Since its beginning, Instagram, the uber-popular, mobile image-sharing social media platform, has shown its users a linear feed. Basically, the posts you see from the accounts you follow are in chronological order with the most recent photos at the top.
Pretty soon, that won’t be the case anymore. Instagram, which was semi-recently acquired by Facebook, announced mid-March that its users’ feeds would soon conform to the algorithm long-since implemented by Facebook to show users what it thinks you care about most.
What?
“The order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the likelihood you’ll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post,” Instagram stated on their blog. “All the posts will still be there, just in a different order.”
Basically, Instagram estimates that its 75 million plus daily users miss 70% of what’s in their feed every time they open the app. It now wants to ensure you see the posts that matter to you or the top 30%. Ugh, math.
What it means for your followers
If your followers want to see your posts in their newsfeed, they’re going to have to start interacting with your posts.
Think about it. If you want Instagram’s little algorithm bots to know what you want to see in your feed, you’ve got to tell them. So double-tap your heart out.
What it means for you
Brands, businesses, Kim Kardashian, and the like are going to have to post interesting, double-tappable posts (not that Kim K has a problem with that).
Your posts are going to have to be attention-grabbing and worthy of your followers’ engagement so you can be in their 30%!
What next?
Well, Instagram hasn’t made the change yet, and they promised to let us know before doing so. But you do need to brace yourselves for the coming storm. Try this:
Strategy
- If you’re a brand on any social media platform, you’ve got to have a strategy. (If you don’t have one, get started now!) An Instagram strategy will allow you to set your goals, create the right content for the optimal reach, and get you on the right path to Insta-domination!
- Really, get your strategy set out first, then the rest of these steps will come so much easier.
Content
- Remember, you want your followers to like your posts. You want them to intentionally stop scrolling through their feed to like or comment and/or your post. So, first, you’ve got to step-up your graphics game. But don’t limit yourself to graphics. Instagram, in a not-so-unpopular move, just upped their video length from 15 to 60 seconds! You can also use apps like Boomerang and Hyperlapse to make fun, non-static posts for your brand’s feed.
- Then, write insanely interesting captions that your target audience will enjoy. Don’t be afraid to use emojis and popular hashtags, but be brief and concise with your messaging since Instagram puts more than 3 lines of text under a read more.
Community
- When it comes down to the nuts and bolts of it all, Instagram is primarily a platform that promotes users to join in on the community of other users with similar interests. Seek out your brand’s niche, build a nice house there, and invite all the strangers you meet to join you on the back porch. Because in the end, it’s the strangers you attracted who are going to become your brand’s biggest advocates.