ICYMI: April’s Biggest Headlines

NEW: Instagram Reels ranking update!

Apr 30, 2024

∙ Paid

Screenshot of an Instagram graphic that describes their ranking updates for creators. Background is pink. On the left is a mobile screen that show an Instagram Reel. Copy describes the new ranking system: Content understanding - We categorize content from public IG accounts using specific signals. Audience Matching - Initially, we present the content to a small audience that we believe will like it. Multistage Exposure - The content that resonates most with this audience is then shown to a slightly larger audience, and this process continues. Content You See - Going through this process allows us to quickly provide you with new and diverse content that you'll enjoy.

Welcome to April’s ICYMI: You Need to Know It Edition!

Instagram just squeaked in a major update at the last minute so I’m dedicating the first part of this newsletter to their new focus on smaller creators.

The rest of this newsletter is a monthly round-up of major platform updates that I provide for paid subscribers.

Let’s get into it!

👀 🔍 Instagram Ranking Update for Creators

Instagram just announced that they want to help smaller creators find new audiences for their Reels.

Previously, recommended Reels were ranked primarily based on how an account’s followers engaged with them. This meant that accounts with the largest followings often saw the most reach on their Reels.

FYI: Recommended content shows up in your feed, the Reels feed and the Explore tab.

Now, to help smaller original content creators break through, Instagram is introducing four changes:

A new input to ranking that will give smaller creators more distribution
Replacing reposts with original content in recommendations
Adding labels to reposted content, linking to the original creator
Removing content aggregators from recommendations

Here’s how it works: Eligible original content will be shown to a small audience that may enjoy it, regardless of whether they follow the account. The top performing Reels will be shown to a slightly wider audience, then the best of these are shown to an even wider group.

This will roll out over the next few months.

At the same time, accounts that repeatedly (10 or more times in the last 30 days) post content from other Instagram users that they didn’t create or enhance in a material way will not be shown in surfaces where content is recommended.

Which doesn’t mean aggregators will disappear, it’s just the shady ones that won’t get recommended. According to Instagram: “This will not impact a set of publishers we’ve identified who have licensing agreements and/or explicit permissions from content creators.”

Here are the highlights of what else happened in April that should be on your radar:

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