Socially, we often think that standing out means being the biggest and loudest. Lately, though, a playful trend on Instagram suggests the opposite: being the smallest. The tiniest.

As algorithmic discovery has become the primary way audiences discover new things, social marketing has shifted to chasing algorithmic favorability: designing posts to fit whatever formats platforms are pushing, exploiting creative hacks that keep viewers engaged, or riding trends that guarantee exposure.

But this week, we’re seeing something different: a format invented not by platforms but by users themselves. It’s the rise of the 5120 x 1080 cinematic slim post: a subversive, audience-led experiment that now, ironically, algorithms are boosting into feeds, creating a premium opportunity for entertainment marketers.

Here’s a roundup of how brands have been playing with the format this week:

• Duolingo: link

• MAC Cosmetics: link

• FX: link

• Fenty Beauty: link

• Poppi: link

• HBO Max: link

• Visit Copenhagen: link

• PETA: link

• Athletic Brewing: link

• Getty Museum: link

While 5120 x 1080 is flooding feeds, the real opportunity for marketers is to bring originality to it. Instead of simply cropping footage to the trendy aspect ratio, consider how the spirit of “slim posting” can raise the creative bar. Use the format not just to follow a trend, but to flip it—finding new ways to tell stories, deliver messages, and stand out by being intentionally, inventively small.