As we have established in previous articles, social media is ever-changing and ever-adapting to new technologies and user interests. Recently, Instagram has made some changes to their algorithm that can make or break your businesses social efforts. In this blog post, we will go over some of these changes and provide some tips to help you maximize your social media marketing strategies and take advantage of all that Instagram has to offer.
Algorithm Updates
Rather than posts appearing on users’ feeds chronologically, Instagram has shifted to AI-powered technology that shows the content you are most likely to interact with based on your past activity. This means that, depending on your marketing goals, you may need to focus on different analytics. If you are posting content with the intention of reaching your established audience, you will need to focus on the number of likes your content receives. If you are looking to reach new audiences, sends and shares are more important. Adjust your strategies according to the audience you’d like to reach.
Hashtags
Users can no longer follow hashtags in order to stay up to date with content they’re interested in. Instead, Instagram focuses more on keywords than they do on hashtags. This isn’t to say that you should stop using hashtags altogether, but ensuring that your keywords are relevant to your content will be beneficial as you seek to grow your audience.
Reels
While it’s not possible to know exactly how your Reel is going to perform, you may get some more peace of mind by utilizing “trial Reels”. With this feature, your content will be shared with an audience that does not follow you so that you can get an idea of how it will perform before you share with your audience. When posting Reels, take note of the average watch time you receive. The longer the watch time on a Reel, the more likely it is to reach a wider audience.
As always, we recommend you keep a close eye on emerging trends and technological changes that will determine how successful your brand’s strategy is. Also keep tabs on regulations that are put in place, so that you don’t find yourself wasting time, effort, and money on content that won’t perform. For any additional help regarding your Instagram strategy, please reach out to our experienced team here at Quantus Creative. We are always happy to find solutions that fit your business needs.
