Social Media UpdatesSocial-media-updates-social-media-marketing-york

This month it’s all about Instagram for our monthly update on social media as Instagram sees its second major social media algorithm change of 2018.

 

Looking back to 2016, Instagram announced they were ditching the chronological timeline in favour of an algorithm. This caused huge backlash and now in a recent blog they announced they are changing the algorithm once more. Newer posts will now be prioritised, however, they won’t be reverting back to a chronological timeline.

So…what does this mean?  

Now, more than ever, choosing the right time to post is more important. Older posts may now not show up at the top of users feeds, so checking your Instagram analytics and working out when your ideal audience is most active needs to be a priority when it comes to content.

And there’s more…

It doesn’t stop there, the updates keep coming at Instagram. With Snapchat seemingly against the ropes, and Facebook touting the future of “Stories” as the primary interface for social sharing, the platform has announced a range of new features in recent months, with many more spotted in testing.

Instagram’s adding another interactive tool – a new voting options for Stories called the ‘emoji slider’ sticker. As explained by Instagram:

“The emoji slider lets you ask more nuanced questions when you want to find out how your friends feel about something. By choosing an emoji for your question, you also add a layer of emotional context that helps those answering understand your tone and answer accordingly.”

This should provide another way to prompt viewer responses to your “Story” content, and could help both individuals and brands better engage with their audience. It’s another tool in Instagram’s ever-growing feature set, with a particular focus on Stories.

In the in the last three months alone, Instagram has announced:

  • ‘Focus Mode’ for better selfies
  • The ability to share posts in Stories
  • Group video calling
  • Nametag codes’ for account promotion
  • In-stream payment options

In addition to this, they’re also reportedly testing:

  • Music Stickers
  • Slow motion mode
  • Cinemagraphs
  • The ability to mute profiles
  • Q and A stickers

The Instagram team are certainly working hard to keep up the momentum and keep on top of the game, it’ll be interesting to see how the platform’s newly appointed VP of Product, Adam Mosseri, will look to maintain this, bringing his expertize from boosting engagement on Facebook across to the App.

That’s all for now folks, make sure you keep checking back for our monthly updates to Social Media here!

If you need support with Social Media or marketing your business, get in touch with the team at Pick & Mix on – info@pickandmixms.co.uk