With 2 billion people using the platform monthly, Instagram is growing to be one of the top social networks. This makes it an excellent channel to market your product or brand as it gives you the opportunity to connect with millions of people. Among many effective Instagram marketing tactics, the best by far is to get trending on Instagram.
In this post, you’ll discover exactly what it means to trend on Instagram and how you can achieve it.
What It Means to Trend on Instagram
So what exactly does it mean to trend on Instagram? It’s when your post shows up among the top results of an Explore page or a specific hashtag page. This brings you high levels of visibility, as your post shows up, even to non-followers.
Source: instagram.com
Typically on the Explore page, people will see trending posts and Stories that align with their interests based on the posts they normally engage with. When trending posts and Stories show up for a specific hashtag, it means that the user searched for that hashtag and is interested in that topic.
So users who see your posts are likely to have interests relevant to your industry. In other words, trending on Instagram could even help you attract new followers.
Besides getting featured among trending posts, trending on Instagram would also mean that your brand is currently getting lots of attention on the platform. People are creating content featuring your products, talking about your services, using your branded hashtag, and more. This means your brand gets high levels of visibility, helping you increase brand awareness and attract new followers.
How to Trend on Instagram
Now that you clearly understand how your business or personal brand can benefit from trending on Instagram, let’s take a look at eight effective tips to accomplish this.
Create Outstanding Content
The first and most obvious tip is to create high-quality content that stands out. Content becomes trending because it manages to capture the audience’s attention and engage them. This is usually because it’s exceptional in quality, aesthetics, uniqueness, or even humor. It brings value to the users by providing them with entertainment.
For instance, take a look at the top trending posts for the hashtag #landscapephotography. They’re all breathtaking photos that immediately catch the eye. So it’s not surprising that they are trending for this hashtag.
Source: instagram.com
Similarly, you need to create outstanding content that will immediately make people pause and engage. While there’s no guarantee that you will trend on Instagram with this content, producing quality content consistently improves your chances. It will make a huge difference when at least one of your posts gets trending, as it can help you attract new and relevant followers.
Use Trending, Relevant Hashtags
Using popular hashtags relevant to your community is a great way to improve your chances of trending on Instagram.
These hashtags can help you target the right audience more effectively as you can show up in relevant hashtag searches. Additionally, they will typically have less competition than generic hashtags such as #throwbackthursday or #picoftheday. This means you have a better chance of showing up in those searches.
This improved visibility in relevant searches means you can easily attract the right audience and increase your engagement rate. With high levels of engagement, your post has an increased chance of showing up among trending posts in relevant Explore pages.
Take a look at how @lorimiggins used several relevant hashtags for her food post and managed to get trending for the hashtag #healthyfood.
You can find relevant and trending hashtags for your content using tools like Keywordtool.io and Hashtagify. You can further simplify the process using the Hashtag Generator Tool from Influencer Marketing hub. Just upload your file, and the tool will find popular and relevant hashtags to use in your post. Or you can consult our guide for the most popular Instagram hashtags.
Create Your Own Branded Hashtags
Another excellent tactic to market your brand on Instagram is by creating your own branded hashtag and getting it trending. Come up with a relevant, brand-specific hashtag and share it with your followers. Encourage them to create their own content using the hashtag and promote it with their connections.
The goal is to get as many people to use the hashtag as possible so that your brand gains recognition. This not only drives brand awareness but also helps you build a strong community, both of which are essential elements to trend on Instagram.
Take for example how Calvin Klein created the #mycalvins hashtag and turned it into a trend. As of today, there are over 870,000 Instagram posts using the hashtag.
Source: instagram.com
Work with Influencers
Influencer marketing is another excellent way to trend on Instagram. Since influencers have massive and engaged followings, their involvement could help you gain more engagement for your own content. You could feature them in your posts, have them take over your account, or have them promote your branded hashtags and contests to drive engagement. Use influencer tools for Instagram to streamline this process.
If you’re an influencer, you could even partner with other influential personalities in your niche. Brands can also go beyond working with individual influencers and partnering with other influential brands that sell complementary products.
For example, Nude By Nature, a clean beauty brand, partnered with Max May, a beauty influencer, to introduce their Perfect Skin Filter Foundation. The collaborative post managed to get on the trending page for the hashtag #CleanBeauty.
Keep an eye on recent influencer marketing trends to make sure you’re not using outdated strategies and are at par with your competitors.
Tag Locations
Tagging the location in your photos or videos is a great way to increase your chances of getting discovered as audiences in those locations will be able to find your posts more easily. Similarly, people who conduct location-based searches are likely to come across your content in their search results. This significantly improves your visibility and chances of driving engagement.
If you manage to drive tons of engagement, you might even be able to land on the “Top” content section for that particular location.
Source: instagram.com
Tag Other Accounts
Tagging other relevant accounts in your posts is another effective tactic to get noticed. Ideally, you should do this with influential shoutout accounts that feature content from other users on a daily basis.
The goal is to get them to notice your content and hopefully give you a feature. This should help you gain a ton of visibility and drive more engagement to your account and posts.
Even if you don’t get featured, you could show up in their “Tagged” posts depending on their account settings. This means some of their followers who regularly check this section could notice your content. So tagging other influential accounts can be a highly effective way to boost your account visibility.
It’s crucial that you approach this tactic with caution as you could end up spamming other users with your tag notifications. It’s best to avoid tagging influencers, brands, or other influential accounts unless it’s absolutely relevant. For example, you may want to tag a brand account only if your post features their product or service in some way or another.
If you look at the top post in the previous search results, you’ll see that the user has tagged the brand M.M.LaFleur. This is relevant because she is wearing the brand’s products and is working with them for an influencer campaign.
Get Your Timing Right
Timing is another crucial factor that influences the visibility and engagement of your posts. If you manage to publish your posts at a time when your audience is the most active, they’re more likely to see it and engage with it. If not, your posts could end up getting buried toward the bottom of their feeds.
For those with a business profile, you can learn a lot from your Instagram Insights. This feature will show you your top-performing posts and your audience engagement data. Under the “Audience” tab, you’ll be able to gain more insights about your audience including their locations, age ranges, and genders.
You can also see the hours and days when your followers are most active. Then you can use that information to come up with a publishing schedule to catch your audience at the best time.
Also, check out our guide to get more insights on the best time to post on Instagram.
Source: hopperhq.com
Use Captions that Drive Engagement
By now you understand the importance of driving engagement if you want to trend on Instagram. You need people to engage with your content as much as possible to improve your chances of landing on the Explore page.
While captivating content alone may help you drive significant engagement, you shouldn’t just settle for that. What you need is outstanding levels of engagement and getting as many people as possible to like and comment on your posts.
So in addition to a captivating photo or video, you should also include a caption that will entice people to like and comment. Include a prompt asking them to leave a comment about what they think of the post or their personal preferences and experiences.
Take this post from Poppi as an example. The beverage company has accompanied an eye-catching visual with an engaging caption in which they reveal that there’s a giveaway coming up and ask their followers to guess when that might be. Such a caption keeps the audience intrigued and makes them engage with your post through comments.
Take notes from our Instagram graphic design trends guide to learn why such visuals work so well.
Top 6 Instagram Trends To Help Your Brand Trend in 2024
Instagram marketing trends have evolved a lot recently, especially with new features like AI visuals in IG Stories and Reels. Here are some Instagram trends that can help your brand get more exposure on the platform.
1. Music Integration
One thing that Instagram took from TikTok is that music can quite literally drive engagement. TikTok sounds are one of the many reasons why people spend hours scrolling through the app. Many trends and challenges have associated sounds that TikTok shows under the sound's dedicated page.
Music integration has also gotten big on Instagram, especially since now you can add music to Story posts, still photos, Reels, and carousels. Instagram sounds do particularly well when added to Reels.
So, how do you use music in Instagram posts? Start by looking for trending and relevant music that aligns with your brand and content. You can then create a Reel with that music as the background or add that music to your static feed post or Story.
The music doesn't necessarily have to relate to a campaign or product; it can simply add a fun and catchy element to your content. Duolingo does it best. The language learning app creates Reels with trending sounds and music to rake up millions of views on its Reels.
For example, when the movie Inside Out 2 came out, Duolingo created a Reel using the movie's soundtrack. Since content related to the movie was already trending, their Reel gained huge traction. Our Instagram Reels trends guide provides more information on acing your Reels strategy.
When selecting the music for your static posts or videos, make sure it goes with the visuals. Don't add random songs that have nothing to do with your content. It can be off-putting and unprofessional. If you don't want to use trending audio, you can also use your own music.
For example, Lego has used its original audio in this Reel to celebrate Minecraft's 15th anniversary with the LEGO Minecraft Crafting Table Lego set. The idea behind original, branded audio is to add an emotional touch to your Instagram posts or simply increase brand awareness.
2. Community Engagement
Social media is all about community, and that applies to branded content, too. Creating a tight-knit community around your content can help you trend on the platform. While we don't fully know how the Instagram algorithm works, it's evident that posts with a lot of interactions tend to rank higher on the Explore page. You'll notice that the top posts have a lot more comments and likes than those at the bottom of the page.
There are quite a few ways to foster community engagement on Instagram. The most obvious is to reply to comments. According to Adam Mosseri, the platform's CEO,
"Engaging with comments in the first week can significantly boost your viewership."
After you post something on Instagram, reply to at least the top 10 comments to get the conversation going. Don't make your replies generic, though. Write personalized comments to each user, whether it's an answer to their question or simply a thank you for their compliment.
That's what Nyx Cosmetics does. For example, in this post, they've replied to the top comment with a fun response. Even better, they've thrown in a few emojis to show their young, girly vibe.
Besides comments, you should also be active in Direct Messages. People often use them for customer support requests, so replying to those shows that you care about your community. Apart from responding to users, try to get them involved in the creation process.
For example, as a beauty brand, you can run a Story poll to ask your followers which new blush shade they want to see. You can also put up Story question stickers to get suggestions and detailed responses.
Instagram influencers can do the same by asking their followers what kind of content they want to see more. Similarly, they can also create broadcast channels where they share exclusive content only with their most engaged followers, who have opted into the channel.
Broadcast channels are not limited to influencers. Brands can use them, too. For example, the NBA has two broadcast channels: one for All-Star and another for Draft. Followers can join whichever they want to get behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with players, and other exclusive content.
If you want your community to thrive, share content that people can actually engage with. Make it interesting and relevant so that there's a reason for them to comment, share, and save. Ask questions in your captions to encourage discussion and host giveaways to reward engagement.
3. Soft Launches
Recently, Instagram soft launches have become somewhat of a trend among brands. Instead of simply releasing a product in one go, they tease it with a soft launch. For example, a brand may collaborate with an influencer to get the word out about their new product before it hits the market.
Or they may share tidbits and sneak peeks on their Instagram Stories to create excitement and anticipation among their followers.
The first thing that soft launches do is create buzz. Secondly, they excite your followers and keep bringing them back to your page to see if you've mentioned any updates.
You can take a few routes to tease upcoming launches. For example, do a partial reveal. Let's say you're about to drop a new clothing line. You can post close-up shots of the fabric or give hints about the color palette in your posts leading up to the launch.
For example, HiFuture Group creates ''Coming Soon'' posts for all its new product launches. The posts include vivid pictures of the upcoming product that pique excitement without giving away too much. The brand has also run countdowns in the past, posting teasers on their Instagram Stories to amplify the hype.
For digital products like songs or e-books, you can share snippets or excerpts to give a taste of what's to come. For example, Apple Music shared a conversation between DJ Khaled and Zane Lowe in the wake of the artist's new album drop. In the caption, they urged the followers to pre-add the song ''Heatstroke'' to their playlists.
When soft launching products and new campaigns, don't stray from your existing brand image. Stay true to your existing presence on the platform and use high-quality visuals or interactive elements to get the engagement rate going.
4. Replying with Reels
In 2021, Instagram started letting its users reply to comments with Reels, just as it works on TikTok. Sometimes, a comment may need more explanation than a simple response. Brands and influencers can use Reels to respond to these comments visually.
This approach works for you in two ways. First, you're going back to one of our prior pieces of advice about engaging with your community. Second, you benefit from the popularity of short-form content, particularly Reels, which can amplify your reach and engagement rate.
Take this example from @mountaintopyarn. Someone left a question in one of her posts, and she replied to it through a detailed Reel. In the first comment on this Reel, the commenter says that they would love for her to do more posts like this, which is a clear sign of success.
Brands can also use Reel replies to announce new products or campaigns. For example, that's what ELF Cosmetics did in this Reel. Someone commented on one of their older posts, asking if they had brought back the Jelly Pop primer. The brand replied to that specific comment to announce that they're releasing the primer again for a limited time.
Besides providing sufficient information in the Reel, you can also add creative visuals and popular sounds to make it a trend. Instagram Reels hashtags can also help bring more exposure to your reply posts.
We recommend keeping an eye on comments that you think you can use at some time later for an announcement or a helpful Reel. Don't overdo it, though. Create a balance of reply Reels and regular ones. Our guide on the best times to post on Instagram Reels can also help you post strategically to maximize reach.
5. AI Integration
Since AI has become so easily accessible, you can use it to create Instagram posts, often without spending too much money. From content creation to personalization and engagement, there's a lot you can do with AI. If nothing else, you can simply use it to generate ideas and inspiration. That's what 45% of marketers already use AI for.
How marketers use AI for content creation
You don't even have to use paid tools. For example, we asked ChatGPT to give us Instagram Reels ideas for our bed and breakfast in Paris. To make our Reels more relevant, we asked ChatGPT to relate their content to the Olympic games happening in the city. ChatGPT did a wonderful job, providing us with everything from the concept and content to the caption.
ChatGPT output
Besides ChatGPT, you can also use paid tools to create Instagram content. For example, you can use a video generation AI tool like Lumen5 to create Reels for Instagram. Mondadori, a publisher in Italy, used the tool to double their engagement rates on Instagram and Facebook while speeding up content creation. Our selection of AI content curation tools can help you find useful tools.
AI use for Instagram is not limited to content creation. You can also use AI tools to analyze audience behavior and plan campaigns. That's what Mastercard does. The brand uses its proprietary Digital Engine to analyze billions of conversations on the Internet and look for micro-trends related to Mastercard's interest areas, such as entertainment and travel. Based on this information, Mastercard enters these conversations through targeted ads and relevant social media posts.
In a blog post, the company explained how the AI system has helped them run high-conversion campaigns. One such campaign is Mastercard's collaboration with a national airline to promote local tourist destinations. With AI integration, the campaign's engagement rate went up to 43%, while the conversion rate peaked at 37%.
While AI is super-helpful, you shouldn't rely on it 100%. Let there be a human touch since that's what people follow you for on Instagram. Even if you use AI to create content, try to personalize it for your audience.
Also, maintain ethical standards while using AI by proofreading captions for context avoiding offensive language or sentiments. We have a detailed guide on using AI for social media to help you in this regard.
6. Instagram SEO
While it may not seem obvious, Instagram has an SEO framework of its own. One of our top Instagram marketing tips is to optimize your content for the platform's search engine.
What do we mean by that? First, incorporate relevant keywords into your captions and hashtags. For example, if you are promoting a travel destination, use hashtags like #travelgram or #wanderlust. Plus, use location tags to increase visibility in local searches. For example, Brooke Miccio, a beauty and fashion influencer, uses location tags to boost her posts' reach in specific cities.
You should also add keyword-rich, relevant alt text to your photos and videos on the platform. It's a great way to make your posts more accessible and let Instagram's algorithm know about their content.
To find the keywords your audience is searching for, you can use a high-end tool like SEMrush that lets you filter keywords by platform. Don't stuff these keywords in your posts, though. Use them naturally. That's what Ford has done in their post to announce the 2025 Maverick. You can see vehicle-specific keywords in the caption. The auto brand has also used #FordMaverick as a hashtag to create a community of interested drivers who might share user-generated content or their reviews of the new vehicle.
The same goes for hashtags and trending audios or challenges. Try to include them in your content organically so that your posts can also get the algorithm's attention.
Go through the Explore page to find what's currently trending in your niche. While you're at it, take a peek at your competitors. Which type of content are they making? Which hashtags are they using? You can take some cues from them but put your own spin on things.
Also, keep an eye on updated Instagram statistics to see which features the algorithm is favoring or which brands are currently using the most.
Final Thoughts
Trending on Instagram could be the key to success for your business or personal brand. So make the most of these highly effective tips to gain more popularity on the platform and increase your chances of getting discovered through the Explore page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I find trending music and hashtags to use in my Instagram posts?
You can use the Instagram Explore page to find music and hashtags currently trending on the platform. The hashtag autocomplete feature can also be helpful in this regard. Additionally, use a social listening tool to monitor conversations and trends around relevant keywords and topics in your industry. You can also follow relevant influencers and competitors to see which music and hashtags they are using.
Is it beneficial to collaborate with other influencers or brands on Instagram?
Instagram collaborations can help boost your brand's visibility, whether it's through paid partnerships or cross-promotion with other influencers and brands. Collaborating with others is also a good way to get new followers since you're reaching a new audience.
How can I optimize my Instagram profile to attract more followers?
Start with a high-quality profile picture and bio. Include relevant information about yourself or your brand and add links to relevant pages, such as your website, affiliate link page, portfolio, or other social media accounts. You can also use hashtags in your bio to make your profile more discoverable.
How can I make my Instagram Reels more discoverable?
Here are some ways to make Instagram Reels more discoverable:
- Create impactful content that people will likely engage with.
- Use hashtags that are trending or relevant to your content.
- Share your Reels on your Instagram Stories for more visibility.
- Post Reels at optimal times.
- Use trending music in your Reels.
- Interact with the comments on your Reels.
What are the most effective ways to increase my presence on Instagram?
These methods will help increase your presence on Instagram:
- Optimize your Instagram profile.
- Create a community by engaging with your audience.
- Post content regularly, especially Instagram Reels and Stories.
- Use relevant hashtags and keywords in your post captions.
- Collaborate with other influencers and brands.
- Use Instagram ads to reach a targeted demographic.
- Run contests or giveaways to attract new followers.
- Use Instagram insights to tweak your Instagram strategy regularly.
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