Instagram’s Algorithm has Changed.
and what you should do for your brand.
If you haven’t noticed, over the past week, Instagram has changed its algorithm to be more personal.
In the past, when you click “explore”, you’d see photos of accounts with over 100K followers with over a thousand likes on the photo being on the tab.
Now, you see photos that look familiar, photos that look more like something you’d be interested in, photos that were taken near you, and photos that apparently don’t belong to celebrities.
That’s right. There are three main things that have changed in the user experience;
- MORE PERSONALISED EXPERIENCE
- MORE LOCAL EXPERIENCE
- MORE RELATABLE EXPERIENCE
Since I don’t work at Instagram, I can’t confirm that all of these assumptions are correct. However, these are the things I assume are happening and how you can make it work for your own benefit.
1. MORE LOCAL EXPERIENCE MEANS MORE CHANCE OF YOU BEING DISCOVERED BY THE LOCAL
This means the more you post interesting photos, the more chance you are in being seen on the “explore” tab by people in your area.
The new algorithm also lets you easily click on the location tagged and see all the photos that were tagged in the same location.
That means that if you are a local business targeting local customers, you can increase more chance of being discovered by tagging the location/area you’re in.
Before, you had to use #(location) to be discovered. Now, the location-based system works in your favour. You get to see more photos taken by people in your local area rather than seeing photos that are trending in New York or in Asia!!
This local discovery algorithm will certainly make people more hooked to Instagram since it is the only main place where people discover things visually. Pinterest is flooded with spams and it’s hard to find what is what besides creating pin boards of inspiration.
So if you’re a local business whether you’re in hospitality or retail, take more photos and post on Instagram. You now have all the chances of being discovered on the “explore” tab by people in your area.
2. MORE PERSONALISED EXPERIENCE MEANS YOUR PHOTOS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE SEEN BY PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN AND PASSIONATE ABOUT THE THINGS YOU SELL OR DO.
This algorithm looks into what you have liked in the past and it maps out your interest based on your past likes. It works in a similar way as Pinterest. I’ve liked a lot of beautiful food photos and architecture photos. So my “explore” tab tends to show photos of food and beautiful architecture, whether it’s near me or on the other side of the world, it doesn’t matter because Instagram now realises what kind of photos I like to look at!
What this means to your brand is that you have even a higher chance to reach out to people who are interested in what you do or sell. This empowers brands in storytelling and connecting to the target audience, build a tribe, and increase brand love.
Brands are businesses with personalities that resonate with the target market. These personalities can be transcended into photos, of which you post on your Instagram.
You now should take this chance to tell your brand story and connect with your target audience in a very engaging and affordable way.
3. MORE RELATABLE EXPERIENCE MEANS YOUR PHOTOS CAN NOW BE DISCOVERED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER
Photos that have been liked by my Instagram friends now show up on my “explore” tab. Instagram thinks that if your friend likes this photo, you might like it too. It works in a similar way as Facebook newsfeed where your newsfeed shows photos and articles that your friends have liked.
This even increases your chance of reaching out to people who are similar and are friends. What is a better way to build a connected tribe of like-minded individuals?
You should really think hard about what kind of content your target audience loves, and go hard at producing that because now you have all the chances of being seen and liked.
