What's actually working on Instagram & TikTok right now (spring 2026 edition)

On The Instagram Feed

Instagram is constantly changing, which means what worked six months ago might not be doing you any favours now. The ever-changing trends, audios, formats and even editing styles can make it hard to keep up. But don’t worry, we live, breathe and INDULGE content. So, what should you actually be paying attention to?

Quality over quantity

Follower count isn’t the be-all and end-all anymore. Truthfully, no one cares if you have 2,000 or 20,000 followers. What they want is good content.

Watch time, shares and saves are much more useful signals for understanding whether your content is actually resonating with your audience. Whether someone is sharing your post with a friend or saving it to come back to later, these are the interactions that tell you people actually found your content worth something.

Get specific

Instagram wants to understand what your content is about, so make it easy for them. That means clear topics, captions and on-screen text that consistently speak to your niche can help your content better reach the right people. The more clearly you communicate what you’re about, the easier it is for Instagram to understand where your content belongs.

Carousels aren’t just for photos

Think beyond five pretty images and a “swipe for more”. Mixing photos, videos, text and graphics can make your carousels more engaging and give people more reason to keep swiping (swiping = watch time).

Basically, your carousel doesn’t have to be a digital photo album, so give people a reason to make it past the second slide.

Your first frame matters

You have, and I quote ‘50 milliseconds to 3 seconds’ to make an impression before someone decides whether to keep watching or scroll away. But this is not where we panic! A strong, clear on-screen title and an interesting first clip can give people a reason to stop and look.

Think of your first frame as the headline of your content.

Stories are for your people

Instagram Stories act as a relationship engine. This is where you can show the behind-the-scenes, share sneak previews, ask questions, bring people along for the day and generally make your brand feel a little more human.

The goal isn’t necessarily to reach thousands of new people. It’s to keep the people who already follow you interested and thinking about your brand. And the more frequently they see you, the more familiar your brand becomes. P.S this does not mean resharing your feed posts to your Instagram Stories.

…Over on TikTok

And then there’s TikTok. If Instagram is all about building your brand world, TikTok is increasingly about being discoverable, relatable and relevant in the moment.

TikTok is a search engine now

People aren’t just scrolling anymore, they’re actively using TikTok to find answers, recommendations and ideas to help solve their problems. That means being specific with your captions, on-screen text and spoken words can help your content show up for the things your audience is actually searching for.

So instead of making your caption something vague, think about what your ideal customer might actually type into TikTok to find your content.

Think beyond your followers.

Around 73% of TikTok views come from the For You Page, so chances are the person watching your video has absolutely no idea who you are. Every video you post needs to make sense without needing your 20 page backstory. Hook them quickly, give them context and then give them a reason to keep watching.

Polished isn’t always better

Compared to Instagram, TikTok gives you a little more leeway to be unpolished. Think FaceTime-style videos, unpopular opinions, skits and slightly chaotic content. These formats can feel much more native to TikTok.

Basically, you don’t need to make everything look perfect. It’s a chance to build character, have a laugh and show a little more of your business’s personality. Sometimes the slightly messy video is the one people actually stop for.

Be ready to react

TikTok rewards businesses that can join conversations while they’re happening. Trends, cultural moments, comments and timely topics can give you opportunities to create content that feels current rather than something that’s been sitting in your content calendar for six weeks.

Not every trend will be right for your brand, but being willing to jump on something while it’s relevant can make your content feel much more native to the platform.

And yes, longer videos are having a moment

TikTok isn’t just 15-second COVID dances anymore. Longer-form content can work when there’s actually something worth sticking around for - whether that’s a story, tutorial or an opinion.

The goal isn’t to make a video longer for the sake of it; it’s to make people want to stay.

The takeaway?

Don’t treat TikTok like Instagram, and don’t treat Instagram like TikTok… they’re different personalities!

Each platform has its own search behaviour, culture and content style, and the businesses doing well are creating for the specific platform rather than simply reposting what they’ve already made elsewhere.

If that seems daunting, that’s what we’re hear for. Enquire about our social media management retainers and we can take all of this off your hands.