Instagram's Algorithm Tweak Will Shake Things Up, What Influencers Should Know

Instagram is making big changes to its recommendation engine with the aim of connecting creators to audiences that might not have been accessible in the past. The company appears to be working towards making its platform more friendly to smaller content creators, as the changes all seem geared towards increasing reach for this subset of users. Instagram went into the details of these changes so that creators know what to expect.

One of the biggest changes is the way the platform ranks recommendations, which the company says will “give all creators an equal chance of breaking through.” To accomplish this all eligible content will be put in front of a small audience that might enjoy it, even if that audience isn’t following the creator. If this content does well then it will continue to be shown to a wider audience.


Instagram is also looking to reward original content and will work to ensure that creators receive credit when appropriate. If the platform detects identical pieces of content then only the original will be recommended, and it will replace reposted content with the original post. Reposted content will also contain links to the original post. If content has seen enough modification for a parody or meme then this replacement will not take place.

Accounts that behave as content aggregators will find it tougher with the incoming changes. Instagram will be removing these accounts from being recommended to users, unless the account find a way to add meaningfully to the originally posted piece of content. However, users will still be able to follow these types of accounts if they choose to.

In theory these changes sound like it will be a big improvement for Instagram users but, time will tell if there are any unintended consequences of making such big changes to the recommendation engine.