2019 was a whirlwind for new Instagram features for brands. An influx of stories stickers, the “unfiltered” content trend, and fun new ways to get creative with visuals, Instagram has stood out as a front runner for growing your business in the past year. As we head into 2020, here are the hottest 2019 trends that will help your Instagram stay strong into the new year. 

IGTV Video

In 2019, IGTV’s popularity has skyrocketed by ~300-1000% due to Instagram’s focus on their very own long form video platform. The greatest perk of using IGTV in your strategy is that it syncs with your Instagram profile through feed preview, sharing to stories, and getting discovered on the explore page. Users are allowed up to 10 minutes of video for larger accounts in either 9:16 vertical video while also supporting 16:9 horizontal video. 

IGTV offers a unique opportunity for you to offer more value to grow your community and boost your overall reach on Instagram. The best part is while it’s trending, there’s no perfect formula to using it yet. This provides a unique opportunity to try any type of video including educational mini-workshops, tutorials, and behind the scenes vlogs. 

Reposting Tweets And Memes 

Everyone loves a meme, amiright? Memes are the hottest way to post a quote on your grid that’s relatable and entertraining. Adding in posts that are shareable can increase your chances of reaching new audiences. The most common tactics for using this trend is through tweet screenshots, GIFs found on GIPHY, or photos with text. 

Have fun with this trend through viral content that is entraining to users on other platforms like GIPHY or Twitter as repurposed content  on Instagram feeds. Depending on your brand voice and identity, this can add witty humor and charm to your feed.⁠ Headliner is my favorite tool for creating memes with GIFs and text on my Instagram feed.

Animated Stories

With 500 million daily views on stories, this part of Instagram has become just as vital as your curated grid posts. Users are opting for quick stories during their time on the ‘Gram versus scrolling down their feeds, so using creative stories is vital in 2020. 

To spice up your Instagram stories visuals, try incorporating animated stories in your story. My favorite apps for adding motion to stories graphics include Mojo and InStories. Simply by adding movement to the text, photos, and videos on your stories feed, you’ll be able to better engage your audience. Pair these animated stories graphics with videos of you for a strategic stories strategy into the new year. 

Vulnerable Content

Instagram has been the home of content that breaks the mold on what’s been deemed as Instagrammable and Instagram worthy. While an aesthetically pleasing feed is important for brands, incorporating vulnerable content into your visuals and copy has created a safer space for creators and consumers into 2020. Unfiltered and unretouched photos has opened up a space for real conversations and real expectations for the personal brands users follower. 

The #NotJustAHighlightReel challenge went viral in summer 2019 as Instagram brands shared the imperfect parts of their day on stories. Take this as inspiration in your copy, stories, and images used in your feed. Think of your ideal follower when considering what’s appropriate for your unfiltered content in 2020 to create a deeper sense of connection on your Instagram profile. 

Live Stream Q&A’s

The Question Sticker took Instagram stories by storm this year as the perfect tool for gaining feedback from your audience on stories. While answering questions on stories is a great way to engage with your audience, hosting a live Q&A has been one of the top ways this feature is being used by brands. 

Simply post a question sticker less than 24 hours before going live and pull from those questions during an Instagram live stream. You can also ask for questions while you’re live as streamers submit questions. This is a great way to host a 2-way conversation on Instagram and connect with your audience live. Be sure to save your live videos to repurpose on IGTV before sharing to your feed to knock out two trends in one. 

We’re looking forward to seeing what updates Instagram releases in the new year. Have fun with utilizing these Instagram trends in your strategy to kick off the new year strong on social media. Which one of these Instagram trends are you looking forward to implementing in 2020?