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5 Instagram Stories trends to try right now.

Social & Mobile • Written by Daria Willis, Client Director

If you’re like most people, you don’t need a ‘screen time’ notification to remind you of how much time you’re spending on Instagram during lockdown.

But, like most mental health experts are suggesting, this might be okay – because now, more than ever, we should be gentle on ourselves for doing whatever we need to help us manage through this uncertain time. With fewer places to go, people to see and things to do – the internet is becoming more creative than ever before. 

With the right mindset, Instagram becomes a place of fun, inspiration and a motivator to try new things. And while this is true for native users, it can also be true for marketers. 

In suggesting this, I’m not ignoring the fact that marketers are in a tough situation right now. Say or push too much, and you might be seen as tone deaf, but say or do too little and you might end up forgotten or irrelevant. 

If you’re still straddling what this looks like for your business objectives and sales targets, that’s okay. Rather than push your product, maybe now all you need to do is ‘be more human’. Put simply, all you need to do right now is be present, showing up for your customers where they are. 

If you’re wondering what that looks like, or struggling without a big office room whiteboard and team of people to bounce ideas off – here are 5 Instagram storytelling trends happening right now:

1. Get involved with AR Filters.

Our fascination with using special effects to manipulate our own image has graduated from cat ears and face-tuning to quizzes and kaleidoscopes. But, for those wanting to create something more artistic than ‘Which famous meme are you’ check out these mesmerising AR filters created by @vacades that feel nothing short of magical. Genero’s network of talented creators can whip up something like this for you in no time.

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2. Cooking and recipe content. 

Top-down recipe video content went viral a few years back, mostly due to how accessible it made cooking. Well – it’s back. But amateur cooks are using Instagram Stories to show off their cooking successes, working backwards in their storytelling – starting with the result, and then including a couple of images or frames to document/explain the process. Brands can get on board with this too, posting simple, unpolished recipe inspirations using stories, where their products are hero ingredients. Add some product tags and your recipe is instantly shoppable, so you can link to in-stock ingredients via online stores/shopping and close the loop. Still life shoots are still possible if you do need a hand getting that shot – our creators are ready to get in the kitchen.

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Instagram story recipe food Genero

3. Sharing our routines through demonstrations.

As we move everything inside the home, we’re sharing more intimate details of our lives than ever. This includes our routines when it comes to health, mindfulness and skincare. From influencers, to peers – everyone’s doing it – and it’s a very natural way for brands to show off their products. Genero created a very native stories execution for Carbon Coco’s Charcoal Mask – demonstrating the process and benefits using piece to camera, complete with motion graphics, text and emoticons.

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4. Go live.

If you’ve ever wanted a captive audience, now’s your time. Brands everywhere are realising the reach potential of Instagram Live. From workouts, to concerts – brands are reserving time in their customers’ diaries each day for scheduled live streams – seeing unprecedented levels of attention and participation, with many brands encouraging UGC off the back of the live sessions with challenges and re-posts. So if you have a product or service you can offer LIVE – now is the time to do it. And if you can make it free, even better. The value this will have for your brand will be long-lasting – and customers will be more receptive to your messages in the future.

5. Polls get the engagement goals.

Why not take advantage of the bored-at-home community and get some useful data on your audience. Which flavour of your ice cream do they like? What restaurant are they missing the most right now? Polls are a simple Stories tool that enable brands to connect with audiences and help them see how their opinions stack up against the public and their peers (as their results are shown). They’re also an easy way to push your product’s USP – like this L’Oreal example we made for Falsies, a new line of mascara that replicated the effects of a lash lift.

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If you’d like to know more about how you can activate Instagram right now, with the support of our global network of production companies, animators, editors, motion designers and other creatives – contact daria.willis@genero.com and we can get started.


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