Instagram is about to change the picture radically

Is Instagram one of your main social media platforms?

If so, you’ll need to keep up with the latest big Gram trend – making your imagery and videos low-fi, natural, and authentic.

Moving on from the era of slickly-produced videos, brands are turning to authentic-looking imagery thanks to the influence of Millennials and Generation Z and the interest in new video platforms such as Tik Tok.

It’s a trend which frees you up from editing your pictures and videos to perfection.

Instead, consumers want to see products being used in a natural way. They want to be able to relate to the images and video.

They’re also looking for more created content than curated content.

It’s becoming more important to create our own compelling content than share other content from brands.

What should you do?

Your brand’s images may be less formal and processed, but they do need to conform to your brand values and they should form a consistent feed. Using the same lighting, background colours, and natural filters can make your visual branding cohesive.

Still pictures

Where you can, use natural light.

Some social media managers are using Tezza or VSCO filters to soften LED light, which can look harsh and unappealing while keeping composition natural.

Make the scene look effortless and don’t worry about a little mess in the background.

Video

Instagram videos give you an excellent engagement rate because it helps you get onto the Explore page where there are topic channels and a shopping feed, it’s great for Stories, and there’s a dedicated place for video on IGTV.

You don’t need to spend thousands on slick video content, though. Instagrammers are looking for shorter videos in a natural setting.

If you have to edit, make it minimal.

Make a three to ten second video alongside a still image and A/B test your posts for the best results. We predict video will win out.

What’s the likely impact?

Couple the move to post low-fi visuals more often with Instagram’s decision to hide likes, and the trend in recent years for accounts to post less often is likely to be reversed in the coming years.

One state of marketing report by Fohr showed that in 2016, the average number of posts per feed every week was 3.3. That fell to 2.7 in 2019 and 2.3 is projected for 2020.

Instagram is trialling hiding likes by region, citing concerns about mental health issues and some people’s need for validation from the likes.

However, this move is also likely to spur people to be more creative with what they post, stop worrying about likes, and post more often.

Need help to create content for your Instagram feed? Call us on 01443 571375 or get in touch here.