Instagram is shifting its focus in 2022. Going forward, one of the social media app’s key focuses is going to be on video. But what does that really mean for businesses and marketers that are active, or want to be active, on Instagram? Later on we’ll introduce a few ways you and your business can maximize your video strategy in 2022.
Instagram has since its inception in 2010 been a “photo-sharing app”, where people share a part of their life with the rest of the world. According to an article in Business Insider, Instagram is now moving towards a change that includes more entertainment and video like its competitors – YouTube and TikTok. A survey made by the company, shows that a bigger part of the consumers use Instagram to get entertained, which could be one of the reasons for the transformation.
The change is not only going to include video – Instagram is also moving closer to shopping, messaging and creators. These four key areas will hopefully form a more engaging community. The development might not be a surprise to all users. Instagram has, as a matter of fact, transitioned from only photo to video (and photo) for a couple of years, not in the least through IGTV and later on Reels, which became the company’s rival to TikTok’s video strategy.
The Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri confirmed the app’s future plans in a short video on Instagram. Although we don’t yet know all the details of the plan for Instagram in 2022, one thing is for sure – the social media app is changing and shifting towards video. But what does that really mean for all the businesses and marketers that are on Instagram today or want to be?
Here are four things to consider when producing video content for Instagram in 2022. Head over to Social Media Examiner to find even more tips.
1. Produce short-form videos
First of all a focus on short-form video can be an effective way and a less time consuming alternative to long-form video. If your company historically has focused on long-form video, or used IGTV, a focus shift might be ideal for a video strategy moving forward. Long-form videos are often used as a way to tell a story, although storytelling still can be told through shorter video content with Reels. By creating episodes with Reels you can take advantage of the short-form video trend and still tell an interesting story for your followers.
2. Find a good length for your video content
The short-form content doesn’t necessarily need to be super short. Instagram Reels were originally only 15 seconds long and have since more than doubled the time. A Reel can today be up to 60 seconds long. If the video trend continues to rise in the future, Reels might soon be able to be as long as a TikTok video (10 minutes). Perhaps some of you wonder how long your videos should be? The answer isn’t easy. The length of Instagram Reels depends on different variables such as the brand, content and audience. One way to find the answers is to experiment with your video content to, specifically, experience the engagement from your audience.
3. Take advantage of different trends
TikTok is a platform where trends have been the key to success. Since Instagram is moving closer to their competitors’ video strategies, making time to jump on trends on Instagram is one way to maximize visibility for your brand. Most businesses and marketers probably use a content calendar where they produce content in advance and schedule it weeks before it’s supposed to go live. The making of content in advance can be tough when it comes to trends, so leave some space in your publishing calendar for on-trend content.
4. Share Reels to Instagram Stories
It actually doesn’t really matter whether it is a post or video in the social media app, sharing already posted content from your feed on Instagram Stories is always a good idea. By sharing content on Stories you can gain engagement on your organic post or video. It’s a simple and yet effective way to boost your content. When you share your content on Stories, you may also experiment with GIFs, stickers and text overlays – depending on the brand – to identify if it increases the interaction even more. Earlier this year Instagram Stories also introduced Stories Likes where you can like Stories instead of sending a direct message. Likes are not public but they are still a great tool to measure engagement among followers, since they’re available for creators.
Conclusions
Today you’ll find video content on all social media platforms, which makes it important to include video in your marketing strategy. To stay on top of trends and create video content on Instagram should be a key focus for marketers and businesses. Video content is in most scenarios seen as more authentic than a picture. A video might even be better if it’s raw and simple, because it feels more authentic when it’s unprocessed. Some companies might think that videos aren’t cost-effective, which isn’t true. A Reels can, as mentioned before, be simple and it can be a good video even when it’s shot with a smartphone. Especially since our phones today are manufactured with high quality cameras.
Make sure you take advantage of Instagram’s own Insights as a tool where you can see statistics related to your Instagram account. You can, for instance, see when your audience tends to be online. In that way you can publish content with more control and increase engagement, considering that it will probably maximize the content’s visibility for your followers.
