One Surefire Way To Guarantee Instagram’s New Algorithm Doesn’t Hurt Your Career

The big panic in the world of social media in 2016 has been the rise of algorithmic feeds and the competition amongst brands, bands, and artists it is believed to create. YouTube, Facebook, and Vine have already implemented algorithms that are designed to show users what the system believes is most important to them first as opposed to what is newest on the site, and with each change came a wave of panic from those who rely on social media to raise awareness for their latest products, tours, or related offerings similar to what we are experiencing as of late in relation to Instagram. The truth is, however, that those who are already reaching thousands or even millions of users have far less to worry about than those with only a few hundred followers, and even then there is very little to be concerned about as long as you’re doing the one thing we all hope to find whenever following a new account online: Quality content.

Yes, despite the rumors that the only way brands, artists, and bands will be able to reach followers moving forward is by encouraging them to opt-in for notifications every time an account posts a new image, the real answer to the so-called “algorithm apocalypse” is the same answer to the question of how one amasses a sizable following in the first place. Aside from family ties, the quality or perceived quality of content being shared is one of the biggest factors in determining placement in social media algorithms. In theory, if you have an account with a large amount of followers you have most likely earned those follows through sharing great content, and as long as you continue to post content that is meaningful to your followers then your reach will continue to thrive. Some followers may be lost, but if so it’s only because their previous actions on that platform rarely involved engaging with your content, and if that is the case – does losing them really matter at the end of the day? You might not reach as many people, but those who actively engage with you will be retained, and those who haven’t been engaged will remain inactive. If that makes the entire idea of worrying about algorithmic changes feel silly it should because such fears are largely unfounded.

Regardless of whatever algorithmic hurdles are placed on reach by social media platforms those who create quality content will always rise to the top. Their rise might be a bit slower than it would have been in the days when everything was shared all at once in real time, but then again it might not. Throttling the flow of content in a way guarantees more people will see the best content available, which means they will be spending less time seeing and engaging with things that don’t really interest them. This act of internet time saving encourages engagement by quickening meaningful discovery, and as long as you’re producing the best content you can create people will discover your work regardless of the invisible math behind how they find it.

James Shotwell