Since its initial arrival to the social media world, Instagram has grown substantially in popularity and use. In 2018, the platforms’ leaders announced that it reached one billion users. However, some experts think that Instagram is in a decline. This leads us to two important questions: is Instagram bottoming out? And if so, what does that mean for its users?
No More Growth?
Since the announcement of one billion users in 2018, there have been no further updates on the number of users. With this, active users are seeing a decline in organic reach. Organic reach is the number of users reached by an account’s unpaid content; users contribute to organic reach when they come across posts, Stories, and Reels without advertising. However, some believe that Instagram is intentionally killing organic reach because they want users to pay for greater engagement on their posts. Does this mean a user has to pay for advertising to increase their reach? Not necessarily. However, users do need to create content that Instagram favors in order to improve their growth rate. Currently, the platform is pushing for more content in the form of Instagram Reels.
Chasing Trends
Oftentimes, social media platforms will “borrow” ideas from each other. For instance, Snapchat introduced “stories” to its users back in 2013. Since then, almost every popular social media site has created a social “story” section for its platform. More recently, TikTok has pushed to the front of commonly used social media platforms. The short-form, trendy video content the platform offers is one that Instagram has aggressively sought after. To compete with TikTok, Instagram created the form of content known as “Reels,” which is virtually identical to TikTok content. Initially, Reels were not quite comparable to TikToks - however, Instagram’s new post format is now seeing much greater success in its ability to compete with TikTok. Still, not every “borrowed” idea has proven so worthwhile; Instagram has had varying levels of success with its newly integrated ideas.
Turning to eCommerce
With online advertising now so easily accessible to users, it’s no surprise that social media platforms are looking more to eCommerce. Instagram appears to be prioritizing eCommerce on the platform more than others; this year, experts believe Instagram will release new shopping features to its users. Already, Instagram has introduced a “Shop” section in the main navigation menu on the platform. While it’s still unclear what this may mean for Instagram users, one thing is certain: Instagram is definitely looking to move away from the standard photo feed post.
And yet…
Even with the many changes Instagram has or will see in the near future, the platform is still an incredibly useful tool for reaching people! Hashtags, Stories, Reels, and DMs are valuable helpful features to establish relationships with others online. To see true success on the platform, users will have to develop a solid strategy to remain relevant and continuously grow.
Not sure where to start? Reach out to our marketing team for more information!
Upcoming Local Events
What’s the best way to celebrate the start of February? With the Vintage Market in downtown St. Pete, of course! From February 4th to the 6th, join the Tampa Bay area in local vintage vendors, food, live music, and so much more!
For more information about the event, visit the February Vintage Market Facebook page here!
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