Instagram makes a return to stills
Photo lovers on Instagram rejoice!
Earlier this week, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri stated that the platform has had too great a focus on video content and will look to make photos more of a priority once again in 2023.
“I think we were overfocused on video in 2022 and pushed ranking too far, and basically showed too many videos and not enough photos. We’ve since balanced, so things like how often someone likes photos versus videos, and how often someone comments on photos versus videos, are roughly equal, which is a good sign that things are balanced.” - Mosseri
But hold up - before you ditch video all together, remember - a strong strategy is one that prioritises creating great content that speaks to your audience and objectives, regardless of it’s format.
We recommend sharing a balance of content types on Instagram, including videos, graphics, photos and carousel posts to appeal to all aspects of the algorithm, as well as to your different target demographics who may prefer one content type over the other.
As for a return to stills on Instagram? It may take a while to see these changes come to fruition, so it’s always best to ensure you're keeping on top of things by regularly reviewing your analytics and results.
Is it time to review your 2023 social media strategy? Contact us to schedule in a call with our strategy team.
Social Media News, August 2022
There is plenty of social media news to share this week!
Instagram news - or what's NOT happening!
How quickly things can change! Instagram have recently said that it is hitting pause on the rollout of new features on its app following backlash online from users, influencers and celebrities. The new updates (full-screen viewing and an increase in post recommendations) were criticised as people felt they were not seeing photos from friends and family as much.
A Meta spokesperson has said: "Based on our findings and community feedback, we're pausing the full-screen test on Instagram so we can explore other options, and we're temporarily decreasing the number of recommendations you see in your feed so we can improve the quality of your experience.
If you haven't heard of BeReal, you better listen up because it's about to be BIG.
BeReal is a new social media app which is trending amongst Zillennials (those born between 1993 and 1998). The app prompts you to take one photo per day at a random time. It takes a front and back camera image at the same time. BeReal is making waves with Zillenials due to its authentic nature. You won't find influencers, filters, or ads on the app - just real, authentic content from users. A BeReal user stated: “Whilst Instagram is promoting an 'ideal' of living, BeReal instead shows the "real" us, no filters. We feel more natural and have more connections to our peers, which is essentially what the generation (Gen Z) values.”
While it is not currently a platform companies participate in, there have been lots of "fake" BeReal's popping up across meme accounts. View some examples on the left.
Interestingly, BeReal has skyrocketed up the list of apps with the highest number of active users for the month of July. It was placed higher than the likes of Uber and Facebook, showing it's growing popularity.
Want to know more about the latest social media news or book in a consultation session with our team to make sure your social media strategy is up to date? Get in touch today.
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Instagram News, July 2022
Another month, another Instagram update! Here is the latest Instagram news.
Instagram Pin Feature
Instagram has a new feature allowing you to pin posts to the top of the feed. We see this being useful for highlighting the following:
- Competitions: Keeping competitions at the top of your feed
- New Launch/Product: Having a new product launch at the top of the feed
- Top performing posts: If a reel went viral you could pin it to the top of the feed
This feature will be beneficial to many brands and we are eager to test it out on our client campaigns.
In other Instagram news, engagement rates are trending down on traditional feed posts
Based on a Later study of 81M Instagram posts, the average engagement rate for feed posts in 2019 was 5.16%. By the end of 2021, this number decreased to 2.88%.
The downward trend is consistent for all traditional feed posts (images, carousels, and videos).
Traditional video feed posts saw the greatest decline year-over-year on average, while carousel posts consistently performed the best in terms of engagement
Why have traditional Instagram Feed Posts seen a decline in performance?
In a nutshell: The introduction of Instagram Reels in August 2020.
It’s no secret that Reels are a priority for the app, and as such, other post types have taken a back seat.
In order to boost engagement on the app, it’s important to include Reels and also carousel posts in your social media posting schedule.
Do you need assistance in staying across the latest Instagram news and managing your social media channels? Get in touch with our team today.
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Want to chat to our team about Instagram Reels content creation? Reach out to our specialist team via email, [email protected]
Latest Social Media News, June 2022
In the ever-changing social media landscape, it’s important to keep up to date! We’ve compiled some of the latest social news and features to catch you up to speed.
It’s all about Instagram at the moment. Within the past few months, Instagram have implemented several updates which could affect your social media campaign and goals.
Instagram Testing
Instagram are currently undertaking quite a number of tests across the platform. It's important to note that Instagram chooses a small percentage of users, from across the world to test new features with. Not all users participate in tests, however tests usually change these users experiences significantly.
Please find links to articles expanding on different Instagram tests currently running:
We expect to see a decrease in engagement from users in testing, as feedback so far has been that these new features have decreased user satisfaction.
Instagram Feed Sorting
After testing new feed sorting options earlier this year, the Following and Favourites feed have been rolled out to all Instagram accounts.
These new feeds are:
- Home: The current feed view includes suggestions of posts from people you're not following
- Favourites: This feed allows users to choose their friends and family, and their favourite influencers into one feed.
- Following: The traditional chronological feed is coming back!
After implementation, we have noticed a drop off in impressions across all accounts - this means less people are seeing posts. However, this is what we typically see when a new feature is introduced. Over the last few weeks impressions have begun to pick up again, and we will keep an eye out on how these stats track over the coming months.
Best Types of Posts for Engagement
Scheduling platform Later recently released a report, after reviewing 81 million Instagram feed posts (noting this excludes Reels) to reveal what post types are best performing in 2022.
Carousel posts returned the best average engagement rate at 3.11%, followed by image posts (2.76%) and video (2.60%). This means that we need to be implementing more carousel posts into our social planners!
That's the latest social media news this month. Stay tuned for more updates!
Want to work with our team? Contact us to find out more.
Instagram removes 'likes' function
From today, Instagram users in Australia will no longer be able to see how many “likes” a post has a received.
The trial is underway for Australian Instagram users, after a movement towards “removing pressure” on the digital platform’s users.
Instagram will begin rolling out the trial update today, removing the total number of likes on photos and viewings of videos on user feeds and profiles, and permalink pages.
Users will still be able to see a list of likes on their posts, just not the overall number.
But don't worry, the change won’t affect measurement tools for businesses and creators on Instagram, and all likes and engagement metrics will still be available in those tools.
Facebook Australia and New Zealand director of policy Mia Garlick said Instagram should be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, rather than judged.
“We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love,” she said in a statement.
We look forward to reviewing how this impacts businesses on social media over the coming weeks, and in particular the relationship with business and influencers, who rely on social media metrics to prove the value of their content.
Want to chat to our team about your Instagram strategy? Get in touch today.