Stay on top of the biggest Instagram marketing trends in 2017 with our predictions for what’s to come this year! From clickable Instagram links to the future of Instagram stories and shoppable feeds, here are the top 3 Instagram marketing trends for 2017:
Instagram Marketing Trend #1: Clickable Links Finally Come to Instagram Photos
For years, the only place you’ve been able to click on a link in Instagram is through the link in your bio. Brands, influencers, and small businesses have had to get creative when it comes to making sales and driving traffic through Instagram, which is why the phrase “Link in bio!” is so popular on Instagram.
Shoppable Instagram feeds that leverage the link in your bio, like Later’s Linkin.bio product, are exploding in popularity, and with new features like Instagram shopping and clickable URLs in Instagram Stories for verified users, we’re betting that 2017 will be the year Instagram grows up as a marketing platform and finally brings clickable links to Instagram posts.
However, even though Instagram has been looking a lot more like Facebook lately, we don’t think that clickable links on Instagram photos will be as simple as clicking on a URL. Expect something more creative that fits well with the existing Instagram experience, but also caters to the brands and businesses that Instagram wants to attract as customers.
CREATE A SHOPPABLE INSTAGRAM FEED
Instagram Marketing Trend #2: Instagram Starts to Seriously Drive Sales in 2017
2016 was the year that Instagram grew up as a platform, offering new business profiles and Instagram analytics for the first time, in an effort to entice more businesses to use the platform and purchase ads. But you don’t have to create an Instagram ad to make sales, and in 2017 retailers can expect a big increase in revenue from Instagram.
Why?
Consumers are spending more time than ever on mobile devices, and mobile internet traffic is now greater than desktop.
78% of consumers make purchasing decisions that are influenced by a brand’s social media, and 70% of Instagram users have searched for a brand on Instagram.
In 2017, look for more brands to bring the shopping and buying experience straight to their customer’s Instagram feeds. Instagram is the perfect platform to drive sales for online retailers because it is both visual and mobile-first, and has gained a lot of trust from it’s users as it’s seen as a more “authentic” channel than Twitter or Facebook.
Instagram feeds are becoming the new storefront, so marketing your business on instagram is essential. A major trend in 2017 will be online retailers using user-generated content (UGC) from Instagram to help drive sales on their website. Whether that’s with Instagram gallery pages on their product pages or re-posting community content featuring their products in “real life,” successful marketers and business owners will be investing in selling through Instagram in 2017.
Relatedly, another major marketing trend for 2017 will be aligning social objectives and KPI’s with the larger business and marketing goals of an organization. In short, 2017 is the year that social becomes accountable to tracking cold, hard dollars through acquisition and conversion. Gone are the days when likes and followers are all that matters, and in 2017 we can expect Instagram marketing to be taken as seriously as other digital marketing channels – and to be driving some serious sales.
[bctt tweet=”In 2017, social will become accountable to tracking cold, hard dollars through acquisition and conversion. ” username=”latermedia”]
Instagram Marketing Trend #3: 2017 is the Year Instagram Stories Dominates Snapchat
One of the main differences between Instagram and Snapchat stories has been the lack of fun filters, geo-filters, and stickers in Instagram Stories – until recently. At the end of 2016, Instagram launched stickers, which looks almost identical to Snapchat’s stickers. You can find customizable stickers for the weather, the current time, and even your location, just like you can on Snapchat.
So what’s left for Instagram Stories to copy? Snapchat’s signature puppy filter, of course. Facebook acquired MSQRD, a video app that lets you add “filters” to faces in early 2016, and by the end of the year we got the first taste of what MSQRD in Facebook would look like with Messenger’s new camera.
Messenger’s new camera looks and behaves eerily like Snapchat, with the ability to add face filters, stickers, and borders to your photos or videos. In 2017, expect these same filters to come to Instagram Stories, which may just be the final nail in the coffin for Snapchat. Marketers should invest in building their Instagram Stories strategy now, because it’s only going to grow even faster in 2017.
That being said, don’t count Snapchat out entirely – they have been the innovators in this space, creating fun growth hacks to boost user engagement with features like FaceSwap and puppy filters, and it’s likely that Snapchat could come out with something new that blows Instagram Stories away.
What do you think will be the biggest Instagram marketing trends for 2017? Let us know in the comments!
Later helps you plan, manage, and schedule your photos and videos for Instagram.
