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(Instagram Blog, 3/15/16)
PNConnect Insight – Sigh…
First off, this is a gradual change that’s being rolled out and tweaked over the course of the next few months. Even so, the fact that content marketers will have to contend with yet another algorithm is enough to make us ponder whether this was the wrong week to give up smoking and other bad habits.
Algorithms are based on the premise that the company behind them knows what you’ll find interesting better than you do. But an algorithm won’t solve the problem highlighted in the announcement post, which is that people (supposedly) miss 70% of what’s posted because they’re not tuning in at the right time. Now users will miss X% of posts simply because of the algorithm burying them, rather than because of timeliness. That’s not an improvement, it just gives more control to the algorithm owner.
Surprisingly, Twitter didn’t blow up over this, maybe because it’s been anticipated since Facebook acquired Instagram. Maybe an Instagram algorithm will be less noticeable than it would be on Twitter, where a similar change is coming. Either way, reports indicate that engagement on Instagram is dropping, and it will only fall further for many profiles as the big ones get bigger and the rest try to keep their heads above water.
Read the rest of the stories on the PNConnect blog.