A Real Look at the Feed Trends that will Change Instagram Marketing

Every trend has its shelf-life and the “perfectly-edited photos” one is about to go out of date. Indeed, the original Instagram aesthetic that attracted an army of devotees ready to march to the end of filters and back doesn’t resonate with the younger generation. What comes next? Here’s a preview. A feed preview 😉 (gosh, we’re suckers for puns, even if they’re not in trend anymore).

Oh, and, of course, we’ll also tell you how Preppr’s Instagram Feed Preview feature can help you mix and match the new trends for coherent and authentic feed.

Trend: When in doubt, go all natural

Instagram’s famous aesthetics is dead. Long live the new Instagram aesthetics! Bye, bye sunset-perfect beaches, no-tourists-here waterfalls, carefully-staged brunches, birds’ eye of decadent lattes and sure-this-is-how-I-really-walk fashion snap-shots. But don’t be sad to see them go.

The shift from the colour-popping aesthetics will also turn Instagramers towards new situations that embody authenticity. The latest trend promises to show real people in real-life situations and not tediously-engineered personas that are a mere construction.

In 2020, prepare for a feed with more and more posts that renounce filters of any kind. Or, in any case, that stick as close as possible to reality. This new Instagram feed trend is all about all-natural edits that capture every-day situations as they are.

This is good news because Instagramers won’t have to insanely curate their content. Sure, photos from exotic places will probably still be a part of your feed, but maybe they’ll reveal the crowd of tourists lurking in the back. And perhaps they’ll share that odd photo of them simply laying low inside their cribs, on a lazy Sunday, messy room included.

Tip: If you have to edit, edit raw

For those who’re still in love with filters and have an artistic ache of editing, there’s still hope. The new Instagram feed aesthetic makes room for posts that are edited to look…worse. A bit counter-intuitive, right? If you want to be pretentious, you can call it the aesthetic of the ugly. However, it might not be entirely accurate. It’s more of an aesthetic that pays homage to raw, low-production captures.

To achieve this raw, unedited (but edited look), you can use Huji Cam. The app helps users take photos that mimic analogue film captures. The end result will be a vibrant, candid photo that brings back 1998 in the bustling feed world of 2020 social media. So far, the app has been downloaded over 16 million times and gathers more than 1,2M results for the hashtag #hujicam on Instagram.

Trend: Less “me, me” and more memes

Nothing happens in a vacuum. Thus, the homemade meme trend can be fully appreciated in the context of the counter-movement that pushes for more real photos and a less-curated feed. To connect with a generation of users that no longer cares about the old-aesthetic guidelines means to break outside the circle of perfect-selfies and curated influencer poses. Instead, the request tilts towards funny memes that capture the bitter-sweet part of life. Combine this with the growing trend of text-overlaid images, and you’ll get a better picture of what we’re hinting at.

And don’t think the meme trend is just for the younger generation’s Instagram feed. In fact, it’s a music veteran that kicked-off one of the catchiest meme trends at the end of 2020. We’re talking about Dolly Parton’s “LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Tinder” trend. It took off and spread across all platforms, engaging audiences of all ages to make their own collage.

Tip: Use memes for awareness traction

Memes are easily-digestible and, since everybody likes a good laugh, they can quickly become viral. Of course, it’s not easy to create an excellent meme template like Dolly Parton’s. In fact, there’s hardly a recipe for doing so, and chance does play a big part in nailing down the most shareable meme template.

However, by making a habit out of creating memes, you increase your chances of coming up with the one that will spread like crazy. And when it does, you’ll gain more brand awareness than you could have possibly dreamt of. To ensure success, your feed preview should evenly distribute memes among photo and video posts.

Trend: Take a carousel ride. It’s on the rise.

Thus far, Carousel hasn’t been used at its full potential. Luckily, with the new breath of fresh air coming from the authenticity feed trend, Carousel is finally getting its fair share. How? And why?

Well, many influencers are using the feature to share more moments from the same event. Carousel is an excellent way of revealing multiple angles and even tapping into behind-the-scenes territories. This way, followers feel like they are receiving more content, and the engagement rates tend to go up.

And not only that. The Carousel feature is great for brands who are aiming to showcase more of their products under a concept-umbrella. By designing a beautiful template (don’t over-edit, remember) you can promote your products more efficiently.

Tip: Use Carousel as a gateway to all-natural photos

The Carousel feature is perfect for influencers and social media managers who aren’t ready to go full-on with no edits in their feed but want to make a transition to more realistic snap-shots gradually. Following this logic, you can use Carousel to introduce more raw photos of behind-the-scene happenings or even unedited moments from day-to-day.

Time to Strategize: Develop your Feed Preview

Now you know from where the wind of change is coming to the Instagram feed aesthetics. And even though the new feed trend puts authenticity and rawness above anything else, as a brand, you still need to strategize. To make your feed look unedited yet be cohesive to your brand image, you need a bigger picture.

Preppr’s Feed Preview Function

This one is a Instagram feed saver. ?

What it does, in a nutshell, is to give you a sneak peak of how your scheduled posts will look like on your feed.

The Feed Preview Function gives you the freedom to play around with your visuals and arrange them in a way that’s appealing and true to your brand.

By dragging media to Preppr’s Feed Preview grid you can design a coherent look that will become a magnet for your followers.

Preppr’s Feed Preview function is FREE and easy to use. It can help you create grids, patters or color schemes that can become your visual identity. Because, even if current trends are pushing for raw authenticity, you need to find a witty trick to differentiate yourself. This could be just that.