Instagram is currently the fastest growing social network. Recently users felt a shift in the service during database maintenance. Both Instagram and its parent company Facebook did some house cleaning due to the amount of fake and spam accounts. During these updates, it has been reported that Instagram is not emphasizing posts of accounts that have a large number of followers.

Not all media is treated equally. All accounts (private, personal or business) are ranked. If the account is ranked highly, the posts that account makes will be seen by more people. This also works the other way though, making it harder for poorly managed accounts. One way to see if an account has poor ranking is if they have 1K+ followers but doesn’t average more than 50 likes per post.

The focus is shifting to engagement percentage: how many audience members interact per post. One of the best examples of a really good engagement percentage is @phtptxclsv. Patrick gets hundreds of likes and comments for every post he does even though he’s only got a few thousand followers. He’s got a loyal and engaged following.

Now that Instagram is no longer focusing on total follower count, online marketers need to adjust their strategy. Interaction and engagement on each post is one of the best predictors for how much reach an account can get. Account managers should focus on building an engaged community online.

-Trey Currid