content

3 Ways To Keep Up With The Instagram Algorithm

4th June, 2024 by Kristen Leaman

Are you struggling to keep up with the Instagram algorithm? Or finding ways to be on top of your social media game to impress your clients? Here are 3 ways to keep up with the Instagram algorithm!

We’ve got your back! As a key influencer marketing and social media agency in Singapore, we know the landscape inside out.

Remember to ace the algorithm of the best social media platform, you must think like it.

Here are some top updates from Instagram last week:

#1 Leveling The Playing Field For Micro Influencers

Are you a fitness influencer or lifestyle influencer with a small following base and striving to grow it?

Fear no more as Instagram wants to give its smaller KOLs, like you, a chance to be recognized. As key opinion leaders in their niche content styles, these small accounts drive targeted reach towards topics their followers are passionate about.

Update: Instagram plans to redistribute the reach from larger accounts to smaller accounts.

#2 Authentic Content Is In

Anyone can just copy a trend and or reshare a stitched video. But it’s creativity that Instagram really wants to reward these days.

Make your content look less like social ads and more like a genuine expression of yourself as announced by Instagram’s CEO Adam Mosseri. Be more than just a virtual influencer who jumps on the trend bandwagon!

Update: The gram will push our content that is new, never-seen before

Watch Mosseri’s Video To Get The Full Scoop

#3 Posting 3 Times A Week

Previously, all social media influencers were all running into a rabbit hole of constantly churning out content everyday. No matter what it talked about or how it resonated with their followers, they just posted it.

But times are changing! With the audience attention span lasting an average of only 8 seconds, they want to see content that really appeals to their emotions and pain points.

Update: Instagram prefers quality over quantity. Make sure what you are posting adds value to your audiences’ lives.

Quit The Rat Race, Instead Stay Updated

Have you noted down these 3 ways to keep up with the Instagram algorithm? Follow Indie Collaborates, your trusted and innovative influencer marketing agency in Singapore, for more glorious algorithm news!

These 8 Fitness Influencers Can Be Your Workout Buddies

23rd April, 2024 by Kristen Leaman

Looking for fitness influencers who can be your workout buddies? Tired of solo sweat sessions and lackluster gym routines? Well, hold onto your water bottles because we’re about to introduce you to these 8 fitness influencers who can be your dream team of workout buddies.

Imagine crushing your goals alongside these fitness powerhouses, across various sports such as bouldering, surfing, trekking, skateboarding, and more.

So grab your favorite workout gear and lace those sneakers up to get ready to meet the dynamic personalities who will transform your fitness journey from mundane to magnificent!

#1@aureliang_: “The only bad workout is the one you didn’t do” 🏋️‍♀️⛳️🌄

Meet Aurelia, who is an unstoppable force of strength and motivation. Passionate for golf and weightlifting, she also features quite an energetic dose of her morning runs to burn off those calories.

#2 @runsohfast: “You can do it all!” 🏃‍♂️🌟

Lace up with Soh Rui, who conquers marathons and breaks records while sharing tips on how to ace fitness focus. Founder of RunSohFast Academy, he’ll guide, motivate and inspire you through grueling marathon challenges and heart-pounding races that will leave you quite literally breathless!

#3 @cheryltaysg: “Life is like cycling, you got to keep finding a balance” 🚴‍♂️🏁

Say hello to Cheryl, the fearless female motoring athlete who redefines what it means to be a powerhouse of sport and energy. When she’s not leaving competitors in the dust on the cycling track, she is caught hitting the gym and trying out other sports like surfing, snowboarding or bouldering.

#4 @jamiepang: “They said to lead by example” 👟🏋️‍♀️

Jamie’s fitness goals are contagious as seasoned weightlifter, trainer, boulderer, hiker and the list goes on. Her sports fit checks are top-notch and her feed is a treasure trove of adventure and daring challenges.

#5 @hassansunny18: “Nothing feels as good as a win” ⚽️💪

Imagine encountering the formidable goalkeeper of the Singapore Singapore Premier League Champions. Hassan’s unmatched skills on the field and disciplined regimen makes him an ideal role model for leading an active lifestyle while being a national football icon.

#6 @nxtasha.ann: “Showing up is better than not at all” 🧗🤾‍♀️

Want to develop confidence and conviction in your workout routine, then you have to look at Natasha’s fit-spiration vlogs that share every ounce of it. For her, a healthy body translates into a healthy mind and skin too!

#7 @quahzhengwen: “Zoned in. We keep moving forward” 🏊‍♂️🥇✨

Get ready to plunge into the world of swimming excellence with Zheng Wen, Singapore’s dynamic male swimmer at the SEA Games. From record-breaking swims to embodying the spirit of dedication, his fitness journey is a thrill and joy ride that can’t be missed.

#8 @val.nsm: “I’d rather be out there on the field with you ”🏃‍♀️⚡

Valerie will unleash your full potential in staying the healthiest as an athlete and personal trainer. Her training mantras will build your stamina, strength and resilience into successfully hitting the gym, field or workout session.

We’ve Reached The End!

We hope that you enjoyed our rundown of these 8 fitness influencers who can be your workout buddies! Till then, get ready to sweat, smile, and slay those goals with your new squad of fitness rockstars 💪🌟

You can check out our other blogs on cool social media trends, mom-fluencers to look out for, and more at Indie Collaborates. See you there!

2024 Gen Z Trends

13th December, 2023 by Kristen Leaman

Gen Zs are churning social media trends faster than a flash. And we’re excited to reveal what they have on the horizon in 2024 for Instagram. From the nostalgic yearbook photos to the viral Hailey Bieber strawberry makeup to the “He’s Just a Ken” trend, 2023 was surely eventful and a memorable year of trends.

Trends are not only inspired by tech changes, but are increasingly inspired by pop culture and social influences as well as key influencers who help Gen Zs discover new ideas, products and brands on social media. Hence, we can say that Gen Z trends will be more than just passing tides in 2024. Instead, they are crucial cultural, political, commercial or even historical fabrics that shape our society.

@haileybieber Strawberry Girl Summer Makeup

Keeping up with trends is as important as keeping up with the world around you. So without further ado, let’s get you kept up!

Social Media Trends

Instagram has introduced so many new features as ways for its audiences to interact with one another. In 2022, it introduced the heart icon function on stories for users to show their appreciation of content that really resonates with them.

Recently, it introduced notes where users can pen their daily thoughts, emojis or even share music, to increase user activity and engagement. What’s more? You can now double tap on a note to like it!

What this all adds up to ultimately, is the demand for more interaction and engagement with each other’s content, ideas and profiles. Gen Zs want to forge more meaningful connections via social media and these new functions help them do just the same.

We’re keeping a look out for more Instagram feature updates, are you?

Fashion & Beauty Trends

82% of Gen Zs express their concern for the environment. These intensifying dialogues on climate change push for more sustainable and conscious everyday living. Trends like #CapsuleWardrobe or #Thrifting will shed light into the versatility of vintage clothing and further the importance of green fashion.

In beauty, we’ve seen more and more Gen Zs questioning traditional and judgemental norms that suppress individuals. It is no longer about forming fixed beauty standards but breaking-free from them and embracing one’s individuality.

Even world-famous brands like Rare Beauty, owned by popular singer and actress, Selena Gomez, are making a statement in their product ranges to embrace inner beauty and simplicity with a “You glow, girl” mantra.

Brand @rarebeauty bringing confidence to the table

Lifestyle Trends

#WorkOnYourself and #GrowthEra have made quite the rounds, except with the new year on the rise, these will take full form in 2024’s resolutions.

As a diverse bunch of individuals, Gen Zs are not only witty and adaptive but also emotional and empathetic. They look for constant motivation doses on social media, whether it be for career, friendship or relationship goals.

And what better way than an Instagram reel, is the most effective content type for storytelling and emotional impact.

All in all, Gen Zs’ top priority is to safeguard their emotional and physical well-being. #KeepCalmAndMoveOn !

Taking A Stand Trends

With global issues and tensions on the rise, Instagram is a popular open forum for activism.

More and more Gen Zs follow figures that take a stand for a movement. Whether it has been posting plain black squares on the feed to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement or talking about our lifestyle impacts on climate change.

Not taking a stand on social media is now as good as supporting the alleged oppressing party for Gen Zs. Thus, we can see more voices, including celebrities and influencers, sharing their stance on global situations. Even though this may result in more noise and even more polarization of views, the impact is yet to be felt.

At Indie Collaborates, we’re keeping up with these trends and continually adapting our strategies to create content that resonates with Gen Z’s evolving needs and values. We’re all about staying ahead of the curve, ensuring your brand connects authentically with today’s audience.

All caught up?

Follow us at Indie Collaborates on Instagram to keep up with more 2024 Gen Z trends on the horizon and we’ll be sure not to disappoint. Till then, stay trendy!

Want Your Influencer Projects To Go Further With Less?

25th August, 2023 by Kristen Leaman

Indie Collaborates believes that adding a seeding element to your influencer campaign will push your visibility, reach and content requirements further, saving you time and money. With seeding, your influencer projects can go further with less.

We’re thrilled to announce that Indie Collaborates is taking seeding campaigns to the next level in elevating your brand.

User generated content (UGC) takes up significant talkability and popularity in the social media space. This is your opportunity to leverage more unique content style to increase your brand’s exposure in a targeted approach, without blowing your budget.

Dive into seeding with us!

What is Seeding?

Seeding is the act of gifting products or cash gift cards to a range of suited influencers.

In return, influencers create unvetted and unpaid content that best suits their creator style and engagement. This creativity and freedom in curation is what makes seeding content viral, shareable and authentic.

Seeding allows influencers to channel their unfiltered, everyday love for your brand’s products. What better way to reach a new and a wider range of audiences than this?

Why Seeding?

#1 Complements your 360° influencer marketing strategy. A comprehensive strategy via organic UGC ensures continued conversations about your brand.

Increased talkability equals to increased brand awareness.

#2 Credibility and Social Proof of product promotion from trusted voices. Influencers are as good as your everyday consumers, except with broader reach and being opinion leaders in their space of influence.

#3 Content that is of both quality and purpose. Brand tagging and shoutouts help generate quality content that brands can also reuse

Why Indie Collaborates?

Our past track record of successful and holistic influencer seeding campaigns has proved the following:

– Over the years, we’ve nurtured a large community of influencers from diverse spaces and tiers. We have managed to retain long-term and strong relationships with them.

– We’ve helped build a three-way long-term partnership between your brand, the influencer, and audiences. Only to produce more ongoing collaborations and brand exposure.

Cotton On Kids x @jan_twentii

– We work closely with influencers to gain valuable insights into how your products are perceived. Their content reflects real-world feedback for your brand to absorb and improve on accordingly.

– Mass content production churned out at higher efficiency. We cut the tedious processes of content storyboards and draft submissions to maximize content output and candid influencer direction.

Cotton On Body x @schar.rs

Start Planning With Us!

Want to find out more to get started on your first seeding campaign with Indie Collaborates? Reach out to us and we are ready to deep dive with you.

Social Media Forges Decisions For Gen Z

1st August, 2023 by Kristen Leaman

First Instagram, Pinterest, followed by TikTok, and now Threads. Social media forges Gen Z decisions as a one stop shop for making purchases, socialising and influencer marketing.

According to Global Web Index (GWI), social media is the top source of brand discovery and product research for Gen Z. Another way to put it – it has become the new search engine that plays a huge deal breaker or maker for Gen Zs’ consumption choices.

Why Social Media?

Algorithms are able to collect, synthesize and use search history, likes on posts or profile view information to smartly recommend relevant information.

It’s almost like social media can read our minds without us even asking for things explicitly. How futuristic is that?!

Another intriguing characteristic is the ability of social networks to gain a vast critical mass. It allows all people, from anywhere and diverse backgrounds to participate and co-create. This inclusivity fosters real views and opinions from real people.

These ‘real’ people perhaps share the same geographical location or psychographic characteristics as their audiences. In turn, making their content more relatable and impactful as 3 in 10 Gen Z use social media to gain inspiration and recommendations from other users.

This is where influencers hold an indispensable role in creating user generated content (UGC) that showcase the brand’s products while urging organic conversations surrounding it.

UGC forms a collaborative space for influencers and their audiences to co-create experiences. It allows them to be inspired than simply be told or informed what to buy, as contrasted to a sponsored ad.

As seen from the graph above, influencer endorsements strongly drive Gen Z brand and product discovery.

But to truly guide what content to produce, where to produce and what it should entail read further for some surfacing trends that you must know as a marketer!

Gen Z Trends Spotted On Social Media

#1 Crisis Fatigue

With the abundance of persisting issues like the pandemic, Ukraine-Russia War and of course climate change hanging like loose swords, Gen Zs have been hit harder than others.

No solutions, just problems. This is what they feel which causes them to feel a state of powerlessness and frustration.

Takeaway: Create campaign messages that have a clear call-to-action, where some results from audience action are almost immediately seen. AKA instant gratification to avoid audience boredom or burnt out.

Comments on Climate Change Post Displaying Surrendering Sentiments, Source: @unclimatechange

#2 TikTok As An All-Time Favorite

The fastest-rising platform for Gen Z. It’s about time your brand moves into this space before it gets saturated.

Takeaway: Content that smoothly links influencers to brands’ websites. Providing an omni-channel experience builds trust and is hassle-free to urge conversions.

#3 Memes

A content style that uses a satirical and lighthearted tone of looking at life. They are an entertaining way of expressing ideas and processing emotions as they communicate a slice of life that everyone can resonate with.

Takeaway: Embrace content styles like memes, vlogs, reviews, etc, that showcase everyday ideas, routines or struggles. This creates virality and builds relatability with your audiences.

#4 Resurrection of 90s & Early 00s Fashion and Beats

Songs are trending from an era nostalgically remembered by Gen Z. Below are classic beats rejuvenated in today’s TikToks and Reels:

Associated with an ounce of coolness, fashion inspos like low waist jeans or pastel mini dresses (below) are back with a fresh look.

Image From Vogue Italia March 1994, Source: @90sanxiety

Takeaway: Incorporate those aspirations and embellishments in your campaigns that Gen Z admire and find comfort in. Oh and keep up with the trends!

24 Ways To Love Yourself In ‘24

11th February, 2022 by Kristen Leaman

It’s a new year. Time to start fresh with 24 ways to love yourself in 2024.

Maybe this year it’s time to show love to the most important person first, yourself.

We understand that practicing self-love may be challenging to some of us during tough times or even seen as a luxury with our hectic schedules. However, self-love is essential in supporting one’s physical, psychological, and spiritual growth!

Self-love is key to your mental health and physical wellness.

So do yourself a favour, take a deep breath and try these 24 ways to love yourself in 2024:

1.Start your day by meditating for two minutes. Close your eyes and breathe!

2. Buy yourself fresh flowers.

3. Clean your house or apartment.

4. Organize your workspace and files

5. Each night before bed write in your gratitude journal.

6. Make it a priority to get eight hours of sleep.

7. Read a good book.

8. Do something for yourself without guilt.

9. Treat yourself and buy something you’ve always wanted.

10. Practice the art of saying “no.”

11. Be of service — volunteer, help a friend, etc.

12. Compliment someone today.

13. Get your sweat on. Go for a hike or long walk.

14. Smile bright 🙂

15. Try something new: dance classes, cooking lessons, yoga.

16. Call your mom and tell her you love her (or your dad, sister, etc.).

17. Snuggle up with your honey or four-legged friend.

18. Allow yourself to have that piece of chocolate and savour every minute.

19. Shut off your email and cellphone for an hour.

20. Self-love mantra: “I am enough. I have enough. I do enough.”

21. Let go of comparison to others.

22. Write a love letter to your ex and burn it.

23. Look in the mirror and compliment yourself hard!

24. Take 15 minutes of each day to do what makes you happy.

We hope that this year, you’ll give yourself the love you deserve. Remember the most important relationship in life is the relationship with yourself 😉

TikTok or Instagram, Which Would You Use?

27th May, 2020 by Kristen Leaman

Social media is an important part of many people’s lives, you either love it or loathe it and wherever you stand there seems to be no avoiding it. As a marketer it’s vital to keep up-to-date on the rapidly evolving digital landscape. In today’s world, one would not be remiss in suggesting that TikTok rivals Instagram’s popularity. But what exactly differs between the 2 social media apps and if you were a marketer, which would you use? Tiktok or Instagram?

TIKTOK:

A video platform allowing users to watch clips, and create up to 60 seconds of footage mainly based around dancing, comedy skits, and lip-syncing.

Monthly Active Users: Approximately 2.5 billion globally, marking significant growth from previous years.
User Demographics:
- Age:
  - 13–17 years: 20%
  - 18–24 years: 36%
  - 25–34 years: 25%
  - 35–44 years: 12%
  - 45+ years: 7%
- Gender: Approximately 55% female and 45% male users.
Average Daily Usage: Users spend an average of 95 minutes per day on the platform, reflecting its highly engaging content and algorithm.
Content Focus: Short-form videos encompassing entertainment, comedy, educational content, and lip-syncing, with features like duets and challenges enhancing user interaction.

INSTAGRAM:

A platform for sharing pictures, you can also upload videos on Instagram using IGTV as well as film short clips on IG stories.

Monthly Active Users: Approximately 2.11 billion globally.
User Demographics
- Age:
  - 18–24 years: 31.3%
  - 25–34 years: 31%
  - 35–44 years: 16%
  - 45–54 years: 11%
  - 55+ years: 10%
- Gender: Approximately 49.4% female and 50.6% male users.
Average Daily Usage: Users spend an average of 32 minutes per day on the platform.
Content Focus: A photo-sharing platform, Instagram also supports videos through Reels, IGTV, and Stories, catering to a wide range of content creators and audiences.

TikTok vs. Instagram Engagement Rate

In 2025, TikTok continues to lead the pack in social media engagement, with average rates hovering between 2.5% and 7.5% depending on audience size—making it the most interactive platform today. Instagram holds steady in second place, showing engagement between 1.77% and 3.65%, despite some sources noting a dip compared to previous years. Both platforms still outperform others like Facebook and X, which see much lower interaction rates around 0.15%

Compared to Instagram—a platform many marketers are comfortable with thanks to its tried and tested campaign formats and measurable results—TikTok has had a steeper learning curve. But that’s changing fast. While some brands were initially hesitant due to unfamiliarity or concerns about ROI, TikTok’s sky-high engagement rates are making it harder to ignore. In fact, nano influencers on TikTok see average engagement rates of over 15%, compared to Instagram’s 4.2%. Even at the mega influencer level, TikTok still pulls ahead significantly.

Although TikTok was once known for its younger user base, that’s also evolving. While it still strongly appeals to Gen Z, over 60% of its audience is now aged 18–34. That makes it a valuable platform for brands aiming to capture emerging spending power—not just teenage trends. On the other hand, Instagram remains a solid choice for targeting a slightly older, more established audience with higher disposable income and a preference for polished content.

That said, the smartest brands are finding ways to integrate both platforms into their marketing mix. TikTok is ideal for launching creative campaigns—like hashtag challenges or trend-driven collabs with creators—to boost visibility and follower growth. Instagram, meanwhile, continues to be the space for refined storytelling, strong visuals, and ongoing brand engagement.

All in all, Instagram still stands out as the polished, professional platform, but TikTok’s explosive growth and unmatched engagement can’t be ignored. If brands want to stay relevant—especially with Gen Z and younger millennials—being present on TikTok isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore, it’s essential. The key is not choosing one over the other, but knowing how to use both to your brand’s advantage.