The Recent Update
In early 2016, Instagram made a bold move to remove their chronological feed in order to ensure that users saw the most relevant posts based on each user’s engagement analytics. Since the app’s update, Instagram has received a great deal of criticism from its traditional users and influencers complaining that this new algorithm is making their posts less visible in the feed and, in the case of brands, hindering message impact.
This past week, the Instagram team announced an update that will give users more control over their feed and ensure that the posts they see are recent and timely. The executives explained this major change to the platform:
“Based on your feedback, we’re also making changes to ensure that newer posts are more likely to appear first in feed. With these changes, your feed will feel more fresh, and you won’t miss the moments you care about. So if your best friend shares a selfie from her vacation in Australia, it will be waiting for you when you wake up.”
Instagram is also testing out a “New Posts” button that will let users choose when they want to refresh their feed, instead of updating automatically. This way, users can have a more enjoyable browsing experience that allows them to choose when they want to be taken to the new posts at the top of their feeds, or remain where they are in their newsfeed.
What You Need to Know
There have definitely been a lot of updates unveiled lately on various social media platforms, and it can be difficult to know how to best maintain your social media presence. To help in this process, the Hawkins team has put together a list of tips on how to combat these changes and keep your audience engaged!
1. Know When to Post
With Instagram working to provide new ways to unearth fresh content, being timely is key! Make sure to post when your audience is most active in order to have the most significant impact. You can find data highlighting when your audience is on the platform via the Insights tab of the Instagram app.
2. Keep Your Audience Updated
Instagram Stories are another way to share timely updates with your audience – with over 200 million daily users of this feature, Instagram Stories have surpassed Snapchat in terms of popularity! This tool allows for the seamless sharing of photos and videos to engage your audience with day-to-day updates.
3. Be Consistent and Frequent
There is no universal golden rule for how often you should be posting on social media – it all depends on your unique audience – but brands that post more frequently often yield the highest engagement. We recommend posting to Instagram daily to build consistency with your audience base!
4. Always Ask Questions
The Hawkins team is always available to provide advice and coaching on anything in the social media space. Send us a message, and we’d be happy to discuss further!