The Instagram algorithm was updated on March 15th, and as Instagram promised, it was one of their biggest updates to date. It will affect the way you view your posts.
They stated on their blog,”You may be surprised to learn that people miss on average 70 percent of their feeds. As Instagram has grown, it’s become harder to keep up with all the photos and videos people share. This means you often don’t see the posts you might care about the most.
To improve your experience, your feed will soon be ordered to show the moments we believe you will care about the most.”
Are the Instagram Algorithm changes a good thing?
You might be reflecting back to when Facebook made similar changes and the fact that Facebook owns Instagram that doesn't help either, right? I have no crystal ball but my feelings on this are that this is a very good thing for people that are building a value driven brand like I teach you to do in my Insta Lead Magic course and that many may notice even a boost in engagement and leads because of it.
Currently the average post on Instagram only stays alive for about 2 to 3 hours and as they stated in their blog post Instagram users are only seeing about 70% of the posts that matter to them most. Their goal is for Instagram users to see all the posts that they believe matter's to their users most. Which means if they like your business' content on Instagram and you posted it at 6 AM but they didn't actually look at Instagram until Midnight they will more than likely see what you posted.
Basically your Instagram content will stay alive much longer if you are doing things the right way with your Instagram marketing, and start preparing now…
By the way I heard that these changes could be a month or more away. Instagram will be testing etc. for a few weeks to even longer than a month I heard. And usually their updates roll out kind of slow anyways so you have time to implement some of the tips I share below but trust me you don’t want to wait start preparing your Instagram account right now.
Recently I have seen so many brands asking for their followers to turn on notifications in fear their followers will no longer see their posts in their Instagram feeds…
Personally I feel this is a waste of time and you should be spending your time right now increasing your engagement (likes, comments etc) instead of posting over and over again to turn on your post notifications.
I mean let's face it to have a notification sent to your phone every time someone posts could get very annoying and more than likely people will end up just turning the notifications off.
So what can you do to stay alive on Instagram when the new Algorithm updates roll out?
I have started preparing my Instagram account and here are some of the things I have started doing and you should to (like right now):
Post Valuable Content
This is more important than ever before especially over the next few weeks. I have a feeling that Instagram will be doing a little spring cleaning of their own and cleaning up many of the spam accounts. It's important that you post content that serves their community this is even stated in their terms of use.
But most importantly you if you want your followers to see your posts they need to actually like your posts. If you are posting pitch after pitch on Instagram your account will get no love unfortunately when theses changes hit. Post things like tips, inspiration, behind the scenes stuff of what you do in your biz etc.
Follow my 90/10 rule which is to post all value 90% of the time and only push people to your offer in your bio 10% of the time.
Post More
This is important until the algorithm changes take effect because you’re people are active at different times and you want to make sure you are staying in front of them. I recommend posting a minimum of 5 times per day and no more than 10 til the changes take effect.
Know When To Post
Use tools like Square Lovin’ to track your Instagram analytics. It’s important that you know the best times to post to get the most out of your content. I like to use Hootsuite to schedule all my social media content including Instagram. It helps keep me consistently posting at the right time and it’s also great for repurposing some of your older content and sharing other accounts posts.
Use Relevant Hashtags
To help boost your posts on Instagram use relevant hashtags so they are easier to find on Instagram.
Boost your followers
Now is a really great time to work on getting more followers. By boosting followers you’ll boost the eyeballs and engagement on your posts.
Not sure how to get followers fast? Check out my 10 Easy Steps For Getting Targeted Instagram Followers HERE
Engage
Engage with your followers on every post and also engage with their posts. Spend about 10 minutes going through your feed liking and commenting on other people’s posts. This will help boost your followers and eyeballs on your content.
Rule of thumb: “Never expect others to engage with your posts if you are not doing the same yourself.”
Ask For Likes, Tags and Ask Engaging Questions
In a few of your posts every day ask your followers to like and give them a reason to engage.
Here’s some examples of how I get my followers to engage and tag their friends.
“I look at the Instagram Algorithm Update as a great opportunity to really boost leads and sales…”
How about you? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.
And be sure to share this post with your friend’s so they can start getting a headstart on implementing some of these tips to stay alive on Instagram when the all new Algorithm changes take effect on Instagram.
To Your Success,
–April Marie Tucker
L5 & EMT Leader at My Lead System Pro
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Did you know that Instagram is doing an algorithm update that may very well affect if people see YOUR posts.
Remember when Facebook did this a while back? Everyone was in a huge uproar about what to do.
However, this time you've got the chance to be prepared.
Learn How to Stay Alive on Instagram When the New Algorithm Updates Roll Out!
Awesome , packed with value , will be asking to tag a friend in the post there , thank you April Marie Tucker!
Hi April!
Cool updates, and I loved your
Periscope the other night too.
I’m sharing this blog post on IG
already, following the MLSP
strategy with a custom link, what
a great way to leverage content.
Thanks for the golden nuggets!!
Steven Suchar
Thanks for great content and tips!