Anneleen Vaes

Tag: Instagram

  • Formats I’m loving on Instagram ATM

    Formats I’m loving on Instagram ATM

    To be honest, I was bored of Instagram there for a minute. But the past months, I’ve seen some creative formats that spark interactivity and are just straight up fun.

    1. Carousel reveal

    I started seeing this one a few months ago, but with the holiday season coming up, I think we’re going to see a lot more of it. These carousel posts turn into an interactive experience with each card revealing a bit more. Good to up your completion rate, swipe-through rate and ultimately score higher in the algorithm.

    2. Catcher game

    I love gamification on Instagram, but I haven’t always found it easy to implement. Well, this post just proved me wrong. With a simple emoji slider and items falling from above, designer @sandracreatess made a retro catcher game and I’m all for it. Easy to make it your own, just use branded items and an emoji that fits the vibe better and you’re good to go. In terms of metrics, this is a great way to increase the (average) watch time on your Reels.

    3. Move your thumb to the beat

    I’m pretty sure this format is a brainchild from a millennial that loved playing Guitar Hero or Beat Saber, cause it literally has the same vibe. This type of Reel prompts you to tap your thumbs to the beat, with each beat triggering a visual change.
    What I especially like about this format, is that it keeps the platform in mind. Instagram is not a sound-on platform, but because the prompt is illustrated in the reel, you can still join in without actually having to hear the beat. All too often, brands and creators assume that people will take the extra step to watch their content integrally, but in reality, people are lazy and will scroll if your content doesn’t make sense for their user experience.

    4. Zoom in to see

    I must admit, I am the type of person that uses their phone as a mirror. 🙈 But I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one and this format proves it. It’s a simple image post combining a black shape with a prompt that asks you to zoom in on the shape to see … who wants a donut, who looks extra pretty today, who deserves a matcha latte. You get the gist of it. Easy, fun and effective for brands in terms of dwell time.

    5. And finally, a format I want to see blow up: shake to reveal

    Back when Instagram was just playing around with the shake to reveal sticker, I was thinking to myself: this has a lot of potential. But I must say, I haven’t seen a lot of brands taking advantage of it. I recently created some trial posts for an Italian food bar and it was a no-brainer to include an Instagram Story using that sticker where users had to shake the matcha latte. I can also see a brand that specialises in curly hair products using it as a reveal from straight to curly hair. Or from ingredients to a fully prepped cocktail. Like I said, there’s a lot of potential in that sticker. And in terms of metrics, this again will increase your engagement, as people will be triggered to shake and reveal.

    Gigio - shake for matcha
    Gigio - reveal the matcha

    Unlike that 5120×1080 trend I ranted about a while ago, these formats actually make the most of user experience. And that’s the difference between a gimmick and a format worth exploring. 😉

  • I hate this 5120×1080 Instagram Reels trend

    I hate this 5120×1080 Instagram Reels trend

    A new trend has been making the rounds on Instagram. And I’m not a fan. Let’s talk about the 5120×1080 Reels format.

    To be fair, I’m all here for trends. When they make some kind of sense that is. And even then, I feel brands should be careful when jumping onto trends every chance they get, just because it will get them the views. If it doesn’t fit their brand narrative, there is no point in my opinion.

    But I digress, cause this whole 5120×1080 Reels thing is a trend that I just wish would die (which it probably will in a week or so). 

    The thing is, in a sense I get it. 5120×1080 has something cinematic and it disrupts the mainly vertical feed we’re all used to. But it’s a very narrow size that doesn’t allow for a lot of info. I first saw Canva doing it.

    Then other brands followed suit. I just don’t understand why… Well, no, that’s not entirely true. For videographers and such I can see that it’s a nice way to share panoramic footage. But even then, you’re not getting the full, well, picture, because it turns up so small on your phone and even on desktop, as it still needs to fit within the constraints of the platform.

    As a brand, you can’t put a lot of info into that size. I don’t mean text per say, but even visuals get lost in this size. And if you zoom in, you just get a pixelated mess. This became very apparent when I saw (the first seconds of) social media management tool Later’s version of the trend on my phone. Illegible as fuck.

    The only brands that I feel did a great job with this trend are Headspace and KitKat. Headspace turned it into the Tiniest scroll break, while KitKat just placed their bar front and center. They’re both using the disruptive nature of this format to their advantage by either literally referring to a break, or figuratively as that’s what the brand stands for. Next to that, both posts are very legible for such a narrow size. So props to them.

    But I still want this trend to die. Preferably yesterday.

    Want more of my insights on social media? Check out my recent favorites ranging from Oasis to Linkin Park.