Social & Digital Update: Instagram's Jam-Packed January
By Niamh Martin.
This January has been a busy month for socials across the board, but maybe none more than photo sharing giant Instagram. The app has been trialing new updates and making key changes to boost the experience it provides users (and to attempt to compete with Tiktok).
After years of favouring an algorithm led timeline, Instagram is finally making the return to a chronological feed, with a whole refresh for its newsfeed. In December, Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, promised to bring back the fan-favourite feature, and last week it was confirmed that the feature would begin rolling out in the first half of 2022. The end of 2021 saw big changes to the Instagram homepage with the addition of a separate feed for IGTV content, and entering into the new year it seems as though the photo sharing app will continue to roll-out features that will reshape how we engage and interact with the platform, with Mosseri stating that the Home feed will feature “more and more recommendations over time,” to shape it as a discovery hub for content.
Newsfeed Updates:
The updated news feed for the photo-sharing app will feature a user-orientated layout, customisable to each individual. This newsfeed will be divided into three different sections, Home, Following, and Favourites.
Home will be the standard Instagram newsfeed, with an algorithm sorted layout.
Following will enable users to return to the chronological stream of posts from accounts they follow, which had been the default prior to updates in 2016.
And Favorites will enable users to select a list of accounts to see content from. Think of it as a more refined following list, which may be specifically of interest to users who want to take a break from businesses, celebrities or influencer content and regain control of some of the core social aspects of the app.
Why now?
This newsfeed update hasn’t come as a surprise to fans of the app, who’ve been calling for a chronological timeline for over 5 years since it was removed. But it was met by continued resistance. For example, in a blog post in June, Mosseri wrote that a chronological feed made it “impossible for most people to see everything, let alone all the posts they cared about.” Instagram believed that the chronological feed resulted in users “missing” posts on their feed. However, after 6 months of continuous updates to the platform, and controversies surrounding how their algorithm may manipulate consumers, the app has found a solution in their new layout, whereby users can still enjoy the suggested content from the algorithm, or chose to view their feed by what was posted most recently.
“We believe in more transparency and accountability and we believe in more control. That’s why we’re currently working on a version of a chronological feed that we hope to launch next year,” Mosseri, December 2021.
Instagram is currently testing this feature on a range of devices, with the goal for it to be fully available in the first half of 2022, though those who have been waiting years probably won’t mind a few months of trialing first.
Other key January updates:
Mosseri has also delivered an update to Reels that allows users to "remix" any video content on the app, akin to the Tiktok Duet feature, this feature was first launched last year. Up until now, you could only remix short-form Reels, but now, you can remix any public video on the app.
Instagram has launched an early test of creator subscriptions in the United States. Whereby select creators are now able to open up exclusive Instagram Live videos and Stories to paying followers or subscribers. Creators can choose their own price point for access to their exclusive content.
Users can now schedule Live videos.
Brand takeouts:
The algorithm based feed isn’t going anywhere.
Users will now be able to single out their favourite brands or users in a separate newsfeed.
Instagram is shifting into a more user-orientated platform, and we should expect changes akin to this to follow.
The chronological feed opens up potential for more time-specific content and advertisements for Businesses on Instagram.
Scheduled Lives is an interesting platform to integrate into product or brand launches.
Continued updates to Reels and IGTV shows the importance that Instagram is placing on video content, suggesting this may become a priority on the platform in the near future.