The start of a new year is an excellent time to get up to speed with social media developments, and in this article, we’re going to round up some Instagram marketing trends to be aware of in 2024.From Reels to SEO, this guide will set you up for the year ahead.
- Tap into the popularity of Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels, a feature developed in response to the massive surge in bite-sized video popularity on platforms like TikTok, presents a refreshing way for personal trainers to produce content.
These short, engaging videos cater to consumer's increasingly brief attention spans, resulting in high engagement rates.
As a personal trainer, your goal should be to craft visually striking and entertaining Reels that accurately represent your brand and resonate with your target market. If you are diving into this medium for the first time, don't worry.
You can utilize pre-made templates to help kickstart your Reels journey. For tips on finding, employing, and creating engaging Instagram Reel templates, check out this article on Hootsuite. - Use Instagram Live to drive interactivity
The usage of live video is steadily increasing and presents an excellent avenue for personal trainers to engage with their audience, increase their online presence, and cultivate a robust community.
Video streaming is an incredibly beneficial tool for personal trainers as it provides ample opportunity to create dynamic content. This includes showcasing fitness products, conducting real-time workout sessions, and organizing live Q&A interactions.
As a personal trainer, you can harness the power of live video to showcase your professional knowledge and skills. Engage with your viewers by incorporating and responding to their inputs as much as possible.
If you are new to Instagram Live, don't worry! Buffer offers an excellent guide entitled How to use Instagram Live: a guide to take you from beginner to pro. It's worth checking it out to get a good head start. - Engage with niche communities through micro-influencers
A micro-influencer is generally defined as an influencer with fewer than 100,000 followers but more than 10,000.
For a personal trainer with a specialized offering (and a small sponsorship budget), it makes sense to target micro-influencers, who tend to have a more engaged following in niche communities than the big hitters.
Micro-influencers are the largest group of influencers, and more businesses are tuning into the benefits of including them in their marketing strategy, tapping into their authenticity and high conversion rates. - Extend your reach using Instagram Collabs
One way of working with influencers, as well as other complementary businesses and partners, is by using Instagram Collabs.
This feature allows two or more accounts to post and share the same content, thus automatically extending audience reach for both and potentially increasing engagement levels.
This kind of collaborative working continues to gain traction and is worth considering if you want to build partnerships with others. Watch Later’s video tutorial for a helpful introduction. - Optimize your Instagram account for search
As an increasingly popular trend (especially among the younger demographic), utilizing social media channels for online searches over traditional search engines. Therefore, tweaking your Instagram SEO (Search Engine Optimization) could significantly boost your visibility and outreach.
To clarify further, start with optimizing your Instagram profile. As a personal trainer, provide concise, relevant, and impactful information that explains who you are and what you do and incorporates industry-specific keywords. - Be authentic
The ongoing trend for transparency favors smaller businesses, such as personal trainers, while the big brands have to work a little harder on their relatability.
But it’s essential to keep building on this advantage and reflect your authenticity in all marketing activities to make genuine connections with your audience.
Honesty fosters trust and loyalty. One idea to help achieve this is using photo dumps, an increasingly popular type of Instagram post in which you literally ‘dump’ a bunch of photos straight from your camera roll, with no editing or filtering.
Step up your Instagram game
Ensure you're armed with these Instagram marketing trends and use them to scale your personal training business to new heights. Use Instagram not just as a social network but as a potent tool to showcase your knowledge, skills, and personality while carving out a successful path in your fitness career.
