Thursday, May 18, 2017

Dear Instagram

I've fallen out of love with Instagram. To me, it's my least favourite platform as I much prefer Twitter and Pinterest when it comes to all things blogging and beauty. When I first started blogging I absolutely loved Instagram. I was finding new bloggers every day, engagement was amazing and I was actively posting and commenting more than once a day. Now I absolutely hate it and let me tell you why, because who doesn't love a negative ranting blog post. 

Engagement is absolutely crap. Ever since the new algorithm I can go days without seeing some smaller bloggers' posts whose content I used to love engaging with. A timeline feed is supposed to be chronological and I don't want the first post that shows up to be from '5 hours ago' and then the next one from '1 minute ago'. I miss out regularly on people's posts and have to actively search for their names in order to find their latest blog posts and I'm sure this means my posts don't come up on theirs either. I haven't ever seen an increase in my likes or comments ever and have been sitting with '150' odd likes for MONTHS. 

I also haven't hit a milestone in forever. It took me absolutely AGES to hit 1,800 followers a couple of months ago and I've been dancing around that number....for a couple of months now. I kid you not I can gain 20 followers one day...and then lose 30 another. I'm definitely not all about the likes, and the numbers, it doesn't really bother me, but sadly brands are bothered by it. I would love to work with more brands but sadly because I don't have the numbers, they won't work with me. As I work in PR I know that numbers are everything and the main thing you look at as a brand and I just don't have that. 

The only thing that has been keeping any sort of my engagement going is the one Instagram Pod I'm part of. More than that and I would literally lose my mind. I'm part of a really lovely one with bloggers who I generally love and would have engaged with anyways, but there is one fault, it takes up  a lot of time and effort. I also feel bad because I don't want people to feel the need to like and comment on my photos, I want them to do it because they generally like my content. 

I'd love to know what your feelings are with Instagram at the moment? Twitter to me is the place where now I generally feel better true engagement and am able to really follow the bloggers I love. Dear Instagram, sort yourself out. 
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17 comments

  1. I totally agree with all of this! For me it is the worst thing when I see a post from two days ago! I hope Instagram will change those things in the future
    Kiki x www.kikibeingkiki.com

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  2. Love an insta-rant and I feel exactly the same as you, it is a piss take. The only reason they have done it, I think is so businesses etc. pay to promote their pages. So ridiculous xxx


    ALittleKiran | Bloglovin

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  3. I definitely agree with the points you make - people are not as engaging on Instagram

    Candice | Beauty Candy Loves

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  4. The following and unfollowing thing really gets me, I really don't get why someone would do it, like what do you get from it? I was really nervous about IG, I recently launched one for my blog and was totally scared about the following, liking, just everything but although, its not been easy, I'm glad I jumped on the bandwagon because I never used to post blog related stuff on my personal account. Have a great weekend Caroline xx

    tipscapsule.blogspot.com

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  5. I agree with all of this, I've completely fallen out of love with instagram. I wish they bring chronological ordered posts back!!
    Liv xx
    livslack.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. I feel this so hard! My engagement has halved lately even though my content hasn't changed in quality or frequency, and I feel like bots come in WAVES.

    http://neonchipmunkmakeup.blogspot.com.au/

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  7. I completely agree with this. I just hit 1,200 followers the other night and when I woke up the next morning I was down to 1,180. I hate it when people play this Follow--Wait For You To Follow Back--Unfollow game to build up their numbers, and believe me, I've seen a ton of bloggers doing this and it drives me mad.

    And it's like people only leave emoji comments on everything now and no one takes the time to read captions or actually engage with each other. Instagram honestly has been making me mad as well.

    Genevieve | blueaugustine.com

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  8. I also hate the chronological timeline, even on my personal account. My follower number has been hovering right around the same amount, too! I like my personal Instagram but I never look forward to posting on my blog one.

    Beauty From Katie

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  9. I'm currently loving Pinterest too!
    Instagram and I have never got on perfectly well. I guess I just preferred other platforms.

    I have a group board on Pinterest, for bloggers to promote their content. I'd love for you to join it as a contributor!

    Let me know.

    You have a new follower!

    Steph
    www.socialspying.com

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  10. This is so, so true. I've been hanging on to Pinterest and Twitter now too for some sanity, as IG is bringing me down so much! I feel the same way as you do – 20 new followers one day, 30 unfollows the next and I've stuck on the same number for a month now. It's so disheartening when you're making an effort to post new content every single day... for what? Sigh. Either way, I'm SO happy I've found your blog and Instagram! Already such a big fan! xx

    Francisca | www.franciscamay.com

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  11. For my blog, I deleted Instagram. It was a big move to makeup, but constantly fighting the new algorithm to actually try and get followers just seemed like an impossible task!

    Danielle xx
    http://www.fashionbeautyblog.co.uk/

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  12. I'm so sorry to hear that you feel this way girly :( honestly I was feeling the same way a few weeks ago, so when I got shadow banned I very nearly just deleted my account. Strangely, being shadow banned actually helped to reduce the amount of unfollowers I was getting, because the accounts that follow me from hashtag searches are usually the ones who will unfollow the next day anyway. I've started to put in a little extra work, I'm commenting and liking as many peoples photos as possible as they pop up in my feed, and I'm pre-shooting my posts like crazy, and the followers have started to go back up again. It is a lot of work though, and sometimes I do question if it's actually worth it.

    As for the Instagram pod part, I genuinely love your account! I can't vouch for everyone in the pod but for me it's never a chore to have to comment on your posts, I love seeing your new images pop up :) xx

    www.fridayfaye.com

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  13. I have the same opinion as you, the new algorithm ruined instagram. I used to post daily but after putting so much effort on my feed and have no positive response it just puts me off.

    Vanessa x | www.springlilies.com

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  14. Instagram really need to go back to their old ways, because its getting ridiculous now, I totally agree! Its so hard to gain followers, and up your engagement due to this stupid algorithm, I just wish they'd listen to their users feedback!

    Lucy | Forever September

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  15. Instagram really need to change their algorithm! I also got shadow banned recently which is also super annoying :(

    claresloves.blogspot.co.uk

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  16. I feel exactly the same! I hate that I'll see posts at the top from like 22 hours ago. I used to love finding new blogs through it and now I just don't feel I can do anything with it. Xox
    Www.thedarkeowl.co.uk

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  17. Having a large amount of likes versus a small amount of likes drives web traffic to the most relevant or up-to-date products and services. Consumers in general still choose to purchase products that have already been "tested" or liked by other consumers.Social Network

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