Guys, everyone is flipping out on Instagram right now. There is a huge outcry about the imminent update to its algorithm that will essentially make your feed appear in order of how relevant the content is "for you", instead of chronologically. This isn't surprising, as Facebook and Pinterest both opted to make this "update" at the peak of their engagement... and frankly, it's good business, for them.
By ensuring that content is served up primarily to the users who are most likely to engage with it, via likes and comments, IG can attract more advertisers with deep-pockets that want to reach their target customers as efficiently as possible. It's also a way for IG's biggest players- big brands or individuals with massive followings- to keep their overall rankings high, while sort of... eh, weeding out the fluff. It's a bummer mostly for small businesses, and those who use IG as a personal scrapbook to share photos of their kids, pets, or lunch with their friends and family because unless they are the next... well, let's be real, if you're not famous yet on IG, it looks like it may be an uphill climb from here. That ship has sailed, m'friend.
But those of us small fries who actually use IG as a marketing and networking tool for our small business have the task of re-evaluating our presence on and approach to using the platform. I don't think it's a huge cause for panic (I also don't believe asking your followers to get notified every.time.you.post. is the solution either) but I do think that it is worth looking at how you want to use Instagram. Personally, IG is my favorite form of visual inspiration and I often enjoy simply browsing more than I like actually posting on it. I used to love Pinterest but eventually the algorithm and suggested posts and sponsored ads got me a little down, which makes me kind of bummed that IG is already heading in that direction, but I think that once a platform gets too - for lack of a better word- polluted with content, there's really only one way for it to go from here.
All that to say, I am hopeful that IG remains an enjoyable place to spend a few minutes here and there throughout the day to get inspired by other creatives and stuff our eyeballs full of as many delicious images from our favorite dealers that we can- while in line, on the toilet, or waiting for the microwave to finish re-scalding our coffee. Though I am curious to see how the algorithm thing plays out from a follower's perspective as well as a small business one.
Either way, I wanted to share a list of a few of my favorite accounts to follow, because algorithms be damned, I don't wanna miss a thing that these folks are posting!
