! What's everyone's favorite pizza toppings?" Once you're done, add filters or any other features you'd like to include. When you're ready to post, click "Send...

130 Instagram Influencers You Need To Know About in 2022 In 2021, marketers that used influencer marketing said the trend resulted in the highest ROI. In fact, marketers have seen such success from influencer marketing that 86% plan to continue investing the same amount or increase their investments in the trend in 2022.  But, if you’ve never used an influencer before, the task can seem daunting — who’s truly the best advocate for your brand? Here, we’ve cultivated a list of the most popular influencers in every industry — just click on one of the links below and take a look at the top influencers that can help you take your business to the next level:  Top Food Influencers on Instagram Top Travel Influencers on Instagram Top Fashion & Style Influencers on Instagram Top Photography Influencers on Instagram Top Lifestyle Influencers on Instagram Top Design Influencers on Instagram Top Beauty Influencers on Instagram Top Sport & Fitness Influencers on Instagram Top Influencers on Instagram Top Food Influencers on Instagram Jamie Oliver (9.1M followers) ladyironchef (620k followers) Megan Gilmore (188k followers) Ashrod (104k followers) David Chang (1.7M followers) Ida Frosk (299k followers) Lindsey Silverman Love (101k followers) Nick N. (60.5k followers) Molly Tavoletti (50.1k followers) Russ Crandall (39.1k followers) Dennis the Prescott (616k followers) ...

How Instagram's New Nudge Feature for Teens Could Impact Marketers or Creators Instagram is an incredibly popular social media app for teens — in fact, roughly 41% of U.S. teens use Instagram as of January 2021. But the app can be a tricky platform for teens since it inherently fosters social comparison. In fact, Meta reports one in three teen girls say Instagram makes their body image worse. Additionally, teens who are unsatisfied with their lives are more negatively impacted by Instagram. Fortunately, Instagram's team aims to change that, in part with a new nudge feature. Let's dive into what this new feature does, and what it could mean for marketers. How Instagram's New Nudge Feature Works Research has found social media digital nudges can help people become more reflective of their social media usage, potentially decrease their time on the apps, and make their overall experience more pleasant. One study found 58% of respondents say nudges make their social media experience better by helping them become more mindful of their time on platforms like Instagram. Instagram's new nudge feature for teens aims to leverage this powerful research by making it more difficult for teens to dive too deeply into certain potentially unhealthy topics — like teen girls consistently comparing themselves to the same three influencers. If a teen spends too long on Instagram's Explore page perusing posts with a particular theme, the platform will display a notification with suggestions for other types of posts. This works in two ways: Helps...

When to Post on Instagram: A Simple Guide How often you post on Instagram can affect your success on the app. Post too much and you oversaturate your audience, post too little and you can stand to lose followers (Marketers say that this is the number one reason they lose followers). Given that your audiences want to hear from you on the platform, creating a posting schedule that meets this desire is important. Read on to learn how often your business should be posting on Instagram. How Often Should A Business Post On Instagram During Instagram’s 2021 Creator Weekend, Adam Mossieri (Head of Instagram) was asked about the ideal number of posts for businesses to make to succeed on the app. He said there was no set formula, but an ideal strategy is to share a couple of in-feed posts per week and a couple of stories per day.       ...

Instagram's New Algorithm Update Prioritizes Original Content: What Marketers Need to Know Consistently creating high-quality, engaging, and relevant content across social channels can be incredibly difficult and time-consuming for marketers. To combat those challenges, most marketers have relied on reposting content from other creators and brands as an opportunity to fill in their social calendars and provide valuable content on a more consistent basis. In fact, reposting is an incredibly popular option for sharing information, funny memes, or interesting trends with your own audiences without needing to re-create the wheel — consider, for instance, how Instagram's #repost hashtag has over 560 million posts. But as of April 20, 2022, reposted content will no longer be rewarded. Here's what Instagram's new algorithm update means for marketers. What Instagram's New Algorithm Update Means for Marketers and Creators Alike Original Content Will Be Prioritized On April 20, Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, tweeted an announcement that Instagram is now ranking based off originality. 📣 New Features 📣We've added new ways to tag and improved ranking: - Product Tags- Enhanced Tags - Ranking for originality Creators are so important to the future of Instagram, and we want to make sure that they are successful and get all the credit they deserve. pic.twitter.com/PP7Qa10oJr— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) April 20, 2022 As he puts it, "If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you're re-sharing something you found...