Doesn’t it seem like every other week a social media platform is announcing a big change? You know what they say – out with the old, in with the new! This time around, it’s one of our faves, Instagram!

Instead of posts showing up in chronological order, your feed will now have to answer to an algorithm, just like Facebook. But before you go and beg your followers to “Turn on Notifications,”(please don’t do that!) let’s start by explaining the problem that led to this update.

One word: engagement.

On average, Instagram users only see about 30% of their feed’s content. 30 percent! The platform has always had a problem engaging its users due to the sheer volume of posts. Now, all of the same posts will still be there, but in a different, more “engaging” order.

The NEW News Feed will bring posts to the top based on the likelihood you’ll be interested in them, your relationship with the person posting (think: mutual friends) and the timeliness of the post. Gone are the days of logging in every 30 minutes so you never miss a post!

Let’s say Modern Salon posts a super engaging photo for #TextureTuesday while you were sleeping. Your salon owner, clients and coworkers like the photo and tag your mutual friends in the comments for inspo—it could be at the top of your feed when you log in again in the morning, 12 hours later! (Ok, more like 7.)

So, what does this mean for you and your salon? It’s simple: stay away from posting a lot of “average” content. Understand your audience and what they want. Is it dramatic hair transformations? New techniques? Staff spotlights? Focus your content on what’s thumb-stopping, and you’ll be good.

Until the next update, good luck and keep ‘gramming!

 

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At Ideas That Evoke™, we create, narrate and manage brand experiences in the social space. We develop content that connects people to brands and evokes an emotional response in an organic way…but to us, that’s just the beginning. Our agile, highly-response team works as an extension of your brand, engaging with and managing your social communities in a real-time way. We believe social media is a science, one that deserves a high attention to detail and constant, consistent nurturing. It can be fun, interactive and downright silly, but at the end of the day, we know social moves the needle.

 

 

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