It's happening... SOCIAL MEDIA IS CHANGING...again, and it is causing ripples across the internet. I've seen a lot of confusion over what is changing, so I thought I would give you a short summary of what will be different + how that will affect your Instagram.
1. No more chronological feed. What does this mean? It means that instead of seeing the latest posts first and then scrolling down, you will see the most popular posts. You know how Facebook shows you posts that it "thinks" you'll like? Well, that's called an algorithm. The more you like + comment on someone's pictures, the more "popular" it becomes, and the algorithm shows you more of those types of posts. So, Instagram will do the same thing. It'll show you the posts that you most commonly interact with.
2. You still follow the same people. I've seen some concern that not everyone's posts will be seen. In reality, Instagram said that for now, the images of the people you follow will still be in your feed. They will just be in a different order. Again, whoever has the most likes + comments will show up first.
3. There will be more paid advertisements. Have you seen those "sponsored posts" on Facebook? Well, there will be a lot more of that on Instagram. Essentially, Instagram wants to grow at the rate that Facebook has. In order to do that, they need to charge businesses to advertise their work. With this new algorithm, businesses will have to pay to get their picture to show up at the top of people's news feeds.
Still not making sense? Read more about it here, on USA Today.
Here's our current Instagram feed
So, HOW WILL THIS CHANGE THINGS?
I'm not sure how much it will change how people post, follow, like, or comment. I don't know how this will affect a bride looking for wedding vendors, or a mom trying to catch up on what her kids are doing. But I do know this to be true: I'm going to keep doing what I do best...
Instead of stressing over how many followers I have, I'm going to focus on loving and helping our clients. Instead of getting frustrated that "no one" is seeing my work, I'm going to rest assured that the people who love my work will stick by me through whatever changes may come!
Business and life should be more than social media. So, instead of worrying, I hope you all enjoy a meal with someone you love today. Real connection. Real communication :) That's all that matters, right?