2 min read

The State of Instagram

Picture of Tyler Wilcox Tyler Wilcox : June 7, 2019

Where digital meets travel + lifestyle … A collection of can’t-miss news from this week, including spring travel trends. Sign up to get the TURNER Weekly Download in your inbox every Friday.

Post-Like Social Media

Likes, retweets, shares, follower counts … these metrics all become an essential part of the social media landscape. But what if they went away? According to the New York Times, it’s a possibility. Instagram is considering hiding likes. “Likes and retweets used to be translated into signals for people,” writes John Herrman. “Now they just provide signals for the machines. In the newer, less immediately comprehensible versions of our feeds, where what we see is chosen according to processes that we can only guess at, Twitter and Instagram suggest the existence of dozens of metrics that are hidden by default. If our feeds are already assembled based on cues from countless secret metrics, why not hide a couple more?” An interesting read for anyone looking for a glimpse of the possible future …

Mindful Connections

One reason for getting rid of visible social media metrics is that it might improve the mental health of users. But there are ways to improve your social media mindset right now. “If you’ve felt depleted by the side of Instagram that breeds envy, lowered self-worth, and addiction, you have a choice,” says Rhett Power, Head Coach at Power Coaching and Consulting. “You can either drop off the ’gram grid entirely or make intentional changes in the way you use the platform.” Only follow accounts that give you hope, he says. Also, you can use social media to seek out like-minded professionals, giving your feed a sense of purpose. We feel better already.

The State of Instagram

Another good way to improve your feed is to follow accounts with inspiring and beautiful visual content. Mashable has rounded up the 10 best state Instagram accounts. “No state is superior to any other state, but some states have more engaging Instagram content than others,” writes Heather Dockray. “There are states that are really good at showcasing sandwich content, for example. Other states really know how to find a quality landscape photo, or have a knack for animal photography.” This is the kind of content that really resonates with Instagram users – take note, DMOs!

New & Improved

Instagram has been rolling out a lot of new features lately. Most important is Branded Content Ads — go here for TURNER's deep dive into that development. Digital Information World has a few of the latest/greatest. One of the best additions (now in beta) is a “Posts you’ve seen” feature, which will bring together all the posts and profiles you’ve viewed in your feed. That means you’ll be able to easily find a post that caught your eye, but you lost track of. Instagram is also making it easier to follow people – the platform is testing a follow button in the UI of a Tagged People list. Instant follow!

Weekly Moment of Zen

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