Instagram Allows Users To Switch To An Ad-Free Feed: Here's How To Do It.

Adam Mosseri, the CEO of Instagram, started the year with a big announcement and shared that they are testing a chronological order of the feed. If you used Instagram before 2016, you would remember when the app decided to change to an engagement-based feed that introduced posts from accounts that users didn't follow- and a lot of people haven't been happy about it. The algorithmic feed forces people to look at posts and stories based on their engagement and how they use Instagram. Although it is good for discovery, it kind of ruins the whole purpose of Instagram, which is keeping up with friends, family, and other accounts you follow. Well, in March, Instagram gave the users the option to switch to a chronological feed, and now for the first time in eight years, you can view your Instagram feed in chronological order (sort of). The social media app introduced two new features that can affect how people can view their Home feeds. The first setting is "Following," which will allow users to view the Home feed in chronological order. You will see posts and stories only by the accounts you follow and, in the order they were posted, just the way when Instagram was first launched. The second setting is called "Favorites." This is even a more concise feed that has posts and stories of accounts that you have chosen as "favorite." You can add up to 50 accounts and view their posts in chronological order. However, you can only favorite accounts which you already follow. There is an annoying catch tho: like Facebook, you can only toggle the chronological feed on and off but cannot set it as your default feed. This means that you will need to manually turn on the chronological option every time you open the app. Here is how you can do so: Step 1 Download the latest versions of Instagram on your phone. Step 2 Open Instagram and tap the Instagram logo in the top-left corner. Step 3 You will see a drop-down menu with two options: Following and Favorites. Click on Following to switch to a chronological feed. The Favorites option will allow you to create a consolidated chronological feed that displays posts from selected accounts. Click on ?Favorites,? and you will be asked to add accounts to your list of favorite accounts. Once you select these, you will have the option to view posts only from these in chronological order when you switch to the Favorites mode. Also, posts from them will appear higher in your regular feed. What does this mean for businesses? Before everyone starts to panic and start reevaluating their Social Media Marketing Strategy, the first question is whether users will actually engage with these new feed options. It is quite possible that users will realize the algorithm provides better content.? ?And even if they do not prefer the algorithmic feed, will their desire to see a chronological feed be strong enough that they will overcome the barrier of manually selecting their preferred feed every time they open the app? Even if we go with 'yes,'- the favorites feed that will have content from up to 50 accounts is unlikely to provide enough content daily to a typical Instagram user who spends more than an hour per day on the platform.? So, we will see most users browsing both kinds of feeds on any given day. The Pros of a Chronological Feed Even if Instagram does revert to a chronological feed- which is highly unlikely as it represents a vast majority of Facebook and Instagram's revenue- it will provide brands with an increased opportunity for real-time, organic marketing. As a renowned Social Media Marketing Specialist in India, we think that a chronological feed can be a great boon for businesses. This is because businesses no longer have to rely on the algorithm about whether followers see their content. In the end, it will all depend on whether our followers are interested in our content or not. When you post and what you post will start to matter again- leading to more opportunities for live coverage of your business' events, experiences, and brand launches. So, if you hire a Social Media Marketing Agency to create great content for you, it could help by building. Strong follower base. Moreover, you can also increase your organic visibility within the favorites or the following feed with exciting and valuable content. Thus, both kinds of feed have a plus point for Social Media Advertising. Conclusion The chronological feed represents a bigger opportunity for business rather than a threat. Keep in mind that social media is an engagement platform, not an advertising platform. The goal of Instagram is not to interrupt people's scrolling and put ads in front of them but to create content that is useful to your audience and start a conversation that builds trust and brand awareness. A good social media marketing strategy will always win in the end, no matter what Instagram does to the algorithm. And for a great strategy, you can approach agencies like Hats-Off that provide Social Media Marketing Services to create content worthy of your followers' attention. So if you want a great social media strategy, talk to one of our Social Media Marketing specialists today.