Instagram for me was a fun artistic way to express myself. Now it has become a career. And in this post I will share some tips of how to beat the new algorithm being put into play that will be similar to Facebook.
To illustrate why this is affecting me and thousands others lets think of me as a shop. I build my shop on a busy street. I get lots of business. Then the city decided to reroute my street. My business goes down. And the city says they’ll let a couple cars in if I pay them money. Pretty greedy if you ask me.

So if you’re not into social media marketing you may not know that Facebook has an algorithm which determines what is in your news feed. The posts that are shown are not what was organically posted. If you’ve ever wondered why you never see your aunts posts anymore, that is why. And if you’ve ever seen a business with tons of people liking their page but hardly anyone engaging or liking it. It’s because Facebook has withheld that post from being views. Currently if you are wanting to get your posts seen you have to pay money to “boost” that post. 
The story’s starting to make sense, right? And for the new businesses like mine, boosting posts and building a following there is like cleaning a house with a bunch of kids running around. It’s gonna happen slow. And it costs some mu-lah as well. This algorithm has made Facebook a terrible place to market, especially for small businesses, like mine.
Just yesterday Instagram announced that they will be soon implementing a algorithm to Instagram that is similar to Facebook. This means a loss for thousands of small businesses that have put money into building their business there. And frankly I’m obviously affected. So here are a few things you can do to help combat this and help your account survive through it. 
1. You can sign the petition. Please. I know Instagram may seem silly to plead for. But it is what pays the bills for my family.
2. Set up posting pods. Posting pods are a group DM in which members support each other to help them get better statistic for the algorithm. Every time you post you post a heart on the DM. And them all the other members will go to your page, like the post, and comment. This helps your algorithm. In return you do the same for all the other members in the group.
3. Keep maintaing a high level of content meaning you post editorial grade photos while being authentic. Post photos that will grab other attention. Remember something to always strive for on Instagram as a business is to inspire, entertain, or connect personally.
4. Engage. Comment back with your followers as much as possible. Let them know you’re present and you appreciate them stopping by. Stop by their page. Show them some love. That will make them come back.
5. Ask your followers to turn on post-notifications. I’m doing it tonight. All someone has to do it click the top right three dots on someones profile. And then select “Turn on Post Notifications.” This way your followers wont miss your posts.
6. Comments and like others photos from previous posts when you posts. By doing this it will send a notification to them that you liked their photo and creates a better chance that they will come to your page. 
7. Use relevant hashtags and lots of them. Did you know Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags! Use them, and put them in your first comment. No one wants to see all your hashtags. But I say use them because each hashtag is another way someone may see your account. I know a lot of people just put the 30 most relevant hashtags in their notes on their phone. And then they copy them when they post.

When I started Canary Jane I really loved sharing what I was doing on Instagram. I started Canary Jane last year with about 1,000 followers and I have spent hours and money on learning all I could about Instagram. In that time I grew my business account to over 10,000 followers and maintained a good amount of followers commenting and “liking” my photos. 
 I’ve made thousands of dollars from Instagram because of the referrals and clients who have found me there. My publishers for my coloring book even found me because of Instagram. Instagram has become more powerful than this blog and serves almost as a portfolio for my work. My business is now based off of Instagram. Because of what I have learned I have consulted over 6 accounts in the last 4 months and are currently maintaining 3 and consulting a fourth. So you can imagine how my the announcement from Instagram to change their algorithm has got me frazzled. 

Thanks for stopping by. And thanks for your support here and on Instagram. These are a few ways I’ll be trying to combat the new algorithm. Please comment with questions below. And I periodically take on accoutns as consults or run them. Email hello@canaryjane (dot) com if interested.  And as always, peace, love and chicken grease.

All photos were taken by Peace Photo. My outfit is from Poppy Wells . Noras shoes are from Ikiki Shoes. Her outfit is from Tin Tin Baby. Her bow is from LaurLeLu. The bike is from E-Spokes.


The new Instagram algorithm, petition, and some marketing tips.

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