The Instagram algorithm is undergoing a dramatic update that will soon affect the way online markets promote offers on one of the biggest social networks around. The update itself is very simple, it reorders images and videos in users’ feeds based on their interests. The reason for the update according to Instagram is that users miss 70% of the posts that show up in their feeds, meaning they only see 30% of the content posted by users and brands they follow. The social network will try to make the above 30% as relevant as possible.
This change is likely to result in the loss of opportunities for new brands and business to appear in users’ feeds and in reduced exposure for brands that successfully penetrated the feed in the past. Either way, promoting brands on Instagram won’t be the same. Although at this point Instagram is not the leading marketing platform like the rest of the SMM platforms (Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are still in the lead), the amount of fresh, active users is increasing daily and so is the marketing potential of the network.
There is a variety of opinions in business circles on the recent update; some think that the change will have an adverse effect on marketing activities and that Instagram will discriminate business pages in favor of personal ones (which is what Facebook is often accused of). Others argue that the impending algorithm won't hurt brands if marketers create content that is truly relevant and engaging for users.
Affiliates that want to continue promoting products on Instagram need to start or to continue focusing on quality content that drives engagement. They will need to make an extra push to increase engagement now finally start to notice those comments people leave on their images and respond to them, use it as an opportunity to strike a conversation and to comments back.
A lot of people who follow brands and celebrities will deliberately go to the handle to see what’s new. People follow Nike, Lexus or Kim Kardashian; because they know that each new post will be amazing (in their opinion). So, strive to make your Instagram accounts a mecca for striking visual content as much as you can. This is the only way to ensure people won’t stop engaging with your content, whatever the algorithm is.
At the end of the day, it’s another change that the online marketer will need to adjust and get used to.
Similar updates have happened previously and quite frequently in the last few years, which is the reason why the DNA of online marketing has become much more adaptive and flexible.
It seems that this is just another step in the evolution of social networks that are becoming less organic and more engineered to follow Facebook’s lookalike audience system. Will the users’ behavior change following the modification of the algorithm? Only time will tell… In the meantime, it presents an opportunity to improve your marketing activities and test out new methods.
To learn more about marketing on Instagram, see our blog posts on Instagram shoutouts and Instagress automation software.
This change is likely to result in the loss of opportunities for new brands and business to appear in users’ feeds and in reduced exposure for brands that successfully penetrated the feed in the past. Either way, promoting brands on Instagram won’t be the same. Although at this point Instagram is not the leading marketing platform like the rest of the SMM platforms (Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are still in the lead), the amount of fresh, active users is increasing daily and so is the marketing potential of the network.
There is a variety of opinions in business circles on the recent update; some think that the change will have an adverse effect on marketing activities and that Instagram will discriminate business pages in favor of personal ones (which is what Facebook is often accused of). Others argue that the impending algorithm won't hurt brands if marketers create content that is truly relevant and engaging for users.
Affiliates that want to continue promoting products on Instagram need to start or to continue focusing on quality content that drives engagement. They will need to make an extra push to increase engagement now finally start to notice those comments people leave on their images and respond to them, use it as an opportunity to strike a conversation and to comments back.
A lot of people who follow brands and celebrities will deliberately go to the handle to see what’s new. People follow Nike, Lexus or Kim Kardashian; because they know that each new post will be amazing (in their opinion). So, strive to make your Instagram accounts a mecca for striking visual content as much as you can. This is the only way to ensure people won’t stop engaging with your content, whatever the algorithm is.
At the end of the day, it’s another change that the online marketer will need to adjust and get used to.
Similar updates have happened previously and quite frequently in the last few years, which is the reason why the DNA of online marketing has become much more adaptive and flexible.
It seems that this is just another step in the evolution of social networks that are becoming less organic and more engineered to follow Facebook’s lookalike audience system. Will the users’ behavior change following the modification of the algorithm? Only time will tell… In the meantime, it presents an opportunity to improve your marketing activities and test out new methods.
To learn more about marketing on Instagram, see our blog posts on Instagram shoutouts and Instagress automation software.
