Mina Chae
Opinions Reporter

Instagram’s new algorithm has been puzzling many users as of late. Sometimes, posts from weeks before are shown first on feeds, and at other times, some accounts never seem to appear at all. Recently, Instagram has been updating the app monthly, and is slowly transforming into Facebook wearing a Gen-Z costume. Many Instagrammers find the frequent updates disorganized and confusing, as they can’t seem to find the posts they want to see.

With the switch from the chronological to the algorithmic feed, small businesses and artists feel as though audience engagement has drastically dropped. Even in 2016, as Instagram started to update, post interactions dropped by an average of 33%. However, Instagram’s goal is to make the best experience possible for all users, thus prioritizing three key factors in what individuals see: interest, timeliness, and relationship.

Instagram uses the user’s past interactions with posts to predict what posts they will be interested in when they reopen the app. For example, if you “like” a picture of a cat on your explore page, cat posts will show up more frequently on the page. This logic applies to the newsfeed as well. If you follow more cat accounts than art accounts and more frequently like and comment on cat posts, Instagram will prioritize cats in your personal feed.

Although Instagram engineers have made it clear that Instagram is not going back to a chronological feed, the newest update prioritizes newer posts to older ones. Recency exceeds interest, as more timely posts will show up earlier in the feed. Priority is given to accounts that the user has interacted actively with the most. Passive interaction, simply liking posts, does not contribute to the arrangement of posts. Instead, commenting on posts, tagging people, sharing, and saving posts will give the account a higher ranking on the algorithm.

As a result, small businesses, organizations, and artists need to change their posting formula to benefit from the new algorithm; engagement is the key. Since likes, comments, saves, shares, and views all impact how quickly one’s posts appear in the newsfeed, striving for authentic engagement is the best way for a small business to grow.

Here’s how:
Posting consistently is the most reliable way to stay in users’ feeds. Some social media experts say posting everyday is the best to engage audience members to ensure reliability.

Build a community with other content creators and followers. Asking the audience what they like or dislike and encouraging them to comment on posts by asking open-ended questions can attract new followers and help ensure a place in their newsfeed. For example, fans sometimes start conversations with each other, helping to boost overall account engagement. Similarly, collaborating with similar accounts reaches new viewers.

Using meaningful hashtags is the easiest way to show up on explore pages. Popular hashtags that are relevant to the business content is important. The narrower the scope, the more likely users will engage with the post. Abusing the system by using irrelevant hashtags annoys users who are looking for specific content, and can leave the business account flagged to the algorithm, meaning Instagram won’t feature the posts.

Fine-tuning the overall goal and posting genuine content attracts followers. Using relevant filters or an overall theme can make the account page more appealing to audience members, thus more engagement.

Unfortunately, for students and individuals who run Instagram businesses as a side income, dominating Instagram’s algorithm isn’t sustainable. Posting daily may be feasible for some creators, but others who have different priorities post less and are thus outcompeted. Building a community takes time, especially responding to DMs, comments, and finding a targeted group. Finding the best hashtags takes a lot of research, especially since the new update shadowbans accounts who post to certain hashtags too frequently, deeming it spam. Overall, Instagram’s new algorithm produces more work for businesses and prevents non-targeted audience members from interacting with smaller organizations.