What Instagram’s New Chronological Feed Update Means For You

Is Instagram’s new supposed chronological feed going to benefit or hinder your business?

Instagram recently announced a new change that will bring the chronological feed back, however not to the same extent it originally was. As Harper’s Bazaar’s article outlines, Instagram is attempting to show newer posts at the top of your feed more often. They will also be introducing a ‘new posts’ button that will refresh your feed with newer posts. These changes will allow you to see more recent content and ensure that you’re keeping up to date with current events.

These changes were introduced in response to backlash Instagram received for abandoning their chronological feed to resemble a Facebook-like feed where they show you posts they think you care more about. The push towards reverting to the chronological feed has been gaining substantial momentum over the past few months. These changes were possibly pushed forward due to the wrath Facebook is facing over data and security breaches and Snapchat’s new update that was poorly received by their users.

While these changes are a step in the right direction for users, it does mean as a business you need to work even harder. This shift to showing more recent posts more often means that you need to optimise the times you post content and evaluate the possible reach. If currently you are posting at times that were convenient for you and expected the algorithm to push your post to the top of feeds through engagement and clever hashtags, then you need to change what you’re doing. You now need to analyse and decide when your target audience and existing followers are most active and set yourself reminders to be posting at that time. You also need to be wary of competitors who are going to be posting and cluttering news feeds at these times too. This presents the opportunity for you to ensure your content stands out and is personalised so users are engaged with your posts.

By paying attention to how your users are using Instagram and moulding your content so that your brand fits into your target audiences’ lifestyles, is the way to overcome this new hurdle. However, while these changes are happening and will change Instagram feeds, the platform is not switching to a completely chronological feed. At the end of the day Instagram is still a business and won’t trade off business interests.

This is a major update that will impact your business and hinder engagement and growth. However, there are ways to overcome this and more thoughtful strategies and increased knowledge of your customer will be key during this change.

If you have any questions or concerns about this new update, please leave a comment below.

 

Image soured: https://www.imore.com/hey-instagram-please-stop-ruining-my-feed-your-algorithm

 

The Beast that is the Instagram Algorithm

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/