Instagram is set to release a new update March 28, and it follows parent company social media mogul Facebook’s lead.
IG will now rank user feeds in order of popularity, not chronologically.
On IG’s business blog, “Instagram for Business,” it quoted a statistic that “people miss on average 70 percent of their feeds.”
The update targets businesses to post new products and sale alerts, boosting their posts to the top of follower’s feeds.
“It will be waiting for consumers when they wake up, no matter how many accounts they follow or what time zone they live in,” IG said.
Time magazine wrote about the algorithm behind the new popularity newsfeed.
“Over the past nine years, the product, which was initially controversial, has evolved into the most valuable billboard on Earth,” Times said in an article published July 9, 2015.
The newsfeed is influenced by how close you are to a person, reflected by likes, writing on his or her timeline (or commenting) and talking with them on Messenger. The algorithm also accounts for how much engagement a post will gain, placing it higher on more people’s feeds.
IG said on its blog that it is going to take time to listen to user feedback and “get it right” in order to make the new update as seamless as possible.