Put a Finger Down, Eye Test Meme, and the Fall Love Triangle (Trends for October: Week 3)
I almost didn't make one of the templates in this week's pack.
The eye test meme has been going back and forth on my feed for a while. I'd see it, scroll past, see it again, and argue with myself about whether it was still worth making. Then it kept showing up. And it kept being funny. So it made the cut, and honestly I'm glad, because it turned out to be one of the easiest sells in the whole drop.
That little argument with myself is a good way into this week. Every trend in this pack does the same job in a different outfit. It helps the right person look at your account and think, oh, she gets me. I'm in the right place.
Some do it by showing who you are. Some do it by making your follower see themselves. And a couple do it by sneaking the thing you sell right into the joke.
That's the twist we built into every template. The original trends are fun. Our versions are fun and they point at your business. Your product goes last in the love triangle. Your service is the answer to the eye test. Your offer becomes one of the "but I'm also" lines.
So let's go through them, in order, with the Canva tips to make each one yours in minutes.
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Trend One: But I'm Also... Reel
You've probably seen the but I'm also trend already. Someone says what they do for a living, then rattles off everything else they are, one word popping up after another. It's an about me Instagram Reel that doesn't feel like a boring introduction.
What the But I'm Also... Reel is
The format is a short video clip in the background with animated text on top. The first line says what you are. Then the words "but I'm also" kick in and a list of other things you are animates onto the screen, one at a time.
A social media manager might say, "I'm a social media manager, but I'm also a mom, an athlete, a coffee snob." A boutique might say, "We are a boutique, but we're also a community, a styling service, a Saturday hangout." It works for a person and it works for a brand.
I already animated every line for you, so the words appear exactly the way the trend does.
Why the about me Instagram Reel trend is working
People buy from people. That's not new, but this trend makes it easy. Instead of a stiff "meet the founder" Reel, you get a fast, playful brand introduction Reel that shows the human behind the business in about seven seconds.
It also gives new followers a reason to stay. Somebody who shares one of your "but I'm also" lines suddenly feels like they know you.
How to customize the But I'm Also... Reel in Canva
Start by dropping your own clip into the background. Mine is a seven second clip, and that length works great. A clip of people is ideal. If you sell products, a video or photo of your product works too.
Once your video goes in, the Reel changes length to match your clip. So if your video runs long, trim it back to about seven seconds.
Next, fill in the text. Don't mess with the animation. Just click into the text boxes I already made and type over them. If you want fewer lines, delete the extras. If you want more, duplicate one of the existing text boxes instead of making a new one, because the duplicate keeps the animation.
You can change the text color too. Just stick with a light color so it shows up on top of your video. Some darker colors disappear completely.
Then download it as an MP4 and you're done. Seriously, that's it.
Trend Two: Fall Love Triangle Emoji Meme
This is the fall love triangle meme, also floating around as the love triangle emoji meme. Three cozy fall things, connected in a triangle, and a whole lot of feelings about all three.
What the Fall Love Triangle Emoji Meme is
It's a single image meme. Three fall favorites sit at the points of a triangle, like it's a dramatic love story between you, your TV show, and your cozy blanket.
Our version comes with pumpkin spice latte and cozy blanket already in there, and a spot for the thing you sell. That's the twist. Your product or service becomes part of the fall love story.
Why the fall love triangle meme is working
Memes say things faster than captions ever could. A funny fall Instagram post gets shared because people send it to the friend who is exactly like that.
And when your offer shows up right next to pumpkin spice lattes and blankets, it tells your audience this is the missing piece of their fall. No pushy pitch needed.
How to customize the Fall Love Triangle Emoji Meme in Canva
You have two easy ways to fill this one in. You can swap in your favorite show, cozy blanket, and the thing you sell. Or you can keep pumpkin spice latte and cozy blanket and just add your thing.
My one big tip is to put the thing you sell last. The first two set the mood, and your offer lands as the punchline. It reads so much better that way.
You can also change the background color and the font color to match your brand. If you have a brand font that is bold and easy to read on Instagram, go ahead and use it here. If your font is thin or fancy, leave mine alone so people can read it on a phone.
Add your handle, since memes get screenshotted and shared all over. That's the whole thing.
Trend Three: Put A Finger Down Carousel
The put a finger down challenge started on TikTok and now it's back on Instagram as a carousel. Each slide says "put a finger down if" and something super specific, and your follower counts along.
What the Put A Finger Down Carousel is
It's a six page carousel with a hand graphic and a "put a finger down if" line on every slide. As your follower swipes, they put a finger down for every line that's true for them.
There are a lot of pages in the template, but don't panic. It's the same carousel in two versions, one with a darker skin color hand and one with a lighter skin color hand, each on a different background so you can tell them apart. Pick the one that fits you.
I used a handwritten script font that I really love, and it's easy to read. I'll probably post mine just like this.
Why the relatable Instagram carousel trend is working
The goal here is simple. You want people to swipe through and realize your account is the place for them. Every finger they put down is a little "same" moment.
Relatable carousels also get sent to friends, which is exactly what we want. When someone sends your post with "this is literally you," a new person finds your account through someone they trust.
How to customize the Put A Finger Down Carousel in Canva
The magic is in the specifics. Fill in each "put a finger down if" line with something very specific to your audience. "Put a finger down if you've rewritten the same caption four times" hits way harder than "put a finger down if you're busy." The more specific you get, the more your people feel seen.
Change the text color if you want, and swap the script font only if it really doesn't match your vibe.
For the background, find one simple background you like, add it to the first page, then copy it and paste it onto every page. That keeps the whole carousel matching.
Remember it's six pages, so make sure you're working in just one version, darker or lighter, and download those six pages. Add your handle so the slides travel with your name on them.
Trend Four: Lately in My SD Card Reel
You may know this one as the lately on my SD card trend. It's an aesthetic photo dump Reel built from quick one second clips, like you just popped the memory card out of your digital camera.
What the Lately in My SD Card Reel is
The Reel is seven pages of video clips, each one second long, with a graphic of an SD card and the phrase coming together on screen. "Lately" sits on the first clip, then "oh my" animates in, then "SD card," and the rest of the clips carry the full phrase so it feels like it builds as you watch.
I already did all that animation, so you never have to touch it.
Why the aesthetic photo dump Reel trend is working
This one is pure brand awareness, and it is very, very popular right now. It's a behind the scenes Instagram Reel without the pressure of talking to camera.
Your audience gets a quick peek at your life and your business, packing orders, a client call, your coffee, your kids' soccer game, whatever is real for you. It feels personal and pretty at the same time, which is a hard combo to pull off on your own.
How to customize the Lately in My SD Card Reel in Canva
This is the one with the most steps, so slow down here.
Drag and drop your own video onto each page. Then trim every clip to one second. Click on the actual video, look for the little scissors and the number up top, and change it to one second. Do that for every single clip.
Now the important part. The Reel lives on pages 16 through 22 of the template. When you download, choose a custom page range of 16 to 22, pick video as the file type, and do not click download separate files. You want one single file, because that one file is your Reel.
You don't need to add your handle on this one. Reels don't really get screenshotted the way posts do.
Trend Five: Eye Test Meme
This is the eye test meme, sometimes called the color test meme or the "if it's red you're normal" meme. You've seen it. An image, a list of colors, and a verdict depending on what you see.
What the Eye Test Meme is
The meme shows a picture and a little legend. If it looks red, you're normal. If it looks yellow, you need a doctor. And if it looks blue, you need whatever you sell.
That last line is our twist. Blue means you need a social media manager. Or a new dress. Or a course, a coach, a candle, whatever your business offers.
Why the vision test meme is working
It's playful and it makes people stop and actually look. Everyone checks what color they see, even though they know it's a joke.
And it tells your audience exactly what they need, in a way that makes them laugh instead of roll their eyes. That's the kind of selling this audience likes.
How to customize the Eye Test Meme in Canva
First, change the image to something you sell. If you sell products, use a product photo. If you sell a course or a service, a little computer or anything that represents your offer works great.
Next, update the colors in the legend so the blue line says what you sell.
Then make your photo blue. Click your image and change the color to blue. Some photos switch easily. If yours doesn't, go to edit, then adjust, and push the temperature all the way to blue. You can also play with the tint, depending on the colors in your photo. Another shortcut is to copy the style from my image and apply it to yours.
Change the background if you want and add your handle. Done.
Which October Instagram Trend Should You Post First?
Start with the Eye Test Meme. It has been circulating for a while, so its window is the shortest of the bunch. Post it this week while people still recognize it.
Next up is the Fall Love Triangle Emoji Meme. Pumpkin spice and cozy blanket season won't wait for you, so get this one up before October wraps and definitely before fall content starts to feel stale in November. It's also the fastest template in the pack.
The Lately in My SD Card Reel is hot right now, so post it within the next week or two. It takes a little more time because of the one second trims, so save it for an afternoon when you have twenty minutes.
The But I'm Also... Reel is easy to post any week. Use it whenever you have a batch of new followers who don't know you yet.
The Put A Finger Down Carousel is the most timeless of the five. If you have a slow week in November, it's ready and waiting.
If you are already inside Your Template Club, log in and grab this pack. If you have been thinking about joining, this week is a great time to see exactly what you get with every Trend Drop.
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Photo: KVC Photography
About Manu Muraro
Manu Muraro is the founder of Your Social Team, a content marketing brand helping small business owners grow through strategic email marketing and Instagram content.
She’s the creator of Your Template Club, one of the first Canva template subscriptions designed for Instagram, and the founder of Your Inbox Team, a weekly email marketing membership that helps entrepreneurs send consistent, high-converting emails in under 15 minutes.
Manu is also the creator of The Reelies Awards, the first award show celebrating Small Business Owners and Creators’ creativity and originality in Instagram Reels.
A former creative strategist at Cartoon Network, Manu brings award-winning experience to everything she creates — from viral Reels to done-for-you content that saves time and drives results.
👉 Follow Manu at Your Social Team on Instagram