Written by Andrew Holliday | March 25, 2016
Instagram just announced that they’re updating their algorithm for the good of the community.
Yeah right!
Come on Facebook. We can all see through the BS. You’re changing the algorithm because it was a successful technique for driving advertising revenue on Facebook.
You can read about the update from Instagram here.
I can see exactly what’s coming with the algorithm change. Kiss organic reach goodbye.
If you’re a brand and you want any type of reach you’ll have to pay. When the Facebook algorithm changed organic reach fell off a cliff. Anyone wanting to hit their followers with a message had to boost the post.
Don’t get me wrong, Facebook advertising is a fantastic tool. The amount of targeting and reach for the money is unbeatable.
However, I have major issue with Instagram telling me what I want to see when there is already a means in place for me to take care of filtering for myself. Instagram isn’t a two way connection like Facebook. When it’s a two way connection you end up feeling obligated to accept friend requests and get stuck looking at a feed you don’t really want. This leads to a cluttered feed so an algorithm for Facebook makes sense.
There’s no need on Instagram. I choose who I want to follow. If the feed gets out of control I can cut people and edit my own feed. I don’t want an algorithm dictating what I’ll see. I want to see the accounts I follow in chronological order. This simple function is what has made Instagram great.
I can almost guarantee that I’m part of a majority with this opinion. So when Instagram says they’re making this change for the community I have to giggle.
I completely understand that Facebook must drive more revenue from Instagram advertising. It’s just unfortunate that they’re going to kill the user experience and drive everyone under 40 to Snapchat to do so.
It’s also a shame that once again Facebook is going to pull the rug out from under business users who have built an organic following.
If you’re a business go ahead and get prepared because I can almost guarantee that your organic reach is about to plummet. Start saving up that budget for ads or hitting up Snapchat tutorials.
