By Guest Blogger Tori Nucci @Tori_Nucci
This article contains excepts from Tori’s original blog on torinucci.com - Tori Nucci is a Content Creator based in Los Angeles.
What does 2019 look like for Instagram?
Although there are still a few more [days] left in 2018, I feel like the holiday season makes people start looking forward to a new year, new you. This year, 2018 was the year of excuses in terms of Instagram growth. All over the Internet, people are asking “why is my Instagram not growing?” to which people reply with:
the Instagram algorithm changed and no longer featured a chronological feed
you’re not following enough people (just to unfollow them in a few days)
you have to find the hashtags that fit your personality and engage with those daily!
Honestly, it’s all a bunch of b.s.… like remember when social media was fun?
What 2019 Will Look Like for Insta
This year, we can definitely expect influencers to have a dominating presence on the platform; however, “micro-influencers” are the “new” thing. (I put new in quotations because they aren’t really new, it’s just going to be much more common to scout accounts with a smaller following than a larger one.)
Brands will reach out to smaller micro influencers for promotional posts
Content will rule everything else. period.
Less emphasis on AMOUNT of followers and more emphasis on QUALITY of followers
Treating Instagram like it’s Facebook (cause it pretty much is now).
Brands will reach out to accounts that may have a smaller, more loyal and engaged following.
Think about it: if some random account you follow with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers posts something that you find interesting, are you seriously going to DM them asking more about it before making a purchase, or are you going to keep scrolling? You’re probably not going to inquire about anything because chances are, they aren’t going to answer! Reaching out to authentic supporters of a product or brand is the only way to go. People who know and trust these people are going to reach out to them directly and ask more questions because at the end of the day, word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool.
Content is Queen.
not king. queen. Who you are outside of social media is, and always will be king. Most of the people with a crazy large following are either singers, actors, supermodels, athletes, etc. Aka, they have lives outside of social media that involve people already watching them, so social media really paves the way for people to watch them….even more. Which is why content is queen.
If you aren’t already famous for something,
you better have dope content.
Let me preface this with saying that if you seriously don’t give af about your Instagram game, then your content can just be you doing average, everyday things, but don’t complain when you don’t get tons of followers wanting to see an awk picture of you at Disney World. Here’s a content checklist:
Be consistent with posting often. Aim for 3 times a week at minimum.
And don’t just post random things to qualify for that 3 times a week rule.
Make sure each picture is cohesive to some sort of theme. There’s tons of apps to schedule and preview your photos and see which look best side by side. I honestly love moving photos around; it’s quite fun.
Lighting. Lighting. Lighting. It’s honestly everything. Especially for someone like me, who operates with just my iPhone camera
*CAPTIONS* Say something you mean! And mean what you say. People, and especially you, can tell if what you’re portraying is really you on social media. So dig deep and think about what it is you want to say. If you were to die in a week (sorry, I know, morbid), everyone would be looking at your social media posts, reading your last captions. Do you want the captions to say rap lyrics, or something from the heart? If you can’t think of anything, don’t stress. Just be real and tell a story about taking the picture. It’s okay to be vulnerable and put yourself out there.
Forget about your follow/unfollow sh*t
A huge benefit of YouTube is that you can’t see how many accounts someone is subscribed to, which leads to people freely subscribing to accounts that they actually genuinely enjoy. On the contrary, people are so obsessed with having this “ratio” on Instagram, following less people than the amount of followers they have. We’re all guilty of this; however, following a ton of accounts just to unfollow them really doesn’t work anymore… and hasn’t since like 2015. Instead of wasting time doing this, focus your energy on creating content or genuinely engaging with the followers that you already have. At the end of the day, it’s social networking
which means you have to be social.
In the real world, if you would just go up to someone in public and give them your number, then block the number, people aren’t going to trust you…and you’re going to look really weird. Buuuut. If you were to compliment someone, then start a conversation about that similar interest, there you go. You have just made a friend. As childish and elementary as this sounds, it really works this way on social media, just as it does in real life. Don’t be snooty. If you really love someone’s content, just tell them! Hopefully that person actually responds and a mini social media relationship can form from it.
In 2019, less emphasis will be put on the amount of followers an account has, for reasons mentioned before, but also because… well, Facebook bought Instagram.
Closer, More Meaningful Relationships
If you think about it, when Facebook bought Instagram, changes were already put in place. The algorithm changed, making it so you would see posts from the accounts you actually engaged with, and pretty much eliminating all the rest from your life. This leads to larger influencers receiving less engagement on their posts, as well as a slower growth in followers. In 2019, more of this “family” type of algorithm is sure to be in place, as people are complaining about seeing influencers everywhere promoting products he/she may or may not even like or use, and Facebook owners wanting the platform to behave more of a close, genuine network instead of a platform for stalking celebs. Think about it. No one cares about how many Facebook friends they have– imagine if this was the direction Instagram went in. I know, that’s extreme, but at the end of the day, it really all boils down to engagement. How many “real” friends do you have engaging with your posts? Do you respond?
The algorithm knows all
Tori recently dipped in to our “Plastik City’ event…. her captions say it all ;)
2019 is all about creating quality content.
If you have any thoughts about what 2019 is going to bring for Instagram influencers and any changes in the platform in general, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you– even if it’s a difference in opinion.
Imagine if we started posting all the bad things that happened to us, instead of making life seem dope 24/7
See more at torinucci.com
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