With Facebook taking over Instagram, it was just a matter of time for Instagram to use an algorithm to display the posts in your feed. And yes, that time has come!
A couple of days ago, Instagram posted a blog telling that ‘to improve your experience, your feed will soon be ordered to show the moments they believe you will care about the most.’ In other words: the Instagram algorithm is making its entrance!
Because of the increasing number of users, Instagram claims that you currently miss 70 percent of your feed when you scroll through Instagram. So it is said that the chance that you miss a post from someone you really care about, is surprisingly big. And that’s something Instagram wants to change. Instagram is making the change in two steps. First, they will still show all of the pictures in your feed, but in another order to experiment with the algorithm. After that, they will exclude the photo’s they expect you to care about the least.
In the blogpost, Instagram doesn’t specify on which basis the photos will be selected, but I strongly suppose it will be based on interaction, meaning likes and reactions. This means that even when you follow Roger Federer, if you never like Federer’s photos, it is likely that you won’t see any of Federer’s photos in the future.
My opinion about the Instagram algorithm? For users it will be an improvement, because they will absolutely see the posts they want to see (at least, when they liked the account’s previous posts). But for marketers it will be harder, because they will have to find a way to deal with the algorithm. Let the challenge begin! 😉