This Year's Most Popular Instagram Hashtag Is 'This'

Instagram 14th Year-End Trend Summary
Jung Ki-hyun, Meta Korea CEO: "Metaverse, a New Opportunity to Communicate in Innovative Ways"

This year, the hashtags (#) that received the most attention among Instagram users were found to be ‘interior’, ‘room decoration’, ‘home styling’, and ‘camping’.

This Year on Instagram, Interest in 'Home Decoration'

On the 14th, Instagram held a press briefing and announced that hashtags related to home decoration had the highest number of followers in South Korea this year. The company explained that this reflects changes in users' interests following COVID-19.

In the global popular hashtags and accounts category, the power of K-pop and K-content stood out. ‘#BTS’ and the Netflix original series ‘#Squidgame (Ojingeo Game)’ were cited as representative English hashtags with many followers. K-pop stars such as BTS, BLACKPINK, IU, and Lee Young-ji, as well as Yoo Se-yoon, Lee Ha-nee, Noze, and Kim Yeon-koung, were also listed. The accounts with the most follower growth this year included Jung Ho-yeon, Wi Ha-joon, and Anupam, who appeared in Squidgame.

Instagram reported that in the short-form editing feature ‘Reels’, introduced earlier this year, humor, animals, dance, and food were very popular. Additionally, dance challenges by singers such as Jeon So-mi’s ‘Dumdum Challenge’ gained high popularity.

It was found that 90% of domestic Instagram users follow brand accounts. ‘Ongoing House’, operated by the startup Bucketplace, was the only brand to be listed among the accounts with many followers this year, coinciding with the stay-at-home and home interior trends.

Instagram introduced features such as ‘Collab’ this year. Collab allows content created jointly by collaborating accounts to be automatically posted simultaneously on both accounts. The ‘Live Rooms’ feature was added to Instagram Live, enabling up to four people to broadcast live together, up from the previous limit of two. The ‘Add Yours’ feature in Stories allows followers to create a chain of content together.

Instagram announced that the ‘Take a Break’ feature will be introduced in South Korea early next year. Jung Ki-hyun, CEO of Facebook Korea (Meta), explained, “It is a feature that notifies users who have been using the app for a certain amount of time to take a break and shows expert tips on resting.”

Jung said, “This year’s popular content and accounts on Instagram directly reflect social and cultural phenomena such as the K-content syndrome. We will strive to enable user communities to freely express what they like and to form new cultures and trends.”

Instagram’s Vision of the 'Metaverse'

At the press briefing, Instagram’s strategy for the metaverse was also revealed. Jung said, “The metaverse is a reality that will arrive within 10 years,” and explained, “As digital commerce rises, the metaverse will offer new opportunities for buyers and sellers to communicate in innovative ways.”

Jung introduced a case where LG Electronics utilized Instagram’s augmented reality (AR) effects. LG Electronics enabled consumers who prefer contactless methods during the COVID-19 situation to effectively experience large home appliances. Jung stated, “After adding AR effect features on Instagram and running an advertising campaign, the customer group exposed to the ads showed a higher purchase rate compared to those who were not.”

He added, “Going forward, brand creators will distribute high-quality content and lead the future social media industry by communicating with more fans through metaverse platforms.”