INSTAGRAM'SNEW BRANDINGSTRATEGY

As opposed to the nature ofsocial media platforms such asFacebook or Twitter, Instagram

was initially created toemphasize activities solelyrelated to sharing visual

mediums online.

With over four hundred millionmonthly users and a growingnumber of advertisers branding

their companies on theplatform, Instagram is addingan algorithm that reorderspictures and videos in users’feeds based on their interests.

Similar to a news feed in Facebook or theextensive Twitter feed, this actually allowsthe constant flow of information to becontext specific with the hopes topromote a much higher level of userengagement across the board.

Although marketers claim this inevitablemove is a small part in the overall socialmedia evolution, users are becomingmore and more wary of the next stepsthe company will take to secure its

innovative edge as the digital industryfurther expands.

Moreover, as the photo-

sharing app further expandsits strategy to driveengagement on their photosharing based platform,

Instagram has also acquirednew interactive tools inaddition to simply just thenews feed. Users can nowmessage followers directly,click into link that lead themto product or service landingpages and upload videosshowcasing their latest tripwith their friends.

However, many argue that this isn’t exactly what theonline photo sharing app’s user base was searchingfor when the platform was first developed in 2010by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger to sociallynetwork via photos. According to a Forrester

Research report form 2015, engagement on thisplatform had declined significantly yet data stillshowed that the platform still outperformed socialmedia competitors such as Facebook, Twitter,

Linkedin and Google +.

“Maybe it’s dramatic to call itthe death of organic social, butincreasingly, we’re telling ourclients, ‘If you’re not going toput money behind promotingyour content, organicengagement is a real toughthing to produce sustainably,”said Kyle Bunch, managingdirector of social at R/GA.

According to Instagramanalytics, users miss 70percent of the posts that showup in their feeds, meaningthey only see 30 percent of thecontent posted by users andbrands they follow. In turn, thiscreates a huge informationaldisconnect between userswho are not receiving thecontent geared towards theirinterests and the brandsattempting to portray acertain message to targetedaudiences.

30%

Kyle Bunch, managing director at R/GA statesthat “I don’t believe Instagram will go full-fledgeFacebook with its suppression of all organicreach for content,” she said. “The Instagram

community is just different and expects a levelof authenticity and accessibility that isn’t

reflected on Facebook.”

While this is useful tool that couldpotentially connect users and brand in amore effective way, some users agree thatthis could actually have a negative impacton the various ways in which individualsdiscover new information.