instagram in 2019

We're a long, loooong way from when Instagram was the shiny new social media platform on the block <back when algorithms were non-existent, posts were in chronological order and the hipstamatic app -RIP - was your go-to for filters and borders>.

So much has changed. And every month it seems there's another new feature or another myth in circulation about algorithms, IG Stories and engagement. So when we saw wonder app @later address and debunk a few myths regarding the good ol' ' Gram [er, that's Instagram] - we had to blog about it.

Here are the most common myths surrounding instagram RN:

1 Instagram is limiting post reach to 7%. False. You may have seen some of your favorite brands addressing this concern through posts encouraging users to comment. These posts took the platform by storm, so much so that IG came out and debunked this myth. 2 Comments less than 3 words impact engagement. Nope! There’s actually no evidence of this. It appears that IG pod trolls started this rumor. If you want folks to leave more than 3 word comments, be more specific with your questions and captions. 3 Will liking someone’s posts show you more content from them? Yep. This is actually true. IG determines what content to show you by how you interact with brands. 4 Does swiping through a story negatively impact the algorithm? Maybe. There’s no hard evidence on this one, but it appears the story feed works very similar to your photo feed. The more you watch, the more content you’ll see. 5 Will switching to a business profile impact your engagement? That’s a tough one. Instagram has publicly stated: “We do not give extra feed presence to personal accounts or business accounts, so switching won’t help your reach.” There are a ton of benefits when switching to a business profile including access to analytics and scheduling posts but proceed with caution.

Neon Moose is an Adelaide based creative with over 15+ years experience in social media, marketing, copywriting and PR.