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Did you know that Instagram recently made a sneaky change to how all viewers are looking at their feeds?

Maybe you didn’t notice it because it wasn’t super publicized like some of the other major changes, but I promise you’ve likely seen the side effects of it happening. Engagement down? Number of likes and comments down? Are you not seeing the accounts you used to see all the time, and you’re seeing a lot more ads and suggested accounts?

Yep, me too.

I recently did a poll on Instagram in my stories asking about engagement and 2/3 of the people responded that they’ve definitely noticed a drastic drop. Most of the people who responded “yes” are fellow business owners who are actively paying attention to these things, which makes perfect sense.

Why is Instagram Engagement Suddenly Dropping?

Instagram changed the game, that’s why. Take a look at your Instagram app on your phone, and pay close attention to the upper left corner.

When you slightly scroll down in the app, the word “Instagram” will change to the word “Home” with a “V” next to it. You know what that is? An option to select more than just your home feed!

Now we not only have a Home option, but a Following and Favorites feed.

Yeah, Instagram pulled a fast one on us and so many people didn’t even realize it.

The Home feed is now filled with ads, sponsored posts, suggested accounts and the top handful of accounts that you regularly engage with … and nothing else.

The Following feed is where you can find the people you actually follow. You’ll see a lot less ads and sponsored posts in this feed

And the Favorites feed? Oh, that’s my favorite. Why? Because when I favorite an account and go to this specific feed, it’s basically guaranteed to show my favorited accounts new posts.

In theory, this update to Instagram sounds amazing but because so few people realize a change has actually occurred, it kinda sucks for people who use Instagram to market to potential buyers or clients and want to connect with fans, friends and family.

So now that you know about Instagram’s multiple feed options, what can you do?

The truth is … you gotta up your marketing game, if that’s what you’re using Instagram for. I hate to sound like a broken record, but if you’re not creating content that is relevant, useful, educational, entertaining and/or inspiring? Oof. You’re in for a rude awakening and a rough ride here.

The top ways to boost your engagement?

Be consistent. Whether you’re posting twice a day or 5 times a week … be consistent with your posts. The number of posts and the timing of them don’t really matter as much as consistency, from what I’ve noticed.

Hop on the Reels train. Use trending audio, and become a resource for your potential client. Solve their problems, become a source of entertainment, inspire them in ways only you can! Whatever you do, make it true to your brand and tailored to your target viewer.

The best way to receive is to give. Hate to break it to you, but if you’re “posting and ghosting,” that really sucks. Spend some time on the app giving love to the accounts you love! Respond to the comments on your posts – yes, even those stupid spambot ones!

Scope out the “competition.” I’m a firm believer in community over competition (heyyyoo Rising Tiders!) and while I don’t believe in plagiarism or straight up copying, I do think we can get inspired by people doing things successfully and adapt them to our own lives.