Presentation from International Confex, 26 February 2025.
View my webinars and workshops to learn more about Instagram and Event Marketing.
Why Instagram?
- Instagram is the third most used platform (globally), with over 2 billion month active users
- Instagram is the favourite platform for younger age groups
- Active users (Android devices) open the app 351.1 times each month (second to WhatsApp)
- Users spend 50% of their time on the app watching Reels
As explained in this blog, each part of the Instagram app (Feed, Stories, Explore, Reels and Search) uses its own algorithm.
Profile set-up
Before we start thinking about posting content on Instagram, we need to ensure our profile is set-up and ready to attract our target audience. It might be time to check:
- Professional account (Creator Business)
- Username (30 characters)
- Photo (logo)
- Bio (150 characters over four lines)
- Link in bio (eg Linktr.ee)
- Pinned posts (Reels and Grid)
- Highlights (Stories)
The Feed
- The feed (grid) has changed from 1080×1080 to 1080 x1350
- You can adjust old posts using ‘adjust preview’
- Use carousels for more than one opportunity to appear in the feed
- Carousel can include up to 20 images
- Add music to your carousel – this considers your post to be a ‘Reel’, which will help with reach
Stories
- To reach existing followers, focus on Stories
- Use features such as countdown stickers to highlight key event milestones eg earlybird ticket pricing
Reels
- Instagram is increasing the length of Reels to 3 minutes
- Focus on the first three seconds – get straight into your content to encourage viewers to keep watching
- Use ‘Trial Reels’ to test content / reach new followers
Collabs and partnership features
- Work with your partners eg speakers and sponsors to create and share content
- Using the Collabs feature: The account with the largest following should post first to support increased reach
- “When you create organic branded content on Instagram, our branded content policies require that you use the paid partnership label to tag the brand you are working with.”
Ensure your content is accessible
- For video: Prepare for sound off (delight with sound on)
- For video: Add subtitles (check font type, size, colour contrast)
- Captions: UseCamelCaseForHashtags
- Captions: Don’t use emojis to replace ✍️
For more on accessibility best practices, download this FREE ebook.
Learn from Insights
- Instagram’s has re-focused it’s primary metric from likes and followers to views. Find out more, here
- According to Adam Mosseri, “The top three signals that matter most for ranking are watch time, likes and sends. So when looking at your insights, pay close attention to average watch time, likes per reach, and sends per reach.”
Use hashtags for organising and finding content about events
You may no longer be able to follow hashtags on Instagram, but they can still be useful for organising your content, and especially useful for those organising and attending events!
#InternationalConfex2025
#SeeYouAtConfex
#EventProfs
#MeetingsIndustry