How to change my instagram feed
4 steps you can take right now to improve your Instagram feed : NPR
4 steps you can take right now to improve your Instagram feed From celebrities to regular users, many people are complaining that Instagram doesn't know what users want. Here's what you can do to clean up your feed and get rid of suggested posts.
Technology
Instagram has come under fire for changes to its algorithm. Jenny Kane/AP hide caption
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Jenny Kane/AP
Instagram has come under fire for changes to its algorithm.
Jenny Kane/AP
From Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen to meme creators and everyday users, many social media consumers seem to be in consensus: Instagram is dying — or perhaps has already died.
Instagram has declared itself to no longer be "just a square photo-sharing app." When the company launched Reels, a vertical video product, in August 2020, it was widely viewed as a transparent attempt to catch up with the wild success of TikTok.
In June 2021, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the app's new priorities would be on creators, shopping, messaging, and — most controversially — video. It seems like Instagram's prioritization of video has come back to haunt it, with many users saying they are no longer seeing posts from family and friends.
Multiple celebrities have posted criticisms of the algorithmic changes in the past few days, prompting Mosseri to defend practices like recommendations, which are posts in a user's feed from accounts they do not follow.
If you're one of the many who are tired of suggested content and Reels, here's what you can do to clean up your Instagram feed.
Give input on your algorithm
Instagram/Screenshot by NPR
If, say, you're randomly being plagued by fan pages for a show you've never seen or memes about a city you don't live in, you can tell Instagram its algorithm has gotten it wrong.
On your Explore page, you can get rid of a suggested post you don't want to see by tapping the three dots in the top right corner and selecting "not interested."
If you feel like the advertisements being pushed to you don't make sense, you can also give input in ad topics by going to settings — selecting ads, then ad topics and choosing to see less of a certain ad topic.
Instagram/Screenshot by NPR
If you're curious what the algorithm knows — or thinks it knows — about you, you can see a list of interests Instagram has determined you have by going to settings, ads, then ad interests.
Snooze suggested posts — temporarily
When you see a recommended post in your feed, tap the three dots in the top right corner and click "not interested." From there, you can choose to snooze all suggested posts in your feed for 30 days.
Once those 30 days are up, you'll have to snooze suggested posts again. It's doubtful that Instagram will add an option to snooze suggested posts permanently, but at least they can be snoozed temporarily.
Instagram/Screenshot by NPR
Choose your feed view
By tapping the Instagram logo in the top left corner, you can toggle between two feed settings: following or favorites.
Instagram/Screenshot by NPR
Favorites "shows you the latest from accounts that you choose, like your best friends and favorite creators," Instagram says. Following "shows you posts from the people you follow. "
You can add up to 50 accounts on your favorites list and use the favorites view to see only posts from those accounts. Accounts on your favorites list will also show up higher in your feed, making you less likely to miss a post from a friend.
Do an account purge
Instead of scrolling past that one account you don't remember why you followed in the first place, take the extra step to unfollow it.
Go through your following list and unfollow the accounts that post too much, or that you don't actually want to see. In your following tab, Instagram makes it easy to see the accounts you interact with the least and the accounts most shown in your feed — both good places to start a cleanout.
By following fewer accounts overall, you're more likely to see the content you actually want.
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How to change your Instagram feed from algorithmic to chronological
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(Image credit: Android Central)After years of feeding us an algorithmic feed with a mix of followed and recommended accounts in no particular order, Instagram has finally brought back the chronological feed. However, the company has split this off into two different modes, each with a different particular focus from the main Home feed.
The Instagram app already makes it easy to use multiple Instagram accounts on Android. This new feature makes it just as easy to access multiple feeds, but we'll walk you through these different feeds and how to manage them.
How to view your Following and Favorites feeds
1. To view your chronological feeds, open your Instagram app and tap the Instagram logo on the top left corner.
2. A small overflow menu will appear with two options; "Following" and "Favorites." Select one to be taken to that particular feed.
(Image credit: Android Central)Following and Favorites feeds
While both the Following and Favorites feeds show content in chronological order, they both serve different purposes, as explained by Instagram.
The Following mode is a chronological feed that shows content from the accounts that you follow and nothing else. That means you won't see any suggested posts from accounts you don't follow like you will on the Home feed.
The Favorites mode is a little more involved and consists of the accounts you've favorited. This means you'll see only these specific accounts, allowing you to easily keep up with your favorite people and Instagram accounts. These accounts will also appear higher in your Home feed. Your Favorites list is also private, so users won't be notified when they're added to the list.
How to add accounts to your Favorites feed
There are a few ways to add accounts to your Favorites list. Here are the easiest ways we've found, in no particular order.
1. From your Instagram profile page, tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner.
2. Select "Favorites" near the bottom of the menu.
3. Choose accounts to add from the suggested list or type in the name of the person you want to add.
(Image credit: Android Central)1. Visit the profile of the account you want to favorite. Hit the "Following" button (follow the account if you aren't already).
2. From the menu, choose "Add to favorites."
(Image credit: Android Central)1. To manage your favorites directly from the Favorites feed, hit the hamburger menu found at the top right corner.
2. Like the first method, choose accounts you'd like to follow or type them into the search box.
(Image credit: Android Central)And there you have it! Now you have access to your chronological feed and the accounts that really matter to you without the added noise of Instagram's algorithm trying to suggest posts for you or which new accounts to follow based on your activity.
The new feeds are available on iOS devices and the best Android phones. Keep in mind that while Instagram gives us access to these new feeds, the regular home page is still the default. So if you exit the app, you'll be taken directly to the algorithmic feed and not the chronological feed.
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Setting up the Instagram Feed application | Help Center
You can set up the Instagram Feed app after you connect it to your Instagram business account or personal Instagram account. Choose the language of the app, change the design and layout, customize the button text, and add links to your posts.
Contents:
- Changing the application display
- Configuring application settings
- Editing application text and links
- Change app layout
- Customize app design
Change app display
On the Show tab in the Instagram Feed settings panel, select the information from your Instagram account that you want to show, whether you want to show or hide your posts and hashtags.
To change the display of the Instagram Feed:
- Select the Instagram Feed application in the editor.
- Press Set .
- Go to tab Show .
- Activate the Your Profile radio button to select the account information you want to display in the Instagram Feed.
- Activate the Your posts toggle to display posts in the Instagram Feed.
- Turn on the Feed hashtags toggle to display hashtags in the Instagram Feed.
Note: Hashtags that have not been used in the last 30 days will not be displayed. This is a Facebook limitation. - Find the hashtags to display in feed hashtags under Hashtags to display .
Note: You can search 30 hashtags in 7 days. This is a Facebook limitation.
Customize app settings
You can customize the behavior of the Instagram Feed when visitors interact with it in the Settings tab in the app settings panel.
Select the application language, click and hover behavior of posts, and the direction in which profile information and posts are displayed.
To adjust these settings:
- Click on the Instagram Feed app in the editor.
- Press Set .
- Go to tab Settings .
- Select the language you want to use in the application under Application language .
- Select what happens when a visitor clicks on a post in section On clicking on post .
- Expand to full screen: when you click on a post, it opens in full screen.
- Open on Instagram: when you click on a post, it opens on Instagram in a new tab.
- Nothing: clicking on a post does nothing.
- Click the Post hover action radio button to choose whether to display captions, comments, and likes when a visitor hovers over a post.
- Select the direction in which your posts will appear to visitors in section Application direction .
Edit text and app links
You can choose the text that will be displayed in the app and add links to your Instagram posts in the Text tab in the app settings panel.
To edit text and links:
- Click on the Instagram Feed app in the editor.
- Press Set .
- Go to tab Text .
- Choose whether to show hashtags, a custom title, or no title in section Gallery title .
Note: This option is only available if you have connected an Instagram business account. - Edit the button text that allows visitors to follow your account.
Note: This option is only available if you have connected an Instagram business account.
- Edit the button text that allows visitors to download more posts in section Show More button text .
- Go to tab Links .
- Click Add Links to add links to Instagram posts. You can add links to pages on your site, Wix Stores products, or other sites. Learn more
Change app layout
Customize your Instagram Feed layout in tab Layout in the application settings panel. You can choose different settings for profile information, posts, and feed hashtags.
To change the layout:
- Click on the Instagram Feed app in the editor.
- Press Set .
- Go to tab Layout .
- Click Your profile .
- Customize the layout, shape, and size of your profile picture.
- Press Back .
- Click Your posts .
- Select the layout, size, spacing, and padding of posts.
- Choose whether to allow visitors to see older posts by enabling the Show More button .
- Press Back .
- Click Tape hashtags .
- Select the layout, size, spacing, and padding of the hashtag.
App design customization
You can customize the design of the Instagram Feed app in tab Design in the application settings panel. Choose different settings for your posts, text, buttons, app background, and expanded versions of individual posts.
To customize the app design:
- Click on the Instagram Feed app in the editor.
- Press Set .
- Go to tab Design .
- Click Posts .
- Adjust the transparency and color for the layer effect and text, select the information you want to display and additional layer effects for your posts.
- Press Back .
- Press Text . Note: This option is only available when connected to an Instagram business account.
- Customize text fonts and colors for your profile information and feed hashtags.
- Press Back .
- Press Buttons .
- Customize the font, color and button design.
- Press Back .
- Press Background .
- Adjust the transparency and background color for the Instagram Feed app, as well as your profile, posts, and hashtags.
- Press Back .
- Press button Set expansion .
- Set the display of posts in the Instagram Feed in expanded mode.
- Press Save .
rules of survival - Dark site of marketing
You must have heard the scary story that Instagram will never be the same again? Everything flows, everything changes, and the Instagram feed changes along with all this. Soon posts will be displayed not according to the principle of “novelty”, but according to the principle of “interesting” for the user. What does this mean and how to live with it - let's try to figure it out.
Instagram feed changes
Initially, the news feed on Instagram was formed on a temporary basis. That is, the posts of friends in your feed were displayed in order: someone just posted - this photo appears in the feed first, who posted 10 hours ago - this photo is lower in the feed, you have to scroll to it.
At the beginning of March, Instagram announced on its blog that it turns out that we are skipping about 70% of the posts in our feeds. And we need to do something about it. As a result, it was decided to make the Instagram feed look like a Facebook feed. In the Facebook feed, posts are displayed according to the principle of "interest" for the user. Those posts that the user is most likely to be interested in facebook raises higher in the feed. Those posts that are probably of less interest to the user are lowered (in fairness it should be noted that in the facebook settings you can choose the type of feed: popular news or the latest).
How to determine which post is interesting and which is not? Instagram itself says that this will be determined by user behavior. Account posts that the user likes and comments on will appear in his feed above others.
What does this mean? This means that even if you have 100,500 followers, but they don't like or comment on your posts, soon they won't see your photos in their feeds at all. No, at first all posts will remain in the feeds, only their order will change. But whether they get through to your publication is a question.
Don't panic
With the release of the announcement of a new feed on the Instagram blog, life was divided into “before” and “after”. People created a petition asking them to cancel the innovations, and perhaps they didn’t go to rallies. Then a new wave of panic came and everyone posted pictures asking them to turn on notifications for new posts. With each new such post, the versions changed: if in the morning they were asked to turn on notifications so as not to simply miss posts, then in the evening they began to ask to turn on notifications so that posts would appear in the feed at all.
As a result, instead of subscribing, users began unsubscribing from those who posted such calls to “keep up”. So survival #1: Don't panic.
Post interesting content
Now officially on Instagram, texts have become as important as beautiful photos. If up to this point you have sinned by publishing photos without captions or with only tags, then don’t do it again. Start adding descriptions to your posts, and it is desirable that it be informative and interesting. Even better, if your posts evoke emotions: laughter, anger, the desire to argue and prove - this is good, because these are comments and holivar. And if you are commented on, then you are interested - here, please, put your post above the rest.
Funny and useful content will also work well, because they are willingly shared with friends by tagging them in the comments.
Tag other people
If you publish a post, talk about someone, or publish a text inspired by another blogger, tag it in your post. He will receive a notification that he was marked, he will go to your account, read, maybe even like and comment. All this is interaction with your account, which, in theory, should be counted as interest.
Chat with followers
If people write comments to you and you ignore them, soon people will get tired of writing to you. No one is interested in a one-way conversation. Unless you are Ksyusha Borodina, then ok, no one is waiting for an answer from you.
Moreover, a comment can be turned into a dialogue, and the user will come back to answer you, and again, and again, and again ...
Use a call to action
If you sincerely think that you post interesting content, you are sure that you have live subscribers, but they still do not like or comment on your publications, ask them what is wrong. Ask for help, let the readers themselves tell you what they don't like. Maybe you make good posts, but not about that?
Vkontaktovsky option “Do you like it? Like it!" can also be used. Moreover, the call options may be different:
● Would you like more articles on this topic? Like!
● If the post gets 1000 likes, I'll tell you how...
● Would you like a discount? Like.
● If the post gets 1000 likes, there will be a sale tomorrow.
Cooperation with bloggers with an active audience
Not everyone loves and is used to leaving comments and likes on the posts of strangers and shops. Many people just read silently. But there are a number of people who come to Instagram to communicate. If you have found a blogger with an active audience, then this audience is already ready to communicate. She will not need to be "rocked", she only needs to be given a new platform for comments - your account.
Therefore, negotiate joint promotions, marathons, advertising and other forms of cooperation with such bloggers. However, please note that your account must be conducive to communication. If you publish photos taken in the dark with a flash, and even without a signature, no matter how the blogger promotes you, this will not give an effect.
Official Targeted Instagram Ads
You can advertise single posts on facebooke. It is likely that such a function will appear in Instagram (yet it is not). But targeted advertising is already there.
If you sell through Instagram, then such advertising allows you to transfer the target audience directly to the sales page (website or landing page). The main thing is to correctly set up advertising on Instagram and that the receiving page is adapted for mobile devices.
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