Scrolling through Instagram this morning, you may have noticed a barrage of posts asking you to turn on notifications for the accounts you follow. The posts were sparked by news that Instagram will no longer organise posts chronologically but rather in order of traffic.
The update has wreaked havoc in the world of brands and bloggers who are worried that posts will no longer be seen by their audience once the social media platform introduces its algorithm feed.
Brands such as Chobani, Spotify, Big W and pretty much every blogger to ever exist have urged followers to turn on notifications in a bid to not lose audience engagement, with posts like these:
Instagram has taken to Twitter to assure users about the changes:
We're listening and we assure you nothing is changing with your feed right now. We promise to let you know when changes roll out broadly.
— Instagram (@instagram) March 28, 2016
Understandably some people are pretty pissed off that their feed has been taken over by "turn on notification" posts:
- Opens Instagram
— Benjamin (@AttackOfTheClaw) March 28, 2016
- #TurnOnNotifications x1000
- Closes Instagram
ive seen more posts about instagram changing than posts about the people suffering over contaminated water in Flint.
— Ian Eastwood (@Ian_Eastwood) March 28, 2016
how is that real?
Tribe founder Jules Lund told AdNews he’s “not worried” about the changes, saying in an open letter to influencers it will give them more opportunities for engagement and to produce great content.
We Are Social's managing director, Suzie Shaw, says the agency's clients saw the the change coming, with Facebook acquiring Instagram last year, and while clients are concerned about the increasing cost of paid support required to reach their audience, they do understand the value of the channel.
While the update could roll-out from today, it will only be coming to small test groups. Instagram says it will announce to the community when it updates broadly, so no need to completely freak out at this stage.
Will you turn on your notifications for your favourite Instagram pages? Comment below.
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