We’re back with the Instagram Reels Trend Report for September 2022!
It’s amazing to me how, even when chasing TikTok’s content trends, Instagram is still primarily focused on being a community and sharing platform. Unlike other apps, Instagram gives you the opportunity to share in a multitude of ways, and authors can take advantage of it to get readers a behind the scenes look at the process.
So what are Instagram’s new updates that support this? You may not have these features yet, but keep an eye out for Instagram Topic Tags, Post Re-Sharing and 60-second stories.
What does all of this mean?
These features are all in beta, so here’s a brief run-down of the new features coming your way:
Topic tags are going to be specific to Reels and assist the algorithm in categorizing posts. Why is this important? It’s going to get more eyes on your stuff! Topic tags will be curated from Instagram’s topics so they can’t be hijacked by users, like hashtags have been in the past. This also will take the stress out of analyzing hashtags for your Reels to get categorized properly. (As a refresher: hashtags no longer affect your reach. They help the algorithm to categorize you and show your posts to people who are following specific hashtags.)
Post re-sharing has been in the works since May, so I’m excited to finally see this feature come across my app. I don’t have it yet, but if you have it, let us know! In the meantime, utilizing the “Contributor” feature for posts will enhance post content that you want shared with others outside of your following. We’ll talk a bit more about this below.
60-second stories are the most likely feature to be on your account right now. Instagram no longer breaks your stories up into 15-second intervals, but records for 60 seconds straight, making tagging & captions more consistent.
As of September 2022, the following are the most effective ways to use the app and see great, consistent results:
Use Saved Collections
Do you save Instagram posts? It’s possible you aren’t sure what I’m talking about. At the bottom of Instagram posts there is a bookmark-looking button that is called SAVE. When you click it, you’re able to save this post for you to refer to later.
Two important things to note about saving a post:
ONE. It has more of a boost in the algorithm score than a like, so using the call to action “Save this post” is great.
TWO. Instagram has set up the option of sorting your saved items into different collections.
As an author, the best way to use this is to create a collection called “Reviews” or “Promos.” Whenever someone shares a review or a promotion of your book and they tag you, save it into this collection. This will be easier for you to find and share reviews and promos in the future. Instagram head Adam Mosseri talks more about this hidden gem here.
Invite Contributor
In addition to using Collections to make sharing reviews easier for you, have you seen the “Contributor” option under tags? If you are posting a new post and click “Tag People” there is the option to Invite Contributor. This will share your post on both your feed and the contributor’s account feed, reaching more people.
Here’s a practical application of this. We use it all the time to tag our authors in Reels and posts we make about their books. It CAN be totally overwhelming if people are inviting you as a contributor and their posts are showing up on your feed, disrupting any perfectly curated looks. Instagram has been trying to move away from the aesthetic feeds, but some of us are just so attached. If you love your aesthetic feed, I recommend accepting the contributor invitation for a few days to a week, and later removing yourself as a contributor. That way, the post will be seen by your followers through your feed and the engagement will positively affect your account.
Reels Creators – have you seen grooves?
I don’t want to dive too much into this right now because it’s been glitchy on my end, but if you’ve gotten the new grooves feature to work for you, dm us @writepublishsell.
Things got a bit more technical this month, but I want you to remember you’re doing great at creating awesome content and connecting with your audience! If you need some Reels ideas, check out our Reels subscription where you’ll get 4 Reels ideas with step-by-step instructions specifically for authors!
Reels & Trends to Try This Month:
Try this trend replacing “Halloween” with “Writing.”
CAPCUT EDIT: Click on the video clip in CapCut. Choose Animation > Combo. Find Pendulum 1 or 2. (Get CapCut HERE. Not an affiliate link! We use this tool on the regular.)
Here’s a few examples of trending audio I’ve enjoyed:
Book that Ignited Love for Reading
Twist on the Skip to the Good Part
We hope this Instagram Reels Trend Report for September 2022 gets your creative juices flowing!
If you need more inspiration:
Grab an IG Reels planner, designed by our IG manager, Raewyn!
