How can you make your brand pop on Instagram? How can you stand out from the noise? How can you break free from the pack and lead the way?
One way is by hopping on the bandwagon of the latest Instagram trends.
These trends are more than just silly dances or trending sounds. They represent ways for you to catch the attention of your audience. They also show that you’re up-to-date and relevant in your industry.
So, what are some of the hottest Instagram trends to incorporate into your brand strategy?
Mastering the Instagram algorithm
Before we talk about Instagram trends, let’s take a minute to discuss the Instagram algorithm. The algorithm determines what content is shown to each user when they use the app. It’s what determines whether your content gets seen by your audience. If you want your content to get likes, shares, and comments, you need a basic understanding of how the algorithm works.
Shopify notes that there are three major factors impacting what content a user sees:
-
- User relationships: The more a person interacts with your content, the more likely they are to see more of your content. This highlights the importance of sharing content consistently on Instagram. You need to build a loyal following that regularly engages with what you share.
- User interest: When a person engages with a particular kind of content or user, Instagram will start showing them more of that. If someone engages with content similar to yours, it’s more likely they’ll see your content. This highlights the need to stay up-to-date with trending topics on Instagram.
- Post relevancy: Every post on Instagram is assigned a relevancy score by the algorithm. This score impacts where it’s seen in a person’s feed, and may be influenced by things like how timely a topic is.
All of this together highlights the need to consistently share relevant content that resonates with your target audience and compels them to interact. If you only post irrelevant content once a week, you’re going to really struggle to build your audience on Instagram.
Instagram trends for 2025
Okay, now that we’re on the same page about how the Instagram algorithm works, let’s talk about Instagram trends you need to know.
Authentic content matters
The beauty of Instagram is that it allows you to take your audience behind the scenes. You can give people an inside look into your brand and show them how the sausage gets made. People resonate with authentic content that isn’t necessarily part of a huge branding campaign. They connect with content that’s transparent and allows them to feel closer to your brand.
For example, in this Warby Parker post, they go “behind the scenes” into a new store that is opening, humorously introducing viewers to the different employees:
Expect this Instagram trend to continue into the foreseeable future. How can you take your audience to the backstage of your brand? How can you connect with them in authentic ways that also highlight your brand’s strengths? Don’t forget to use the hashtag #behindthescenes so people can search for these posts.
Reels really are the best
A report by Socialinsider showed that out of all content types (posts, stories, etc.), Reels performed the best. In other words, they got more reach, engagement, and interactions than any other type of Instagram post.
Don’t sleep on this Instagram trend. If you want to expand the reach and visibility of your brand, you should focus on putting out more Reels content.
What sort of content should your brand put Reels? You’re only limited by your imagination:
- Product demos and tutorials
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Customer testimonials
- Tips and tricks
- Product launches and announcements
The key to Instagram reels is that they’re quick, compelling, and to the point. People have a really short attention span with Reels and will quickly swipe by if you don’t grab their attention.
Utilize quick-response templates for trends
There is a huge benefit to hopping on Instagram trends quickly. Doing so shows that your brand is relevant and in touch with what’s currently happening on social media. Participating in trends also tends to generate more comments and conversations, which can help your content get seen by more people.
However, designing eye-catching posts from scratch can be time-consuming and a bit complicated if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Picsart templates make it easy to hop on trends quickly. We have thousands of Instagram templates, including Instagram Stories templates and Instagram ads templates.
To get started simply go to Picsart, hit Start creating, and select Instagram. You’ll see relevant template suggestions on the left side. Find the one you like and select it to start customizing it
You’ll get access to the templates and can start designing immediately.
The AI takeover will continue
AI-generated images burst onto the scene a few years ago and have radically changed the way in which you create photos. Now, if you can dream it, AI can make it. Need a picture of a frog chugging a can of soda? With AI tools like Picsart, you can have one in a few seconds.
To use the Picsart AI tool, simply scroll down in your dashboard and then type in exactly what you want to see.
This Instagram trend is only going to grow in the coming year. Look for new and creative ways to leverage AI imagery in your brand. If there’s a particular photo you need that doesn’t exist in real life, use AI to get it! AI is especially helpful in creating whimsical, artistic, quirky photos.
Dump those photos
Photo dumps are becoming an increasingly popular way of sharing pictures. They are exactly what they sound like: you simply dump a variety of photos into a carousel post on Instagram. These posts can be of varying quality and type. Often times photo dumps are used at the end of a given period, like a month, as a way of recounting what happened.
For example, Apple recently featured a photo dump in celebration of Black History Month:
Why are photo dumps such a popular Instagram trend? Partly because they represent a more authentic view of your brand. Not every photo in the dump is supposed to be highly polished. You’re supposed to include some “average” photos as well that are more reflective of the day-to-day of your brand. In some ways, photo dumps are another way of being transparent with your audience and showing them what things are really like.
Interact with your audience
Instagram has added a lot of interactive features in the last few years that allow you to engage with your audience in ways you never could before. Things like polls, quizzes, and stickers have created a new level of connection between brands and their followers.
Tap into these new features with your audience. Use polls to ask your followers what they want to see from your brand in the future. Quizzes can be used for things like giveaways. Ask followers a specific question and have them respond in your DMs.
The point is to spend time talking to your audience in one form or another. Seek to create a community around your brand and encourage people to engage with your content.
Don’t hesitate to create Calls-To-Action in your Instagram posts in which you encourage your audience to participate in some way.
Use video memes
Every week, new video memes emerge on Instagram. Recent examples of what’s hot include:
- “In the club, we all fam”
- “Subtle foreshadowing”
- “I wonder where the wind will take me”
If you have no idea what any of these mean, check out our recent post about what’s hot on social media.
If you can strategically use memes in your Instagram posts, you can connect with your audience in a humorous, trendy way. This can help make your brand more relatable and approachable, leading to increased engagement and potential customers.
Hashtags are still an effective way to talk about trending topics on Instagram. They allow you to participate in global conversations that are happening around popular subjects. You can add your voice to the conversation by using relevant hashtags in your post captions and stories. You can also create hashtags specifically for your brand that people can use whenever they talk about it.
If you’re struggling to come up with relevant hashtags for your content, Picsart has a free hashtags generator you can use.
Final thoughts
Are you feeling a little overwhelmed at the thought of trying to keep up with all these Instagram trends? Don’t be. Instead of trying to do all of them at one time, focus on one or two that you feel like you can really do well. Maybe that’s more content on Reels. Maybe it’s using hashtags more strategically.
Whatever you choose, start there and focus on that one trend until you’re starting to get traction. Then move on to another one and so on. Remember, the key is to stay consistent and authentic. Don’t try to be something you’re not. With patience and persistence, you’ll start to see great benefits in terms of engagement, reach, and ultimately conversions.
