The Instagram interface is a collection of elements that have, on many occasions, inspired brand creatives. We recall the best of 2019.
Among all the Instagram interface formats that trended in 2019, a common feature was how they made complete sense only when viewed on the picture-sharing platform's app. Thee brand creatives couldn't be used on any other platform. They even lost meaning when viewed on the desktop version of Instagram.
Though these creatives became stale after a day, they were able to put forth the value of the interface in terms of content inspiration.
The interface elements used by brands include the name and placing of the handle, the swipe feature, the icons beneath the pictures, the camera and the messaging interface.
Some of these trends were not as widely used, but each played a role in strengthening the platform as a choice for brand communication. In some cases, certain trend formats evolved into better versions. It would be interesting to see how things pan out for Instagram in 2020.
Use of two arrows
This was one of the most used templates in 2019 for we saw over 250 brands participating. The idea was simple: Two arrows on a creative that raw a relationship between the brand and one of the icons below the picture in the Instagram interface.
When you tap on a picture on Instagram, the handles tagged on it are displayed. The #TapPost trending format was where the brands had drawn relationships using image tags. While some brands created new accounts with names that matched their narrative, others tagged existing accounts. Due to the spam possibilities inherent to the act, it was a tricky affair.
When a user stops at a post with an intention to interact and/or comment, the platform nudges them to choose between a few of the most used emoticons. This forms a reaction interface on Instagram. It was leveraged by brands to indicate different offerings and emotions they wish to evoke.
Done with a pair of two posts, #TagIcons trend was a narrative of how certain aspects of a brand brought people together in specific contexts. In some cases, it wasn't a direct connection between the brand and its use but rather an indirect relationship via the depiction of an integral brand value.
5 steps trend was similar to the Reaction Interface trend as it used arrows in a similar fashion. However, in this case, the focus was on the icon interface at the lower end of the Instagram app screen. Though the creative could be shared on any platform, the relevance was only on this platform.
Though Saving Mode wasn't a widely used interface trend, it was one that used a specific element of Instagram's layout, the one that lets users save posts for future reference. It is the platform's version of a bookmark. Using this element, brands indicated what a consumer could save with their help.
This Person trend was one of the most unique ways for brands to create engagement on Instagram. It leveraged the screens that appear upon the left and right swipes. On left, the brand could communicate what they feel about the user and on the right, the users could tag the person in their DMs on whom the arrow would land on.
#WhoIsIt is an evolved version of the tap posts. Here, the creative consisted of two sections separated by a door. On one end is a consumer-centric value and on the other, the brand. The relation derived being how the brand facilitates consumer satisfaction within the context in question.
A few weeks ago, leveraging the Archive Mode, Swiggy India had created a unique narrative on Instagram. They had uploaded two posts, one of which was immediately archived. The one on display was that of milk, which was deleted after a countdown. Simultaneously, the curd post was unarchived. Though this didn't become a trend, it was an excellent use of the feature.
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Colour pick in stories
Though brands use Instagram Stories and the features that come along quite often, there was something about the use by Seamsfriendly as they went ahead to use the colour picker feature to highlight the numerous shades of blue on the top they were advertising for.
If one were to look at how the Instagram interface brand creatives have evolved in 2019, there are high chances of being excited as well as hopeful for the possibilities that 2020 would bring along. We hope brands will start looking at and unravelling the features on other social media platforms just as passionately as they seem to be looking at Instagram for communication.
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