Instagram Algorithm?! What You Need to Know
I’m sure that if you’ve been on Instagram lately, you’ve noticed the massive flood of “click to turn post notifications on” and “don’t let me get lost in the algorithm!” messages from your favorite accounts. As YouTube creators, we all know how important Instagram can be in maintaining your brand and promoting your videos, so what exactly does the new Instagram update mean and how do we get around it? All the information you need is right here!
So what is it?
Instagram is switching to an algorithm, much like Facebook and Twitter. Remember how years ago, your Facebook feed displayed the most recent posts from all of your friends? You’ve probably noticed that lately you’re seeing posts from close friends and accounts that you interact with the most on top, and the timing is kind of all over the place. Twitter recently adopted a similar timeline, and that is exactly what Instagram plans to do, too.
Should we be freaked out?
Not really. As social media content creators, if we freak out over every platform change, our lives and careers are bound to be filled with stress. The only thing that is ever guaranteed about social media is that it’s always changing. Sweating the small stuff like this isn’t worth it, but yes — there is a chance some of your followers won’t receive your images in their feed, but guess what: they were likely ghost followers anyway. People who regularly interact with your content will likely not notice an effect. This means that the people who actually, you know, enjoy your content will be seeing it, and those who follow you as a courtesy will not.
What’s up with this ‘post notifications’ feature?
Contrary to popular belief (aka Internet rumors), this is not the feature to keep an account in your timeline. What this actually does is send a notification to your phone and/or Instagram account every time the person you ‘turned on’ the feature for posts a photo. While this may keep their posts in your timeline, it may also blow up your phone… so whether or not you want to go down that road is your call.
What should I tell my followers?
There’s certainly nothing wrong with asking them to turn on post notifications, however it’s not really necessary. Instead of hounding them, try posting your best photos in these first few crucial days of the switch. This will encourage likes, which count as interaction, which will push your account into their feeds. Ask a question in your caption — another way to engage your followers and remain in their feed. And of course, interact with the people you follow! This is a great time to be social and supporting accounts you follow will help curate your feed and hopefully encourage others to return the favor. And let’s be honest, it’s a lot more polite than asking people to deal with being notified of your every Insta-move.
What questions do you have about Instagram’s move to an algorithm? Let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to help you sort things out!
EDIT: 3/29/16
Instagram has spoken. Phew.
We’re listening and we assure you nothing is changing with your feed right now. We promise to let you know when changes roll out broadly.
— Instagram (@instagram) March 28, 2016
