This can cause some headaches for social media managers and content creators on Instagram, at least in the initial stages of implementation.
Today, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has Announce Instagram is updating the way it ranks content to focus more on original work.
? ? ? new function? ? ? ?
We’ve added new tagging methods and improved rankings:
– product label
– Enhanced tags
– Originality ranking
Creators are very important to the future of Instagram, and we want to make sure they are successful and receive all the credit they deserve. pic.twitter.com/PP7Qa10oJr
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) April 20, 2022
according to Mosseri:
“If you create something from scratch, you deserve more credit than sharing what you found from someone else. [As such] We will do more experimentation and value original content, especially compared to retweeted content. “
So what exactly does this mean?
Does this mean that if you post from other platforms, you will get a reach penalty on IG?
Does this mean that if a bigger profile republishes your original content, you could be penalized for it?
It’s a bit complicated, and Mosseri doesn’t seem entirely convinced that Instagram can do it.
In response to various questions on Twitter, Mosseri explained:
- Content edited outside of Instagram and then uploaded to the app will not be penalized under this change. according to Mosseri: “The idea is that if you do it, it’s original. If you edit it outside of Instagram and bring it in through the gallery, that’s fine.” Programmatically re-shared content with visible watermarks will be downgraded, with a particular focus on re-sharing TikTok content to Reels. Content with visible logos or watermarks will still be penalized under the policy, at least in Reels, but other than that, this change isn’t designed to stop people from sharing content edited outside of IG itself.
- Release history is a factor. Mosseri notes Content aggregators are the focus of this update, and Instagram will be able to refer to an account’s posting history as a way to determine this. “If the account is an aggregator, we’ll be more likely to detect that it’s not original.” So if you repost a lot of content from other accounts, you may see a drop in reach. Up until now, posting trending memes has been an easy way to increase engagement, but maybe that won’t be the case anymore.
- Instagram’s original content ranking is in progress. Mosseri admitted that Instagram could not determine whether the content was original. “We build classifiers to predict how likely it is that something is original, but we don’t know that. We look at the people in the video, and if we’ve seen the video before.” So maybe, if you share something from another source Content, all your uploads will have different people, which could be a signal, and Instagram’s algorithm will also look for duplicate posts. How will Instagram know which account is the originator and which is the replicator?Release time may be a factor, but Mosseri notes “If someone impersonates the original creator, it’s less likely but possible, and it’s hard for us to know.”
Essentially, the aim is to reduce the dominance of aggregator sites and give more credit to the original creator. Ideally, you’ll see fewer content farms or retweeters dominating your Explore feed, and Instagram is now pushing more recommended posts to your main feed, which should be more original as well.
But the system is imperfect, and some accounts will undoubtedly be unfairly penalized for it. However, Mosseri again noted that Instagram will continue to improve its detection process over time to better identify the source and publisher of content to help amplify the real creators rather than having bigger farm accounts take over all the content . got engaged.
Considering the number of aggregator accounts in the application, it can have a big impact or a small one. It’s hard to say right now, but the basic principle is to keep publishing original content to the app – if you’re republishing, maybe it’s time to reduce your reliance on that content.
For brands, this could also have implications for UGC and re-using customers’ posts and updates if they also publish them on their own profiles. UGC can be a great social proof option and a great way to engage with your community, really, it will come down to measuring the impact of changes versus the benefits of a release.
As always, it’s all about experimenting and seeing how updates change pointers in the app over time.
