It was only a matter of time before Instagram decides to shake things up. With over 400 million regular users now, an algorithm change were bound to happen.
In 2015 interactions on Instagram declined from 5% to 3% during the year. Why?
As explained in Quintly, there are two factors: 1) higher post frequency makes a more crowded space and posts are easier to miss and 2) the more followers the smaller the interaction percentage (interactions divided by posts and followers).
In a blog post, Instagram announced that they’re focusing on optimizing the post order. They state that most users miss an average of 70% of content in their feeds. They want to make sure the 30% of content you do see is the best content possible.
Please know that Instagram isn’t removing any posts in the newsfeed, just that the posts are being reordered. Instagram states: As we begin, we’re focusing on optimizing the order — all the posts will still be there, just in a different order.
For example, if there are accounts that you engage with more often, Instagram considers this to be more relevant to you and these posts will be moved to the top of your feed.
There is no direct feedback on how many photos will be bumped up or if this changes every time you log in.
There is also no direct feedback on whether this will be affecting Hashtags, which is why you want to make sure you have a really good hashtag strategy in place. (I teach this in my FREE 10 Day Instagram Challenge you can Click Here to Get Access)
The good news is we don’t have to worry about a big change happening, similar to Facebook’s big pay-to-play move. (At least for now).
You may think that, for real-time posts like contests or sales, Instagram’s new changes could potentially make these posts less relevant if they don’t show up in chronological order, however, think about running a “tag a friend” contest and the number of comments a post like this would generate. I believe it would actually show up longer and higher in the feed versus if it was in chronological order.
I believe this new algorithm feed will actually increase engagement for the majority of Instagram users, especially if you are putting in the time and energy to build the right audience and serve them with content and messaging they want to hear.
Instagram is working on rolling out this new feature slowly to make sure they get it just right. Their intentions are to create a better overall experience for everyone.
If you only have a few minutes to spend on Instagram at a time, wouldn’t you rather see the best of everything you missed versus what’s been posted the last few minutes?
Personally, I would rather see the best of everything, but it would also be nice to have the option, like in Facebook, to be able to chose what and how I want to view my feed.
Regardless, the accounts that will benefit from this change are brands that have put in the time to create a well-rounded strategy that includes engaging photos, captions that inspire and hashtags that put you in front of the right people.
How do YOU feel about this new change? Comment below and let me know!
