What Instagram’s chronological feed means for brands and creators

Instagram’s new chronological feed is giving new hope to creators and brands on the Meta-owned app. And the chronological feed, which gives people the option to see all the posts from accounts they follow as opposed to only the posts picked by an algorithm, may mean more real-time marketing on Instagram during major events, as was the case with yesterday’s Oscars. In recent months, Meta has been experimenting with alternative models for Instagram’s algorithm, including launching two new feeds. The new structure gives users multiple options for viewing posts—by algorithm, in chronological order, and one reserved for 50 “favorites.” “On the brand and creator side, there is an excitement and optimism about it,” said Amber Gallihar Boyes, director analyst at research firm Gartner. “I’ve seen creators just really feeling beaten down by lack of reach on Instagram and this gives them some element of control because they can make sure they’re connecting with their most loyal fans and followers.” Sign up for Ad Age’s Influencer Marketing Today newsletter here. Tweaks to Instagram are always a big deal to marketers and creators, who are typically the most popular accounts, and they fret over every metric. Marketers analyze the best times to post, how many people view the posts, and how long they engage. They see how many followers viewed a post, versus how many non-followers were exposed to one. Creators consider whether the best post is a photo or a Reels video. Changes to the algorithm or feed can dramatically affect the reach that creators and brands have on the app. Here is what the marketing experts are saying about Instagram’s changes: How it works The main feed, or home feed, is still algorithmically generated and personalized. Now people have the option to click into the “following” and “favorites” feeds. “Following” will show posts from all the accounts a person follows, with the newest posts appearing first. The “favorites” feed is a curated section that only shows posts from up to 50 accounts identified as a favorite by the user. Those selected “favorites” accounts get priority in the home feed, too. The alternative feeds also won’t show Instagram Stories, which only appear on the home screen. Instagram users have been watching more Stories, which sit in a row above the algorithmic feed, as opposed to endlessly scrolling feeds, according to Nicholas Stoeckle, executive director of strategy and innovation at PPK, an advertising and production company. The new feeds could bring back the era of scrolling, Stoeckle said. “Consumers have been fighting for this for a very long time,” Stoeckle said. More real-time experimentation “If you’re in the sports space, you might welcome a return to a chronological feed,” said Shawn Francis, head of creative at We Are Social, a social media marketing agency. “You could go back to doing those things you do on Twitter.” Instagram marketers already use the app in live situations, but if people jump into the chronological feed during events like the Oscars or the Super Bowl that will make it even more of a real-time marketing play, Francis said. Twitter has traditionally been the go-to app for live conversation. This past weekend, Instagram tried to introduce more live buzz during the Oscars by commissioning 12 creators to stalk the red carpet and produce Reels and other content for the app. On Sunday, Instagram was heavy on Oscar conversations, partly because of the creators it hired. But the chronological feed also worked as advertised, showing posts as they came in from the event. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Remi Jo (@remibader) The chronological feed could inspire new tactics from brands, Francis said. “If you play it right [as a brand] you can almost … give people the experience that ‘if you’re not there when it happens, you’re missing out,’” Francis said. For a brand or creator, “what content can you put out that makes people say, ‘I have to follow this brand in real-time,’” Francis said. Fight for favorites “There’s competition from creators and pages that are really trying to get followers to add to that 50 slot list,” said Emily Berk, creative manager at Offbeat, a digital media company with about 7 million followers across seven channels on Instagram. Creators have already been explaining to Instagram fans how to add them to the “favorites” list. The creators are using tutorials to teach fans what to do, Gartner’s Gallihar Boyes said. It will be tough for brands to get consumers to include them in the high-priority “favorites” feed. “With 50 spots, people will be selective,” Stoeckle said. But if a brand or creator can get into a person’s favorites, that follower is sure to be a strong advocate, Stoeckle said. “As an agency, we’ll be identifying ways that we can integrate brands and this new favorite mechanism,” Stoeckle said. More metrics to dissect “Marketers will now have to juggle and really understand the resulting data from … different feeds to see which one provides more value for different creators,” Abhish Desai, creative director at The Social Standard, wrote in an email. “Does one provide more engagement for certain creators than others? What percentage of a particular creator’s audience prefers the chronological versus the algorithm? Does one feed allow more reach than the other?” Brands and creators could get a better sense of their most loyal fans, based on whether they get into the favorites section. It will be interesting to see if Instagram tells creators what percentage of the audience favorites them, Stoeckle said. And brands and creators will have to experiment with different posting times to optimize the chronological feed, Stoeckle said. Instagram has not explained every detail of how the new feeds and reporting will work. Instagram also did not return a request for comment for this story. Of course, any impact from the new feeds on Instagram marketing hinges on whether consumers use them. “The goal of any algorithm change is to increase time on app,” Ryan Detert, CEO of Influential, an influencer marketing firm, wrote in an email. “If this doesn't produce that effect, it won’t be available for long.” Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis.

What Instagram’s chronological feed means for brands and creators

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