3 Instagram Updates Agents Need to Know About Right Now

Followers disappeared, the algorithm shifted, and your insights dashboard got a makeover.

Here are the three most recent changes on Instagram.

1. Instagram Purged a Ton of Accounts

If you opened Instagram on Wednesday and felt your stomach drop, you weren’t alone. IG mass-deleted bot and inactive accounts, which means follower counts took a hit across the board. I personally lost 3,000 followers on The Broke Agent and had a full existential crisis before I saw this post from Brock Johnson and realized I wasn’t alone.

 

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A post shared by Instagram Growth Coach (@brock11johnson)

It sucks to have your follower count drop, but those accounts weren’t engaging with your content anyway. Your reach isn’t affected. And remember, follower count means less and less every single day since social media has become interest media. 

2. Instagram Redefined What “Original Content” Means 

This is actually a big deal. Instagram announced this week that it will no longer recommend photos, Reels, and carousel posts that are unoriginal in Explore. Original creators get priority, and aggregators get penalized. This means if you repost something that was already posted without putting your own spin on it, IG will stop showing your account to non-followers… and not just the post.

This is a fundamental shift in how reach gets distributed on the platform.

You can see the full breakdown from Instagram.

 

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A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

Swipe through that and get even more confused!

Basically, Instagram is assessing accounts on a rolling 30-day basis. If the majority of what you post in any given month is reposts or recycled content, the algorithm flags you as an aggregator and pulls back your reach in recommendations. It won’t affect how your existing followers see your content, but it will kill your ability to grow through discovery.

This shouldn’t be a problem for the majority of real estate agents as long as you’re not posting recycled templates or memes that are unoriginal.

So I’m screwed. Just kidding. Kind of.

It’s a little unclear what this means for The Broke Agent and all of the memes I post because I put my own “spin” on popular photos. But there’s a reason I’ve been doing way more commentary and videos with my face on it. 

 

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A post shared by The Broke Agent | Real Estate Humor (@thebrokeagent)

If you’re using third-party content like a stat graphic, a market chart, or someone else’s meme, just make sure you add to it. Ask yourself if your edits add real value beyond just restating or referencing the third-party content. For example, putting your headshot in the corner of a graphic might not cut it anymore. Instead, provide your take or your opinion at the end of a carousel or Reel.

This is mostly good news if you’re actually creating. Market updates you film yourself, hyperlocal content, opinion-based carousels, behind-the-scenes: all of that is exactly what Instagram wants to reward. The accounts that are going to feel this are the ones running on autopilot using brokerage graphics.

3. Instagram Insights Changed

There is now an updated dashboard for your Reels insights that puts your most important metrics front and center.

 

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A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

Here’s a solid breakdown of what this means:

 

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A post shared by Enrico Incarnati | Social Media Strategy | Content Marketing (@rico.incarnati)

The biggest addition for Reels is a new section called “What impacts your views,” which ranks engagement signals in order of importance to reach. 

1. Skip rate
2. Share rate
3. Like rate
4. Save rate
5. Repost rate
6. Comment rate

Skip rate sitting at the top means one thing: If people are swiping past your video in the first two seconds, none of the other metrics matter. Your hook is everything.

So… don’t introduce yourself at the beginning of a listing video.

Coming in at number 2 is shares. You know what gets shared? New, hyperlocal information. 

That’s why we have endless hyperlocal social media content (the non-generic type) and ideas inside our BAMx membership every week to make sure your content is original and gets shared.

Here’s what our members say:

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Here’s a summary of what you should take away from this blog:

1. If you lost followers this week, don’t sweat it. 
2. Post original content and you will be rewarded.
3. Check your insights and where your content needs work
4. Start a 7-Day Free trial for our membership for live content audits, weekly content ideas, and a community that wants to grow their brand.