Please Stop Asking Me To Turn On My Instagram Notifications!

You would think that Instagram had announced to the world that they were blocking everyone’s posts unless you subscribed to the channel, by the volume of tweets, Instagram posts, and messages on Facebook that I’ve consumed over the last week.

Please note…. this is NOT a big deal! You do not need to activate notifications to make sure that you see posts on Instagram, no matter what everyone is saying. It is just a load of rubbish!

What is a smart algorithm?

Most social media channels now operate a “Smart Algorithm”. Facebook have been running a smart algorithm for many years (known as Edgerank) and if you have heard me talk about “Beans on Toast” then you will understand how it works.

A smart algorithm is brilliant for the user but not so good for the business owner. In short, if you comment, like, share, RT or engage with content then this tells the social media channel that you would like to see more of that content. Therefore, the social media channel shows you more content. If you do not engage with the content, then this is the signal to the social media platform that you are not that bothered about the content. Therefore, they will not show you as much information.

Stop begging me to turn on your notifications

As a user, I like the idea that the social media platform is doing the hard work for me and feeding me the posts that it knows I am interested in. If I do not want to miss any content from my favourite channels, then I will subscribe (Facebook & Instagram).

From a business perspective, begging people to subscribe to your notifications will start to annoy people, and I know that I have personally unfollowed some accounts which have been posting images of how to “Turn on notifications”.

Instagram’s algorithm is coming, but it’s not here yet!

As a side note, the new feed is already active on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, but it is not yet active on Instagram. They are rolling this out over the coming months.

When it does arrive, you will need to consider changing your Instagram strategy. Here are a few things to consider:-

• Make your posts stand out from the crowd. (The more people engage with your posts, the more of your content they will be fed)
• You need to up your game with regards to hashtags (18 is the sweet spot, and I suggest looking at Grama to help you with this)
• There is no getting away from the fact that you may need to “pay to play” on Instagram if you want your posts to be guaranteed to be seen by as many people as possible.
• Make sure that you include videos in your posts (you can now post up to 60 seconds, which is a massive increase from the 15 seconds previously) — make the most of this powerful medium.
• Always include a “location” in your posts — this links back to your Facebook page and will give your Facebook page some love as well.
• Post every day!

I think we should all take bets on how long it will be before LinkedIn join in and announce that they are also joining the smart algorithm clan! (Although LinkedIn are so far behind the times that it will take another 2–3 years at the rate that they are going.

Look how long it took them to introduce tagging people in an update, and we could only add photos to groups last year!).

Are you on Instagram?

Please feel free to post your Instagram link below and we will give you a follow back.

Originally published at www.green-umbrella.biz on April 7, 2016.