I came across this blog post on The Pigeon Letters that describes some of the changes that have been happening on Instagram this year because of the notorious algorithm. I have definitely felt the effect of this, from decreased likes to a reduction in my reach and profile views. Its becoming harder and harder to grow your account organically.
A number of features of this algorithm include:
- Instagram only showing a fraction of your followers your post if it doesn’t get as much engagement initially
- Getting shadow banned, which is an Instagram term referring to being invisible to those who aren’t following you. You can be shadow banned for a variety of reasons, including liking or commenting on too many posts in a short period of time, using bots to automatically engage for you, unfollowing too many accounts or being in breach of Instagram’s guidelines
- Pods leading to a shadow ban. Instagram pods refer to when a group of Instagram users form a group on Instagram and agree to like and comment on every new post a member releases straight away. This is a technique used to increase engagement in the initial hours that the post goes live
- Short comments of around less than 4 words do not count as engagement anymore. This means you need to encourage people to make meaningful comments, beside “Great post” “thumbs up”
These are some of the features of this evolved Instagram algorithm that could be affecting your business. As organic growth is harder to achieve you will need to assess the viability of using Instagram’s promote feature to promote your brand. Additionally, using influencers to market your products or services is another handy way to overcome this hurdle.
As engagement forms a major part in the success of an Instagram account its really important to respond and engage with comments you receive in each of your posts. This can be the difference between short comments that don’t mean anything anymore, to longer and more effective comments that foster a community relationship on your account. You also need to be using relevant hashtags that will expose you to your target audience. A handy way to engage with your existing followers is using Instagram stories, but in an authentic way. Use storytelling to bring personality to your account and share your brand values so that your followers feel like they can connect with your brand, instead of posting generic and static content that can lead to an unfollow.
Spending more time to hone your social media strategy, specifically for Instagram, will ensure you don’t sink among your competitors as the platform has become more competitive. Really consider your ability and need to use promotions and influencers to boost your brand.
If you have any thoughts or questions please leave a comment below.
Image sourced from https://weedoo.tech/instagram-arab-world-statistics-feb-2017/
Social Nimash 