As he does every week, head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri took to his IG to discuss a topic many creators have voiced concerns about.
But for some, the changes Instagram is making don’t come as a surprise. Giselle Ugarte just posted a side-by-side comparison of one of her February Reels and Mosseri’s post from Tuesday.
The common theme: Recommendations.
In her caption, Giselle referenced a post on TikTok from two years prior, adding that her message had to do with the bigger picture of video content on social media platforms.
Giselle Ugarte’s post
The home feed is where Instagram users will see recommendations, which, as Giselle pointed out, will look similar to TikTok’s “For You” page.
You’ll start seeing more and more content with the FOLLOW button attached. What does that mean? It means you don’t already follow those people.
As Giselle points out, recommendations will be based on the following:
- What you’re already consuming
- Whom you’re already following
- What you’re searching
- What you’re DM-ing
- What you’re messaging
Instagram shares its recommendations in Feed, Explore, and the Reels tab.
Adam Mosseri’s post
While Giselle’s post incorporates part of Mosseri’s, his full post details why recommendations are the future of social and what he hopes they accomplish for Instagram users.
If we do our job right, and I want to be clear we’re not there yet, we’ll help people discover amazing creators in a way that both means that people spend more time on the platform, but also that the average creator gets more reach.
What you need to know about Recommendations
If you’re a content creator on Instagram and you want to know how to get more reach through recommendations, Mosseri offers the following tips:
- Post original content
- Use the Reels Best Practices
- Use captions
- Use hashtags (but don’t overdo it)
Those last two help the Instagram algorithm figure out what your photo or video is about. All four improve the odds of your content appearing in a user’s search results.
If you’re an agent wanting to build a social presence on Instagram or, better yet, all the platforms, recommendations can either be your blind spot or one of your best tools.
To stay on top of changes, check out our free ebooks and posts on the newest Instagram updates.
