More and more small business are recognising the power of Instagram and the part it can play in their marketing strategy. In March this year, Instagram released a statement hinting that the chronological feed may be making a return. However, they have finally confirmed that no, this is not the case.
So what does this news, and the new algorithm mean for small-business owners? Well, it would appear that it’s worth curating the accounts you are following, taking some time to spruce up your hashtag strategy and to start commenting more regularly on accounts you’re interested in to be seen higher in their feeds. Here are ten things you need to know about the new Instagram algorithm:
- The chronological feed is not coming back. Period.
- The new algorithm is based on three key components: interest (how much Instagram thinks you’ll like a post based on past behaviour on similar content), timeliness (priority given to recent posts) and relationship (priority given to accounts you comment on regularly and are tagged in photos with)
- Other factors include: frequency (the more you open the app, the more your feed will look chronological, the less you open the app, the more your feed will be sorted by what it thinks you like instead of chronologically), following (how many people you follow as the more peeps you follow, the more content Instagram has to choose from), usage (the more time you spend on the app, the deeper Instagram has to dig for more content to show you)
- Posting a video won’t get you more reach or a higher ranking in the home feed.
- Using stories or Instagram live won’t increase your post reach in the feed.
- The Instagram “shadowban” does not exist. Any posts that were affected by this “bug” were considered spammy from using the same hashtags repeatedly.
- You will not get punished for using all 30 hashtags on a post.
- If you keep scrolling eventually you’ll see EVERY post by EVERYONE you follow.
- Switching to an Instagram business profile will not affect your reach. Personal and business profiles are treated equally.
- There is no limit to how often you can post. Continuous posting won’t affect your account performance. However, posting at your peak times is still recommended.
Brooke Vulinovich, Social Media Expert, www.villamanagement.com.au
