For social media editors and content creators, adapting posts to perform well for Instagram’s latest feed algorithm is an endless, and often thankless, task. But is this game of cat and mouse coming to an end?
Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced that early next year the social networking service will allow users to view posts in their feed chronologically again. The chronological feed was replaced by an algorithmically ordered one in March 2016.
Mosseri made the announcement that Instagram is “actively working” on the feature while speaking to an American Senate committee on 8 December about the app’s effect on children and teenagers.
How will a chronological feed improve Instagram?
The change should be beneficial to young people as it will help them see a more varied feed with more posts from their friends, rather than highly edited photos from influencers and brands.
Will my Instagram feed change?
A tweet from Instagram’s communications team explained that the adapted feed will only be an “option”, rather than an app-wide change for all users.
“We want to be clear that we’re creating new options — providing people with more choices so they can decide what works best for them — not switching everyone back to a chronological feed. You can expect more on this early next year!”
How will the change affect social media editors?
For the people who rely on the Instagram algorithm to promote content, this change may cause more problems than it solves, as they will have to try to rank highly in two types of Instagram feed. Only time will tell the impact it may have on the platform.
Olivia is a digital journalist studying Interactive Journalism at City, University of London. Interested in audience strategy, arts and culture and health.