9 social media marketing tips for small business success

Between running day-to-day operations and managing admin work, marketing is the last thing many small business owners want to worry about. And it’s not because they don’t think it’s important. Rather, it’s because they don’t always have the resources for it, often lacking the budget to buy ad space and the staff to oversee elaborate campaigns.

Social media levels the playing field, offering a channel to effortlessly get your small business in front of a bigger audience.

This is especially relevant now that consumers are using social media to search and find products. As the latest social media stats show, social media platforms drive 60% of product discovery.

With the right strategy, small business owners can use social media to exponentially grow their reach and sales. In this post, we share practical social media marketing tips for small business owners, covering everything from platform selection to content planning. Let’s dive in.

Why social media is non-negotiable for small business marketing

With small budgets and even smaller workforces, small business owners need marketing channels that are effective, affordable and easy to manage.

Social media offers just that, with free built-in marketing tools and a massive reach. Social is where people go to tap into cultural moments and connect with friends. It’s where they get entertained and find buying inspiration.

And now that social search is evolving, it’s easier than ever for businesses to get discovered. Not to mention the opportunity to reach new audiences through algorithmic discovery.

For small business owners, this is an opportunity to drive brand awareness without the heavy marketing budget.

But social’s role goes beyond simply getting your business in front of the right audience. It lets you directly connect with consumers through comments and direct messages, giving you the perfect channel to engage your community.

In fact, personalized customer service is the top expectation consumers have for brands in the 2025 Sprout Social Index^TM. The brands that stand out on social are the ones engaging with their followers and promptly responding to customers. 73% of social users will even buy from a competitor if a brand doesn’t respond to them on social.

That says a lot about the role social media marketing plays in business success.

Define your specific target audience

Your marketing dollars go further when you speak to a very specific audience. Start with a clear idea of the people you’re targeting with your small business social media strategy.

Build a comprehensive audience profile that breaks down the demographics of your ideal audience. How old are they? Where do they live? What kind of work do they do? You can use the insights from your native analytics to find out your audience demographics.

Additionally, tools like Meta Audience Insights and TikTok Audience Insights provide you with psychographic data on your audience. So you can enrich your audience profile with information about their interests, values and hobbies. These audience insights will help you build a strategy that resonates with the right people.

Focus on quality over platform quantity

Trying to maintain brand presence on every single platform is time-consuming and overwhelming. You’ll find yourself struggling to post consistently and keep up with conversations across multiple platforms.

It’s better to focus your time and resources building a strong presence on the platforms your audience actually uses.

Consider the ideal industry and demographics intersection to figure out the right platform fit. For example, tech conversations thrive on X (formerly Twitter), but retail will see better engagement on visual platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Both platforms see strong usage from Gen Z, but Facebook is where you stand a better chance of reaching Baby Boomers.

Source: TikTok

Plan ahead with a consistent content calendar

Even when it comes to content, quality matters more than quantity. But you still need to post consistently to engage your audience.

Organize your publishing efforts with a social media content calendar that includes:

• Content pillars: 3-5 core topics or themes to anchor your content strategy (For example, case studies, user-generated content, how-to videos, industry tips, etc.)
• Posting cadence: Timing and frequency of posts (For example, 1 post at 3 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and 1 post at 6 pm on Tuesday and Thursday.)

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You can build out your calendar as you add more post ideas along the way. Then block off some time every week for ideating and researching content, creating posts and scheduling them. Batch creating content makes it easy to stay ahead, so you always have a consistent supply of posts to fill up your calendar.

Sprout Social comes with a visual calendar to help you plan ahead and maintain a consistent publishing schedule.

Visualizing your content plan makes it easy to mix things up between different content types and formats to maintain audience interest. According to The State of Social Media 2026, consumers want to see brands posting educational content and community-focused content. Episodic content and behind-the-scenes also rank high among consumers.

Lean into short-form video content

No matter which platforms you focus on, short-form video is the key to engaging your audience. According to the 2026 Social Media Content Strategy Report, users are most likely to interact with short videos across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

And the shorter the better, with users preferring videos shorter than 60 seconds.

Create Reels, TikToks and Shorts that capture immediate user attention. Use them to share bite-sized tips, entertaining info and behind-the-scenes footage. This is a great opportunity to jump in on viral trends and use humor to entertain your audience.

Notice how Plaza Deli uses relatable humor about “the grindset” trend to create an Instagram Reel. This is the deli’s most successful post, with over 34k likes and thousands of shares.

Source: Instagram

Social media platforms use metadata from your captions (including in-video text) to rank content in relevant search results. Make sure to sprinkle in a few keywords naturally into your captions to improve content visibility.

Engage with your audience in the comments

People love it when you’re responsive and actively engaging with them. It’s one of the most effective ways to humanize your business and establish a connection with your audience.

As established in the 2025 Sprout Social Index^TM, consumers watch how you engage with your followers on social media. So when they see you responding to comments, they see a business that pays attention.

Plus, an active comments section looks good to the algorithm. It drums up engagement and helps your content get more visibility in people’s Feeds.

Ask questions in the caption or conduct polls to spark a conversation and encourage more people to comment. Then interact with those comments to acknowledge your audience and connect with them.

Even if it’s not viable to reply to every single one, make sure to respond to the most important ones. Think: comments that ask relevant questions or get a lot of Likes from other users.

See how Palms Thai Restaurant responds to the top comments on a Reel that went viral.

Source: Instagram

Leverage user-generated content (UGC)

The 2026 Social Media Content Strategy Report highlights how human-generated content is the most important priority for consumers. And what’s more “human” than content from your customers? Real people sharing real images and real experiences can help you build trust while nurturing connection with your existing community.

Encourage customers to share their reviews and post about your business on social media. Then get their permission to repost to your Stories. You could even take it further and repurpose user-generated content for your in-feed content or paid advertising campaigns.

Organize UGC around branded hashtags, so it’s easier to find content to repost. You can also check brand mentions and tagged posts to discover relevant UGC.

Maxi’s Rotisserie turns UGC into Collab posts on Instagram. This instantly maximizes content visibility as the posts get in front of both creators’ audiences.

Source: Instagram

Partner with local micro-influencers

Influencers give you a much-needed visibility boost, making them a vital addition to your small business social media strategy.

Focus on smaller creators with a niche yet highly relevant audience for your business. For example, gardening influencers who specialize in growing vegetables in the arid Nevada climate. Or food influencers who go around trying new food joints across your city.

Micro (10k–100k) and nano (1k–10k) influencers have a smaller following compared to traditional influencers. But considering their local relevance and audience alignment, they can be a much better fit for small businesses.

Use data and analytics to pivot quickly

When you’re running on limited resources, you need every single resource to go toward a strategy that works. That’s why data is so important to inform what’s working (and what needs to go).

Sprout social Essentials

Your analytics shouldn’t live in five different tabs.

Essentials brings your social performance data into one dashboard, so you can spot what’s working and cut what isn’t — without the spreadsheet gymnastics.

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Native social media analytics tools can give you post-specific insights to understand what types of content resonate. Keep a close eye on metrics like reach, engagement rate, saves and shares. Use this to identify patterns like:

• Which content formats are most effective for reaching non-followers?
• Which content formats get the most positive engagement?
• What content angles resonate the most?
• What types of content drive actual sales?

For example, people might be more interested in seeing your finished nail art designs vs. videos of the process. Then fine-tune your strategy using these insights and get the most out of your marketing dollars.

Streamline your workflow with the right tools

Managing social media for small business owners is more than just posting the occasional content. You need to set aside time for creating the content and actively engaging with your audience. And that’s where it gets challenging because you’re already juggling your operational and admin tasks as it is.

So there’s not enough time to manually post content across all your social media accounts every day, let alone respond to comments.

Social media management tools make this easier with automated workflows that help you save time. For instance, platforms like Sprout will let you plan your content in advance and use social media scheduling to automatically post it at the desired time. Aside from the weekly or monthly time blocks for content creation, you can practically put your publishing on autopilot.

You even get data-backed recommendations on what content to post and when, helping you strengthen your social media strategy for optimal impact.

Work smarter, not harder on social media

Social media marketing can feel overwhelming when you’re already wearing multiple hats to keep the business running. Using an all-in-one management tool makes it more manageable with automated workflows and data-backed recommendations. So you no longer have to spend hours coming up with content ideas or manually posting content.

Sprout social Essentials

Social media management built for small business.

Sprout Essentials gives you everything you need to publish smarter, engage faster and grow your audience — without the enterprise price tag.

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With Sprout’s Essentials plan, you can speed up publishing and automate analytics for your small business social media strategy. Get a free 30-day trial to see how it fits into your social media marketing workflow.

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UK Instagram trends in 2026: How to turn attention into commercial impact

Instagram’s role in the social landscape is evolving, but its power to connect UK brands with active, high-intent buyers is stronger than ever. According to the 2026 Social Media Content Strategy Report, 32% of consumers plan to spend even more time on Instagram this year, a figure that climbs to 41% for Gen Z users.

This isn’t just passive scrolling; an impressive 60% of consumers actively interact with brand content multiple times per week on the platform. With UK marketers matching this energy, 69% are scaling up investment in Instagram, so it remains a vital commercial engine for brands looking to scale their inbound reach.

To build an Instagram marketing strategy that cuts through the noise, you must align your execution with shifting audience behaviours. We’ve mapped out today’s most significant Instagram trends across content types and strategic approaches to help your brand stay relevant, capture attention, and drive meaningful growth.

What are Instagram Trends?

Trends are popular social strategies used across the network that represent macro-shifts in how audiences interact with brands. In 2026, trends are defined by conversational, creator-led strategies that favour raw, native engagement over polished broadcasting.

They dictate not just what brands post, but how they build community and drive commercial revenue. For UK brands, navigating these shifts is critical. While 69% of UK marketers currently view their social content strategy as effective, maintaining that edge requires aligning with specific regional priorities.

Metric	2026 Data Point	Strategic Impact
Consumer Growth	32% of users plan to spend more time on Instagram.	Audience attention is expanding, not shrinking.
Gen Z Dominance	41% of Gen Z users plan to increase platform usage.	The network remains essential for capturing younger demographics.
Active Engagement	60% of users interact with brand content multiple times per week.	Instagram is a highly commercial, conversational space.
Marketer Investment	69% of UK marketers are scaling up resource investments.	Competition for feed visibility is intensifying.

You can’t manage a successful Instagram account without standout content. Here are the most impactful UK Instagram trends driving engagement today. If you’re looking for more Instagram content inspiration, explore our list of social media post ideas for the UK to find other ways your brand can engage with your audience.

If you’re looking for real-life inspiration and to stay ahead of the latest Instagram trends, consider attending one of the many social media marketing conferences in the UK this year.

Content series and repeatable formats

Short-form video (under 60 seconds) remains the undisputed king of engagement, driving a 52% interaction rate on the network. A repeatable format, whether it’s a weekly tip, a behind-the-scenes series or a themed challenge, gives your audience something to anticipate and return for.

Series work on Instagram because they:

• Build algorithmic familiarity: Instagram’s system learns to push content that consistently earns engagement.
• Reduce creative fatigue: the format is already decided—your team fills in fresh topics each week.
• Create appointment viewing: turning casual followers into loyal fans.

UK coffee brand Grind runs a recurring “Coffee School” series on Instagram, teaching brewing techniques in short, branded Reels. Each episode follows the same visual template, making the series instantly recognisable in the feed.

Reels are the dominant content format

Reels now account for 50% of the time people spend on Instagram and reach over 2 billion users every month. For UK brands, this isn’t a trend to watch from the sidelines—it’s the format that defines the platform in 2026.

The brands winning with Reels share a few non-negotiable habits. They hook viewers in the first three seconds, design for sound-off viewing with on-screen text and captions, and blend entertainment with education. Product tags inside Reels turn passive viewers into active shoppers, making the format a direct line from discovery to purchase.

UK skincare brand The Ordinary regularly uses Reels to break down ingredient science in short, punchy clips. Their approach proves that even technical subject matter thrives in short-form video when it’s delivered with clarity and visual energy.

Source: Instagram

Sustained Influencer Partnerships

UK marketers are swapping transactional, one-off sponsored posts for long-term creator collaborations. Why? Because consumers crave authentic, human-generated content that feels native to the feed.

Gymshark & Huel: Both of these UK-founded powerhouse brands have mastered the long-term ambassador model. Instead of paying creators per post, they secure sustained partnerships with fitness and lifestyle creators. Because the partnerships are ongoing, the products feature naturally in the creators’ daily routines over months or years, which builds deep-rooted credibility and brand recall.

 

Social Selling and Frictionless Commerce

Instagram is no longer just a digital mood board; it is a critical sales engine. UK brands are increasingly blending entertainment with “social selling,” turning product discovery directly into in-app conversions.

Relatable imagery and video content

In the UK, resonating with your audience means creating content that feels relatable and taps into shared cultural references. Create content that reflects real-life experiences, addresses a desire or concern, and uses relatable language and visual cues to connect with your audience.

In 2026, raw and unpolished content consistently outperforms high-production posts. People want to see the real side of a brand—not a perfectly staged photoshoot. This shift rewards teams that prioritise speed and honesty over expensive production.

This means having a strategy that combines knowing what’s trending and performance data with a deep understanding of UK cultural references. You need to go beyond surface-level engagement to build meaningful, lasting connections.

For example, UK fashion brand Lucy & Yak have over 700k followers and promote inclusive, relatable content that directly targets their audience. They employ several tactics to engage their Instagram audience in the UK, including:

• Prioritising user-generated content
• Treating customers as influencers
• Fostering community

Lucy & Yak have honed in on Instagram for engaging video content. They use the network to share their sustainability and ethics, which their audience cares about.

Hashtag strategies

Instagram still uses hashtags, which means brands need them to be seen by the right UK users.

Create an Instagram hashtag strategy with a list of popular hashtags in your niche and how you’ll use them. Make sure you’re researching new hashtags regularly. You can also create unique hashtags for events, campaigns, product launches, UGC engagement and more. An evolving strategy will get your content in front of more people.

Instagram SEO: The New Search Engine

Instagram functions as a primary search engine, especially for younger demographics. Traditional SEO practices now apply directly to your profile. To maximise discoverability, UK brands must:

• Optimise Bios: Write keyword-rich profile names and bios that clearly define your niche.
• Use Natural Language: Craft captions that directly answer common questions your buyers are searching for.
• Implement Alt Text: Add optimised alt text to every image for both accessibility and backend search visibility.
• Leverage Geo-Tags: Surface your content in local UK search queries.
• Evolve Hashtags: Use a mix of niche, campaign-specific, and broad hashtags, treating them as core metadata for your posts.

Treating your Instagram profile like a searchable landing page gives your brand a compounding advantage as more people use the platform’s search bar instead of Google.

Authenticity in the UK: connecting through shared values

In the age of AI, Instagram users in the UK expect authenticity from everyone they follow, brands and influencers.

Authenticity on UK Instagram is about being true to what your brand represents, and preserving those values in your content and how you behave on the network. Consider everything your brand does online, and ask why you’re doing it, and the messages and values you’re promoting while doing so. This will help you get closer to living and communicating your values on social.

For example, Mikaela Loach is a children’s author who posts reflective, open and honest content on her Instagram account about her life as a UK influencer and climate campaigner.

Popular UK Instagram content categories are diverse

Brands and influencers create a variety of content on Instagram, with many gaining popularity through their niche. Some of the most popular UK Instagram content categories roughly correspond with the most talked about topics online in the country.

These include food and drink, entertainment (including music, films and gaming), travel, beauty and fashion. Each of these categories has a notably interested audience in the UK, but their popularity can lead to increased competition.

UK Instagram trends in marketing

These are some of the leading marketing Instagram trends in the UK.

Celebrity collaborations

Alongside influencers, a popular trend on UK Instagram is content partnerships with celebrities. These partnerships allow brands to connect their products with recognisable faces that fans know and trust.

A great example is US-based hot sauce brand Frank’s RedHot, which recently expanded into the UK market. They’ve teamed up with Danny Dyer for a recurring content series on Instagram to tailor their product promotion to UK audiences.

Navigating the AI Contradiction on Instagram

Right now, there’s a massive disconnect between what UK marketers prioritise and what Instagram audiences demand. According to the 2026 Social Media Content Strategy Report, “experimenting with AI-generated content” is the top priority for UK marketers this year. But consumers demand the exact opposite: human-generated content.

If you want your Instagram strategy to succeed, you must strike a delicate balance. Flooding your feed with AI-generated posts will alienate followers who are craving authentic, human connection. Instead of using AI as a content-creation crutch, the most successful inbound marketers are using it as their ultimate social intelligence analyst.

Here is how you should be applying AI to your UK Instagram strategy in 2026:

• Pivot to Social Intelligence: The true potential of AI isn’t in drafting captions or generating images, but in analysing content to gather timely audience insights.
• Uncover Audience Cravings: Use AI tools to synthesize your performance data so you can clearly see your followers’ specific concerns, curiosities, and cravings. This ensures the content you create cuts through the noise.
• Free Up Creative Time: Plug AI into your manual workflows, such as performance reporting and data analysis. Use the hours you get back to craft the stronger, human-generated short-form videos that your audience wants to watch.

By shifting your AI use from content generation to content analysis, you can scale your operations efficiently while keeping the human touch that UK consumers demand.

Humour as an engagement tactic

UK brands and influencers often use humour to build a recognisable brand identity. Aldi UK is a popular example with over 850k Instagram followers. They post light-hearted and often comedic content. These posts have helped build Aldi UK’s brand identity as an accessible, friendly supermarket brand. Aldi is a discount supermarket known for lower prices, so this comedic and lighthearted tone lends well to an open and welcoming brand ethos.

Think about what type of comedy works for your brand image. But don’t overdo it, as trying too hard to be funny can backfire.

UK Instagram trends in social commerce and monetisation

Instagram isn’t just for expanding your reach—it can also become a powerful sales channel for your business. By leveraging these Instagram trends, you can unlock new monetisation opportunities.

Social commerce through Instagram Shopping and Instagram Ads

Instagram Shopping now supports only Shops with in-app checkout, streamlining the buying experience so customers never leave the app. Brands can also tag products directly in Reels, Stories and grid posts, turning every piece of content into a potential storefront.

Social commerce in the UK is a huge trend, and using these features can represent a significant growth opportunity for brands looking to sell more products. Read up on the best tactics for selling on Instagram in the UK. This is particularly important if you’re trying to master using social media for retail in the UK.

Alongside posting content organically, Instagram offers brands the ability to create paid ads that can reach more users.

For National Pizza Day, Pizza Express combined an Instagram ad campaign with a free pizza giveaway at their restaurants. This was a smart campaign as it promoted UGC (user-generated content) and meant more people were visiting their local Pizza Express restaurants to take advantage of the free offer. Combining this promotion with National Pizza Day made the campaign topical and increased its ability to trend.

Source: Instagram

Remember ASA regulations

All advertising on Instagram in the UK is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). They have set rules for social ads, including always stating clearly when you’re advertising something.

All brands and influencers have to follow these ASA laws when creating partnership campaigns, when promoting products and when managing competitions on social media, among other situations. It’s vital that you keep up to date with their regulations.

How to create a winning strategy around UK Instagram trends in 2026

Knowing the current Instagram trends is half the battle; now, you need to apply them. Here’s how:

Keep a pulse on your audience with social listening

With social listening on Instagram, you can track conversations as they happen across your account.

An intuitive platform like Sprout Social helps you instantly identify trends relevant to your audience, so you always know exactly what your followers expect.

Lead with authenticity

Another approach is to embed authenticity into every corner of your strategy. Create a content strategy that includes behind-the-scenes videos, interviews with real customers or day-in-the-life follow-alongs.

Content like this will give audiences a better understanding of who you are and what you stand for.

Pay attention to keyword optimisation

Writing long-form, engaging captions with a clear SEO approach and keyword strategy is a proven way of getting your content seen by more people and standing out from the crowd.

Pair your caption strategy with the Instagram SEO fundamentals covered earlier: keyword-rich bios, descriptive alt text and geo-tags. When every surface of your profile is optimised for search, the compound effect drives consistent organic growth.

With Sprout’s AI Assist, you can get help writing engaging captions at scale. Small teams should also consider outsourcing this work to a creator.

Invest in micro-influencer collaborations

The most effective influencer collaborations rarely involve partnering with a big name. Campaigns are often more effective with micro-influencers that have 10,000 to 100,000 highly engaged followers.

As an example, English food producer Branston created a new potato brand, Nanna Tate, and partnered with food influencer Joe.Oxley on a unique recipe to engage his 50k+ followers who are all interested in food.

Source: Instagram

Humanise your brand

Going viral might still sound appealing, but sustainable success on Instagram is a long-term process that involves community building.

That means regularly responding to messages and comments, commenting on influencer content related to your niche and promoting and engaging with user-generated content. Use your brand’s Instagram account to foster meaningful connections with your fans and as a way of showing the human side of your business.

Keep up with the latest UK Instagram trends

With these UK Instagram trends and strategies, you can start to refine a stronger Instagram marketing approach. If you want to save time bringing it to life, start a free Sprout Social trial today and use our intuitive platform to drive smarter, faster results.

 

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2026 UK Instagram Statistics: Demographics, Engagement and Benchmarks

Instagram turns 16 this year, but its landscape in the UK is shifting faster than ever. While the platform’s overall dominance shows no signs of slowing, a major regulatory pivot is on the horizon.

With the UK government planning to ban under-16s from major social media platforms in Spring 2027 including Instagram, and switching off livestreaming and stranger communication by default for 16- and 17-year-olds, the era of unrestricted youth access is coming to an end. As the platform and its regulations mature, some brands must recalibrate their social strategies.

Discover the latest UK user stats, demographic shifts, and key digital marketing metrics. We’ll delve into exactly what has changed over the last year, what foundational truths remain the same, and how your brand can confidently navigate the rest of the year.

UK Instagram statistics that have changed in 2026:

• The Gen Alpha Blackout: With plans to block social media access for under-16s from Spring 2027 and 16- to 17-year-olds facing heavy default restrictions, brands can no longer rely on young teenagers for explosive, top-of-funnel viral growth.
• The Shift to Hard ROI: Vanity metrics are out. The influencer economy now demands hard performance data, prioritising Earned Media Value (EMV) and credibility scores to justify marketing spend to the C-suite.
• Democratised Reach: The algorithm heavily favours short-form vertical video, allowing smaller accounts (under 10k followers) to achieve massive 20% view rates on Reels without needing enterprise-level ad budgets.

UK Instagram statistics that remain the same as 2025:

• Unrivalled Engagement: Despite global shifts, the UK remains a powerhouse for screen time. Users still spend a massive 53 minutes per day on the app, far exceeding the global average.
• The Core Purchasing Demographic: The 25–34 age group remains the largest and most lucrative segment (29.7%), demanding authentic, high-trust visual storytelling.
• Static Ads Still Drive Revenue: While video is critical for discovery, in-feed static image ads remain the unsung heroes, driving 53.7% of global ad revenue with incredibly efficient CPCs.

What are the key Instagram usage statistics for the UK?

Let’s start by understanding the basics. Here’s a rundown of local social media statistics.

Monthly active users

Instagram has roughly 35 million users in the UK and 2 billion globally, as of 2026. That’s almost 60% of the population over the age of 13. That makes the UK one of the top countries for Instagram use per capita.

Year-over-year growth in the UK has slowed—last year’s was 2.7% while it was 10% globally. This isn’t a cause for concern—Instagram is likely reaching a saturation point in the UK. As you’ll see below, the app is very popular.

How much time do UK users spend on Instagram?

People in the UK still use Instagram significantly more than the global average. UK users continue to spend an average of 53 minutes per day, or six hours a week, on the platform. What is changing is the global average. This year that has moved from 29 to 33 minutes per day—or just over three hours a week. While the UK remains a powerhouse for screen time, global adoption of immersive formats like Reels is dragging the worldwide average upward.

How many people have downloaded Instagram globally?

Instagram is the leading social media network in terms of downloads, with 3.8 billion downloads globally as of early 2025.

The exact number of downloads in the United Kingdom isn’t publicly available. However, given its healthy active user count and high time spent on the app, it’s likely that app download numbers are also high.

How often do UK users post on Instagram?

Roughly 95 million posts are uploaded to Instagram daily, worldwide. While Meta doesn’t publish country-specific data on posting, based on their high engagement on the platform, it’s likely that UK users contribute more than their fair share.

Who uses Instagram in the UK? 2026 demographics

Gender distribution

Globally, Instagram has a roughly equal split between male and female users, around 50.6% male and 49.4% female. But in the UK, it skews female.

As of recent data, 55% of UK Instagram users are female and 45% of users are male.

Age groups

The bulk of UK Instagram users are Gen Z and Millennials, but Gen Xers and Boomers are still active on the platform.

Here’s the current breakdown:

• 18–24 years: 19.1%
• 25–34 years: 30.5%
• 35–44 years: 20.7%
• 45–54 years: 13.8%
• 55–64 years: 9.8%
• 65+ years: 6.2%

Instagram’s core UK audience is maturing . A key difference we see in year-on-year Instagram data is that the 25–34 year olds are securely the largest segment. As the user base shifts solidly into their prime purchasing years, brands need to pivot their content from pure top-of-funnel entertainment to high-trust, conversion-focused storytelling.

Regional penetration

Instagram is used widely across major UK cities, but there is some regional variation both in the size of the user base and frequency of use.

Londoners use Instagram far more than any other city—more than half use Instagram once per month. After that, the highest percentage of Instagram users can be found in other major cities like Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Glasgow, or student towns like Cambridge.

Usage is lowest in the North East at 29.6% and across Wales at 30.9%, where the median age is slightly higher than that of the rest of the UK.

In short, Instagram use is higher where the average age is younger.

6 essential Instagram marketing statistics for UK brands

Now that the basics are covered, take a look at the key stats behind the social network.

1. Popular Instagram post types

Check out a brief rundown of the different types of Instagram posts:

• Instagram Reels are short-form, vertical videos designed to entertain or inform quickly. Instagram Reels often reach a wide audience due to Instagram’s algorithm favouring them over other posts.
• Carousels are multi-image or video posts that users swipe through. Great for storytelling, tutorials or sharing detailed information in a visually engaging way.
• Instagram stories are content that disappears after 24 hours. Ideal for behind-the-scenes, quick updates, polls and casual engagement. Use Instagram stories to engage your existing audience, not to reach new people.
• Static images are single-photo posts that appear on your main feed. They’re best for striking visuals, announcements or clean branded posts.

Here’s an example of a static Instagram post:

Source: Instagram

2. Leading creators on Instagram UK

Looking to launch an influencer marketing campaign to help you reach your target audience? The Instagram influencer economy in the UK is shifting away from vanity metrics (follower counts) toward concrete ROI (Earned Media Value). Marketers need this data to justify their ad spend to leadership.

Molly-Mae Hague (@mollymae)

Source: Instagram

• Followers: 8.5M
• Earned Media Value (EMV): €397K per post
• Niche: Fashion, beauty & makeup, lifestyle

Molly-Mae has one of the highest Instagram follower counts in the UK. She’s known for her chic, yet down-to-earth and relatable style. Collaborate with her on your next fashion, beauty or wellness campaign.

Arron Crascall (@arron_crascall)

Source: Instagram

• Followers: 4.6M
• Earned Media Value (EMV): Reels EMV of €499K (7.34% average Reels engagement rate)
• Niche: Comedy, entertainment, and lifestyle

Arron is one of the UK’s top online comedy talents, widely recognised for his hilarious public reaction videos and offbeat sketches. With an incredibly high engagement rate on Reels, he is perfect for brands looking to inject humour into their campaigns and reach a broad, highly active 18–34 demographic through viral-style content.

Simon Squibb (@simonsquibb)

Source: Instagram

• Followers: 5.7M
• Earned Media Value (EMV): Estimated €100K EMV specifically on Reels
• Niche: Business, entrepreneurship, and inspiration

Simon is the most followed business influencer in the UK, famous for his grassroots “#GiveWithoutTake” movement and inspiring street interviews. He’s on a mission to help people start their own businesses, making him an ideal partner for B2B brands, tech platforms, or financial services looking to connect with a motivated, highly engaged entrepreneurial audience.

Mega-influencer benchmarks are great for inspiration. But tracking follower counts and manual engagement calculations won’t help you prove real campaign impact to leadership. Right now, too many marketing leaders are stuck fishing for true business value in a sea of disjointed creator spreadsheets. To turn unpredictable creator partnerships into a reliable engine for business growth, your team must look past surface-level vanity metrics.

Sprout Social’s Influencer Marketing platform eliminates the guesswork by pulling accurate performance metrics directly via official network APIs. Instead of getting bogged down in manual tracking, your teams can automatically capture Earned Media Value (EMV), map out exact campaign ROI and build executive-ready reports showing how your creator strategy directly fuels your bottom line.

3. Popular hashtags on UK Instagram

While we recommend primarily choosing hashtags that best describe your niche, hopping on a popular Instagram hashtag with high search volume is also worthwhile. Like entering a lottery, you’ve got to be in it to win it.

Here are some frequently used hashtags in the UK, according to Tags Finder:

• #london
• #travel
• #uk
• #love
• #photography
• #instagood
• #england
• #photooftheday
• #art
• #unitedkingdom
• #picoftheday

4. Engagement rates for Instagram posts

Now take a look at average engagement rates we collected from Sprout Social Influencer Marketing.

Engagement rates are calculated by:

Engagement rate = (Total engagements ÷ Total reach or followers) × 100

Engagements include likes, comments, shares and saves. The average engagement rate across all content types is 1.8%.

Carousel posts

Source: Instagram

Average engagement rate: 1.7%

Great for sharing multiple related images, storytelling, tutorials or showcasing products. Engagement rates aren’t the highest, but having users swipe through the content increases time spent on the post, improving discoverability.

Instagram Reels

Source: Instagram

Average engagement rate: 2.08%

Small accounts (under 10,000 followers) achieve impressive 20% view rates on Reels, as the algorithm heavily favours short-form, vertical video for brand discovery. Short, engaging videos that capture attention quickly. Use these to attract new followers and to keep your audience engaged.

Instagram Stories

Source: Instagram

Average engagement rate: 5–10%

Brands with under 10,000 followers have seen a 35% increase in their Story reach rate. While engagement rates are typically high, Instagram stories last only 24 hours and are shared only with your followers. Use stories to keep your user base engaged and up to date.

5. Popular brand categories

Instagram is all about creating rich, aspirational video content—more so than any other social media platform. If you’re selling products with visual appeal or are associated with an aspirational aesthetic, you’ll find a natural home on Instagram.

Categories that shine on Instagram in the UK:

Fashion & apparel

With a predominantly female audience (roughly 55%), fashion and apparel thrive in the UK. Mega-influencers like Molly-Mae Hague (whose audience is 81% female) frequently collaborate with fashion brands like Adidas.

• 55% of Gen Z and Millennial Instagram users say their fashion purchases were inspired by Instagram.
• Fashion brands see an average 1.65% engagement rate on Instagram compared to 0.58% on Facebook.
• Instagram Stories account for 25% of fashion campaign impressions.

Beauty & skincare

Creators actively partner with beauty and skincare brands, capitalising on the platform’s young, female demographic to promote products through tutorials and reviews.

• Beauty content video views on Instagram rose by 68% year-over-year in the first half of 2024.
• 4 out of 5 beauty shoppers use Instagram daily.
• 67% of beauty shoppers turn to influencers to find new products.

Health & wellness

Fitness creators generate heavy engagement in this sector, connecting via highly curated aesthetics.

• 67% of Gen Z and Millennial users follow at least one wellness brand on Instagram.
• Reels featuring fitness content see 2x the average completion rate.

6. Instagram ad reach

When it comes to advertising on Instagram, what we are seeing this year compared to last is that despite the hype around video, static image ads remain the bread and butter for revenue growth.

Instagram saw a 1% increase in potential ad reach in the UK. That’s 300,000 users. It may seem modest, but keep in mind that Instagram launched 16 years ago. It’s well past the explosive growth stage we’re seeing on TikTok. At this stage, a 1% increase is meaningful.

Here’s a quick breakdown of ad performance per format:

Instagram Carousel ads

• CTR: 0.8–1.2%
• CPC: $0.70–$1.00
• CPM: $5–$7
• Conversion rate: 1–1.5%
• Engagement rate: 0.91%

Instagram Reels ads

• CTR: ~1.5%
• CPC: $0.60–$0.90
• CPM: $6–$8
• Conversion rate: 1.2–1.6%
• Engagement rate: 1.48%

Instagram Static Image ads

• CTR: 0.5–0.8%
• CPC: $0.80–$1.10
• CPM: $4–$6
• Conversion rate: 0.8–1.2%
• Engagement rate: 0.69%

Instagram Stories ads

• CTR: 0.3–0.6%
• CPC: $0.90–$1.20
• CPM: $5–$7
• Conversion rate: 0.7–1.0%
• Engagement rate: 0.40%

How often should you post on Instagram in the UK?

Conventional wisdom says that 3–5 times per week and sharing a daily story is the minimum you should post. This allows you to:

• Remain top of mind for your existing customer base
• Reach a wider audience
• Experiment and adjust based on audience reaction

But can you overdo it? The answer is complicated but in short, yes. Overposting is an overlooked but important issue that needs to be considered.

Overposting can lead to:

• Unfollows and mutes
• Reduced engagement
• Brand damage and a loss of trust
• Less inspired content

But where do you draw the line? This is where it gets tricky—it depends on your audience. Our take? Experiment. Try upping your posts. If you’re met with an icy reception, you might be overdoing it. If your engagement is still going strong, keep cracking.

When is the best time to post on Instagram UK?

If you can only manage the bare minimum for an effective Instagram strategy, it pays to get your timing down. In fact, a handful of well-timed posts can be better than regular posting during off-peak times.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the best times to post per industry:

• Retail & e-commerce: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12 PM
• Food & beverage: Saturdays at 11 AM
• Health & fitness: Around 6 AM

Remember that these times aren’t ironclad, and there may be slight variations depending on your specific audience. We recommend you try Sprout’s ViralPost®. It algorithmically determines your best time to post based on your own data.

Social media marketing guided by insight—with Sprout Social

Instagram in the UK is a different animal. It has one of the highest penetration rates per capita, and users are on the platform for longer per month than anyone else in the world. In short, Brits love Instagram and smart marketers should take note.

But knowing trends is half the battle. The next step is to take action. That’s where Sprout Social comes in. With powerful analytics, content scheduling and performance insights tailored to your audience, Sprout makes it easy to act on the trends explored here.

Try Sprout Social today and turn your Instagram insights into real business results.

The post 2026 UK Instagram Statistics: Demographics, Engagement and Benchmarks appeared first on Sprout Social.

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Put Your Signup Form Exactly Where You Want It

Where a signup form sits on your page changes who fills it out. A form embedded in your content catches someone mid-read, already interested. A form in a sidebar catches someone who's scanning.

AWeber's AI Signup Form Builder now creates inline forms and places them on your site visually. Pick the spot on your live page, confirm it, and the form is there. No code required.

Create your inline form in seconds

Three starting points, depending on how you like to work.

1. Custom prompt: Describe what you want and mention it's an inline form for your site.

2. Fill-in-the-blanks: Answer a few prompts and select "embeds directly on my website" as your form type.

3. Template gallery: Browse the gallery and choose any inline template to start from.

All three start in the same form editor. Adjust your copy, design, and settings before you place anything.

Place it with four clicks

Once your form looks right, placing it takes four steps.

1. Click the Settings tab in the form editor

2. Set the domain where you want the form to appear and confirm your signup form snippet is installed

3. Click "Place on my site"

4. Your live site opens with the placement widget active. Click the section you want, then click "Confirm placement"

The placement widget shows your actual site, not a wireframe or a preview. You're clicking a real location on your real pages. Then you click confirm, and the form is there.

Works on self-hosted sites

This works on self-hosted sites: WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Lovable, and more. Each domain connects independently in Settings. If you manage multiple sites or client accounts, each form connects to a specific domain and placements stay organized across properties.

Put your form where your readers already are

Your content is already bringing people in. An inline form turns that attention into subscribers, without sending anyone to a separate page or hoping they notice a sidebar. Open the AI Signup Form Builder, build your inline form, and place it exactly where it belongs.

The post Put Your Signup Form Exactly Where You Want It appeared first on AWeber.

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How to use Snapchat for business in 2026

Snapchat marketing is a direct line for brands to engage and build trust with younger audiences.

The network has over 900 million monthly active users as of 2025, and continues to grow in popularity, with Gen Z and younger millennials using Snapchat daily to connect with friends, family and creators. This presents an opportunity for brands to become part of these conversations through ephemeral content and influencer partnerships.

In this article, we share Snapchat’s core features, tips on how to build your Snapchat marketing strategy and highlight brands already making an impact on the network.

If you’re new to the platform and need a complete walkthrough of its features, get up to speed with our comprehensive guide on how to use Snapchat.

What is Snapchat marketing?

Snapchat marketing is a digital marketing strategy that uses the network’s features and advertising tools to attract an audience and grow your bottom line. The key is to create strategies that work with how users naturally engage on the network.

For brands catering to Gen Z or younger millennials, Snapchat marketing offers a significant opportunity to impact your business. Snapchat reaches 90% of 13 to 24-year-olds and 75% of 13 to 34-year-olds in more than 25 countries, making it one of the most effective networks for brands looking to target Gen Z and younger Millennials.

Beyond the user base, what sets Snapchat apart is how it’s used. Snapchat’s 2024 How We Snap Report, found that users connect (59%) and share content (49%) with friends and family on Snapchat more than any other social network. They also open the app more than 30 times a day, showing how central Snapchat is to communication and decision-making.

The frequency of use and intimacy make Snapchat a valuable space for brands to engage younger audiences in a way that feels authentic.

To start using Snapchat for marketing, your brand will need a public profile. If you want to run ads, access analytics through Snapchat Insights or unlock features like creating AR Lenses, you’ll also need a Snapchat Business account.

Let’s go through Snapchat’s core features and how to use each one strategically.

Stories

Stories are Snapchat’s most versatile feature. They’re short (up to a minute), vertical video or image Snaps that disappear after 24 hours, and they’re useful. Stories can support just about any marketing goal, from driving traffic to boosting engagement.

The key is to keep Stories casual, timely and built around a strong hook. Netflix gets this right. The example shows how they use Stories to promote new shows like KPop Demon Hunters.

One feature of Stories is that you can add swipe-up or tap-through links if you have a Snapchat Business account. This allows viewers to take direct action, making Stories a valuable tool in your broader Snapchat marketing strategy. And with Sprout Social, you can schedule and publish Stories alongside your other networks, ensuring your campaigns launch at the appropriate time.

Saved Stories (Story Highlights)

Saved Stories, or story highlights, let you pin select content to your public profile so it doesn’t disappear after 24 hours.

Treat it as your “About Us” section on Snapchat. It should be evergreen content that helps new viewers quickly get a feel for your brand. Bumble, for example, uses Saved Stories to share dating tips and brand values, providing a clear snapshot of what it stands for.

Spotlight

Spotlight is Snapchat’s answer to scrollable short-form video. Public profiles can submit video Snaps to Spotlight, giving brands a chance to expand the reach of their Snapchat marketing without adding budget. Spotlight is also a good place to repurpose vertical content that has performed well on other networks (just be sure to remove the watermark) or test new creative. With Sprout, you can easily identify and repurpose successful content from other networks for your Spotlight, and then schedule and publish it on Snapchat all in one place.

If your video is selected, it appears on the Spotlight feed and on your Spotlight tab, giving your brand a credibility boost and wider exposure. Spotlight content tends to perform best when it features relevant trends, leads with personality and fits Snapchat’s casual tone.

Discover

Discover is Snapchat’s curated content feed featuring Stories from media partners, creators and sponsored brand content. It’s personalized to each user’s interests and engagement history, offering a prime spot for visibility.

While organic Stories from public profiles don’t appear in Discover, your brand’s Snap Ads and Sponsored Stories do, putting you alongside trusted content creators. This is what makes Discover one of the best ways to connect with users already looking to engage.

AR Lenses

AR Lenses are Snapchat’s signature feature. They are interactive, enabling users to try on products, play branded games or explore immersive 3D animations.

As an example of a seasonal approach, Carhartt created a gamified Santa Lens where users dressed as Santa flew over homes dropping Carhartt products onto houses. Branded AR Lenses like these are fun and memorable, making them a smart way to promote products and enhance brand awareness and engagement.

Filters

Filters are static overlays that users can add to a Snap after it’s taken, like frames, color treatments or location-based tags. Branded Filters are best used to boost visibility around product launches, holidays, events or store openings by encouraging shoppers to create user-generated content (UGC).

Why use Snapchat for business?

On Snapchat, the ephemeral nature of the content is valuable to brands. Stories vanish after 24 hours, and this drives immediate engagement compared to the slow-burning reach of in-feed content.

When paired with a user base comprising of Gen Z and Millennials who value unfiltered content, it essentially creates an environment where brands meet audiences that are eager to engage and connect.

Here’s a breakdown of how the ephemeral nature of Snapchat is helpful to brands.

Encourage brand engagement

Ephemeral content is one of Snapchat’s defining features and biggest engagement drivers. Because Stories disappear quickly, they create a built-in sense of urgency and trigger FOMO, prompting users to act fast.

The time limit also lowers the pressure to engage. When content feels temporary, it encourages more spontaneous views, clicks and replies. This low-stakes environment helps brands drive interaction in a way that feels native to the network.

Build trust through authenticity

Snapchatters value realness. Almost 80% say it’s where they are their “most authentic and real” selves. When brands meet their audience with the same level of authenticity, it creates deeper loyalty and stronger emotional connections.

A Sprout Social study found that 64% of consumers say they want to feel more connected to the brands they follow. Snapchat’s brand of ephemeral content removes the polish and pressure and delivers on that desire.

Reach Gen Z and Millennials easily

Three-quarters of Snapchatters are under age 35. This network gives you a direct line to Gen Z and younger millennials because Snapchat is already part of their daily habits.

Here are the top five daily activities on Snapchat:

1. 66% Watch stories from friends and family
2. 65% Send messages (to an individual or group)
3. 60% Watch videos
4. 58% Take pictures using the app camera
5. 52% Watch stories from content creators

Posting content frequently that feels casual and spontaneous helps you match the way users already behave on the app.

If your goal is to connect with younger consumers, Snapchat helps you meet them on a network they already trust and use every day.

How to use Snapchat for business marketing

Snapchat has a lot to offer brands that use it strategically.

To do that, you’ll need clear goals, a keen pulse on your audience and a way to measure success. It’s also important to know which Snapchat features, influencers and ad formats align with your goals, because content alone won’t drive results.

A smart Snapchat marketing strategy uses the right tools to deliver the right message to the right people. Here’s how to make it happen.

1. Define your objectives

Your Snapchat strategy should ladder up to your broader social media goals. Here are some examples of what that could look like:

• To increase website traffic, use link sharing in Stories to drive users to your website.
• To boost brand awareness, use Discover or sponsored Lenses to reach a wider audience.
• Focused on loyalty? Partner with a creator or post more frequently on Stories to keep followers coming back.

Decide what Snapchat metrics you want to improve, and create content that will help you get there.

2. Know your audience

Creating a strong social media content strategy comes down to knowing who you’re talking to. Snapchat Insights give you access to audience demographics like age, gender, location and general interests so you can speak directly to the right people. Use this information to refine your content and tailor your creative accordingly.

If you’re working with creators, audience alignment matters just as much. Use Sprout’s Influencer Marketing solution to identify Snapchat influencers and review their Public Stories, Spotlight posts and past brand partnerships to make sure their audience and content align with your goals.

 

3. Create engaging content

The 2025 Sprout Social Index™ found that consumers want authentic, relatable and entertaining content from brands, and Snapchat content is no exception to this.

People open the app to see and share real moments, so create content that reflects your brand while also meeting that expectation.

Here are some tips for creating engaging lo-fi content for Snapchat:

• Shoot vertically, and use movement, varied camera angles and POV shots to keep things visually dynamic.
• Add captions, filters, frames and music to match Snapchat’s casual, expressive style.
• Use stickers to give your audience a way to participate and make your Stories feel more like a two-way conversation.
• Focus on content that shows humor, challenges, behind-the-scenes moments or real customer experiences. According to the 2026 Social Media Content Strategy Report, consumers say brands should make human-generated content their #1 priority, and these topics feed into that desire.

Looking for ideas to get you started? Try behind-the-scenes stories about your products or people, tutorials, sneak peeks into upcoming launches or branded filters and lenses that inspire user-generated content.

4. Leverage Snapchat’s features

Snapchat offers creative tools to help your brand stand out. Each serves a different purpose, so make sure you’re choosing features that support your goals.

Lenses (AR filters)

Tre best used for brand engagement. These interactive filters let users play with your brand in a fun, immersive way. The average Snapchat user interacts with a Lens for at least 20 seconds, and is likely to share images or videos of themselves using the filter, turning branded content into promotional UGC.

Geofilters

Geofilters are ideal for location-based awareness and in-person engagement. These static or animated overlays appear when a user is in a designated area. Use them around storefronts, events or product drops to boost in-person engagement and visibility. For example, Adidas created a custom Geofilter to celebrate the reopening of its redesigned Oxford Street store in London.

Discover and Spotlight

These are ideal for broadening reach. These areas give you a place to showcase content that’s more editorial, entertaining or creator-driven. Consider series-style Stories, branded storytelling or creator collaborations that fit Snapchat’s tone.

5. Engage in influencer and creator collaborations

Influencer marketing enables you to tap into built-in audiences and build credibility with younger users. The 2025 State of Influencer Marketing Report found that 86% of consumers make a purchase inspired by an influencer at least once a year, and Gen Z is most likely to make purchases based on influencer recommendations.

One option is a Snapchat takeover, where a creator posts directly from your brand’s account for the day. These takeovers encourage followers to engage and often include cross-promotion on the influencer’s own channels.

A tip to keep in mind: Make the takeover content exclusive to Snapchat. It might seem like a good idea to repost stories from another network, like Instagram, but you want to encourage people to follow along specifically on Snapchat.

Another strategy is to supply products for unboxings, demos or reviews and give creators the space to share their unbiased opinions. The more the content feels genuine, the more likely it is to build connection and drive action. The same report found that 47% of consumers said they want authenticity from influencers, even when posting sponsored content.

Whatever type of collaboration you try, aim to prioritize creators who already use Snapchat regularly and match your tone.

6. Invest in Snapchat ads

If you have an ad budget, Snapchat ads offer several ways to reach your audience and drive results. Snapchat ads combine formats (how an ad looks and behaves) with placements (where users see them).

Strong Snapchat ads capture attention fast. Keep them short, use motion, bold text and vertical design, use sound strategically and include a clear call to action.

For targeting, use Snapchat’s Ad Manager to reach users by location, interest, demographics or behaviors, and test different ad types to see what lands with your audience.

Here are the most common ad formats and what they’re best used for.

Sponsored Snaps

Sponsored Snaps are Snapchat’s most basic and widely used ad format. They are single-image or video ads that include a swipe-up CTA and are shown between Stories, Discover or Spotlight. Sponsored Snaps are a fast, full-screen way to drive action without complex creative.

Collection ads

Collection ads are commonly used by e-commerce brands. These ads have shoppable, tappable tiles that link directly to products and are shown in the same places as sponsored Snaps.

Story ads

Full-screen, skippable vertical ads (3–20 frames) shown in the Discover tab. These ads are often paired with an interactive call-to-action link to drive brand awareness, app installs or conversions. Candy Crush ran a Story ad featuring a paid actor giving a testimonial as he plays the game, with a direct CTA to download the app.

Sponsored filters and lenses

Boost reach and awareness with sponsored versions of Snapchat’s most engaging features, Filters and Lenses. These can be targeted by location or interest.

For example, the Superman movie promo featured a full sponsored Lens tab with multiple options, including a virtual movie theater experience co-branded with Toyota.

Commercials

Commercial ads only appear within curated shows on Snapchat Discover. These ads are non-skippable for the first 6 seconds and are ideal for high-impact brand awareness during premium content.

Lead generation ads

Lead gen ads include an embedded lead form, allowing Snapchatters to quickly share details like their email and name without leaving the app. They are great for service-based brands.

7. Measure and optimize

To measure success on Snapchat, you need to track performance consistently. Every Snapchat business account has access to Snapchat Insights analytics, where you can monitor metrics like Story views, average view time, completion rate and audience demographics.

Start by setting benchmarks aligned with your goals and adjust accordingly. If a Story has a high open rate but low completion, test shorter or more visual content. Or if your goal is conversions, track swipe-ups or lead form completions. This is how you optimize for impact.

When partnering with creators, Sprout’s Influencer Marketing platform enables you to track influencer performance across Snapchat campaigns. You can also monitor metrics like views, shares, subscribers and engagement to better understand ROI and refine your strategy with every campaign.

Snapchat marketing strategy examples

Thanks to its playful features and highly engaged audience, Snapchat is full of creative marketing campaigns that brands are using to meet their goals. Here are some real-world Snapchat marketing strategy examples from top brands on Snapchat to inspire you.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)

The IOC partnered with Snapchat to create a series of AR Lenses for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

To celebrate 100 years since the Olympics were last held in the city, two of the Lenses blended archival visuals with iconic locations. Fans in Paris could walk down the Champs-Élysées or Rue de Rivoli and see them transformed into 1924 Paris. Meanwhile, global users got a glimpse of the original Yves-du-Manoir stadium (see below).

These kinds of immersive experiences show how you can use AR to bring people into a story, and gives you a glimpse into what’s possible when content meets context.

Hopper

Hopper, an app known for finding the best flight deals, ran static Sponsored Snaps that targeted users by location. Users saw deals from their own city, which worked. Snapchat users were 37% more likely to download the app and view a specific flight compared to users from other networks.

This campaign is a great example of how smart geo-targeting can drive results.

Gatorade

Gatorade brought its classic Super Bowl “Gatorade dunk” to Snapchat with a viral AR Lens. Snapchatters could open their mouths to dunk themselves, and send it to friends, turning a well-known sports moment into something fun and shareable.

The success of this Lens is proof that when you can turn a brand ritual into an interactive experience, people want to join in.

Temu

Temu nailed influencer marketing on Snapchat by paying creators around the world to show off their $0 hauls. The campaign promoted a deal where new users could get free items just by signing up and using an influencer’s code. It’s an offer that sounds too good to be true, but with trusted Snapchat creators behind it, people were more likely to convert.

Embrace the future of Snapchat marketing

Used intentionally, Snapchat helps brands reach Millennials and Gen Z, drive traffic and influence purchase decisions.

As Snapchat grows, the demand for authentic, unpolished content remains strong. By prioritizing network-appropriate content, genuine storytelling and smart collaborations, your brand can stay ahead and capture lasting attention on this dynamic network.

Begin incorporating Snapchat into your brand’s social media approach with a free Sprout Social trial.

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