Big Changes Come to Instagram

Written by Doug

March 30, 2016

Big change is heading to Instagram. Since creation, you’ve been used to seeing all the photos in your feed in chronological order.  If you are like me, you open the Instagram app and keep scrolling until you hit a picture that you remember seeing before.  Done.  All caught up.

Soon, that will soon no longer be the case. Taking a page from it’s parents, Instagram will begin using an algorithm similar to Facebook’s to predict what its users will most likely “like” and show you those pictures first.

If you haven’t already noticed, some of the Instagram “celebrities” aren’t happy.  As a user, we think you are going to enjoy this change.  Remember the days when you used to be swarmed with every friend’s update on your Facebook feed?  If you need a reminder, look no further than your Twitter timeline.  Too much content that you don’t care about is annoying.

If you follow a lot of accounts,  the current chronological model of Instagram can make it easy for consumers to miss the photos and videos they really want to see. In fact, Instagram stated that the average user misses up to 70 percent of their friends’ photos.  Through the new update Instagram will understand what users you interact with more and place a higher priority to their content.

The new change is great for consumers, but means that brands will have to work harder to keep the attention on them. The focus will have to shift from traditional advertisements to images that spark an emotion within consumers. One that makes them want to follow a brand closely, like its content and interact with other consumers.

This raises the stakes on each piece of content a brand puts out.   Brands need to create inspiring content, but also engage with their consumers. They need to create an experience that resonates with consumers and builds that loyalty that every brand strives for. Interaction and strengthening relationships will lead to higher placement on a consumer’s feed.

We’re excited to see the new change. In fact, we predict that marketing and advertising will see some great new content hit social media in 2016.  Creativity and engagement is at an all-time high in importance. While some brands might be begging you to “turn post notifications on,” the best brands will work harder to be certain that they aren’t phased out due to lack of interest.

 

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