November 14, 2017
We ❤ Instagram, but it seems like the days when we were able to see content that we’re actually interested in on our feed, are slowly slipping away…
For a while now, it seems Instagram have been prioritising and promoting posts that generate a lot of engagement, and these very posts have been swamping our feeds, leading us astray from the content we want to see. However, there’s talk of a new feature this week that could change the game! Some users have been seeing Instagram testing a follow hashtag feature. So, instead of just searching for a hashtag, you can follow it and see a variety of the top stories and posts appearing in your feed on a daily basis. The feature works very similarly to how you would follow a user, except you’re following a specific hashtag. Some hashtags can be extremely popular, so to combat every single post in your feed including the hashtag, Instagram will pick the ‘top posts and recent stories’ for any that have an overwhelming number of images.
This is a great feature for a variety of reasons –
- Reduces chances of missing out on that content that you really want to be seeing, and makes it easier to find this content
- Not having to rely on individual accounts to find content you’re interested in
- Easier to find the content you love
- Stay on top of trending, or custom-made hashtags
- Could give new users a starting point/provide them with ideas if they’re not too sure how Instagram works
- Great opportunity for small-business owners to showcase their products
It’s not available to every user yet as it’s still in the testing phase, and we’re not sure whether there’s a limit on how many hashtags you’re able to follow at once. If its anything like following people’s accounts where the limit is 7,500, there’s not too much of a restriction.
Arguably, this is fairly overdue, so let’s hope the feature gets rolled out for all users soon. It will be a very welcome addition! Also Instagram, if you’re listening, we’d also like the feature to work for multiple hashtags!