Many folks have been speculating based on rumors about the function that creates disdain in the hearts of most all social media business users: the Instagram algorithm. Speculations have been things like the infamous "shadow ban", chronological feed, and business profile views. Instagram puts these rumors to rest with an official update.
The Official Word
Instagram has officially released a statement in regard to shadow bans, business profiles, and chronological feed.
First, the feed is still relevance based and not chronological, however they claim to have tweaked the algorithm to show content based on what you like and interact with via comments and likes. Sounds to me like exactly what they claim it's been all along. Perhaps it actually works well this time, we shall see.
Some of the concerns have been things like "shadow bans". Which many people have been concerned about using too many hashtags or a certain popular hashtag that could be seen as spam and getting penalized. Instagram officially states that is not the case and there is no "shadow ban".
The big one, does a business profile automatically have less placement than a personal profile? Presumably because Instagram wants business to pay for sponsored ads, so in a strong-arm way making automatic less engagement with a business profile would seem to do that, or so the rumors claim. Instagram states this is not true either, and business profiles do not get any less displays than a personal profile. Business profiles are subject to the same relevance based showings and will be determined on your likes and comments. So again, not much has changed here in my opinion but time will tell.
Lead image via Pexels
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The shadow ban is so annoyingly real.
Yeah, I believe they are using shadow banning.
Thanks for the update, been pending to this issue for a long time.
Do you have a link to the official statement, because neither the Instagram Business blog nor the Instagram Press Center show such a statement?
TechCrunch was there for the announcements: https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/01/how-instagram-feed-works/
i asked, cause you didn’t mention any source nor the fact that the statement was picked up by a few journalists that were invited to a presentation at their HQ.
So.... they haven't listened to their users (shocker), and haven't changed a whole heck of a lot. Alrighty then.
"however they claim to have tweaked the algorithm to show content based on what you like and interact with via comments and likes:
This is the funny part, well the pathetically sad part of Instagram's idea. I pick who I follow based on the fact that I like their content but they won't just put that in my feed because they no better what I like then I do. I just don't get it. Why not just give users the option...why is it so freakin hard.
Because with the curated feed they can make more money by giving some content better exposure. Instagram is a content marketing pipeline disguised as a purely social network.
If it's free there's going to be a catch.
I don't believe them that Business profiles DO NOT have less placement than Personal profiles.
they don't - Instagram went on record stating they don't
If a company goes on record stating something false about their service can't they be sued?
I would imagine so, especially in today's litigious society.
I am not sure if that was a meant in a cynical way but in the case of keeping companies honest, I'm totally behind lawsuits against businesses that mislead people.
Ya know, I've tried -- really. I've made the effort wholeheartedly to try and see any value to this app. And I just can't. I don't care about the arguments of popularity, nor how people are somehow getting actual work off of these strange squared off photos, but I'm not buying it.
I've seen very little byway of talented images that have not been iPhoned to death.. And the remarkable amount of sheer trash is overwhelming. To me, this is a case of the masses grabbing onto something and just running with the platform, regardless of output. It's started off with kids, and somehow morphed into real live adults using it.