The great algo change
Many of you would have seen that in the last few weeks we’ve had basically no reach. In the initial couple weeks, posts were only reaching a fraction of people’s followers. No one else. It didn’t go out to non-followers via hashtags. It didn’t go out to non-followers via Explore. The growth stopped. Everything was at a standstill.
Whilst we all claim that numbers don’t matter and that we’re all here for the community aspect and for the fun of it, deep down inside we know it hurts. Seeing the reach, seeing the big numbers, seeing the follower count grow, it’s all a type of validation that your content is improving and that people are interested in it.
What happens when all of that stops? What happens when the only people who see your content are a tiny fraction of your own following and no one else? All of a sudden it feels like you’re flying blind, like there’s no point to it all.
I’ve seen both sides of the fence, with some that are frustrated with what’s happening, and with others not caring and posting for the fun of it.
I won’t lie, I fall into the bucket of being frustrated. Keep in mind that content reach is the reason brands reach out to work with you.
In a little over 5 months I was able to grow into the 3K barrier, with my top posts reaching into 6 digits. I had strong hopes of continuing that momentum (if not breaking it). As soon as I had realised what was happening with the algorithm changes, my own content had slowed down. I stopped caring as much. It just didn’t feel as enticing to go to the effort of creating content in which a small handful would see.
That’s when it made me realise that the numbers were a blessing and a curse. Knowing what posts did well, a lot of my content started skewing to that direction, and not necessarily what I had wanted to develop creatively. I posted with the aim of maximising reach, not necessarily getting better at my craft. I had lost sight of why I started this account in the first place. The limited reach helped me realise that I’m still here to admire the great creative content of others, to learn from them, and to help teach others. The community aspect is very much still here.
I was free to post whatever the heck I wanted without care of reach. And so begins the descent into the dark and moody rabbit hole. I’ve started having fun again.
That being said, the message is clear. IG wants us to move towards the direction of reels and video content. Maybe it’s time to adapt, evolve and survive as content creators.
