At the end of March Instagram did something that users had been begging for for years (no I am not exaggerating). They re-introduced the chronological feed. If you remember when Instagram started, the chronological feed was the only feed. You saw posts from people you followed in the order they posted it and could scroll to your heart’s content. When Instagram changed its algorithm to show you posts that they thought you would be most interested in, users got extremely upset and stayed upset. 

Creators often complained that the content they shared wasn’t being seen by their community and that Instagram was becoming a pay-to-play platform. All of this has now led to us getting our chronological feedback, along with a new feed called favorites. The favorites feed will only show content from people you follow who you have selected as a favorite. 

Your favorites feed might include: 

• Brands you want to keep up to date with for information on sales or new drops.
• Close family and friends. 
• Bloggers that you are 100% obsessed with. 
• Creators that are teaching you something useful. 

Now that we have covered these new features for users I want to touch on what this could potentially mean for creators and businesses that use Instagram. 

Anytime Instagram introduces a new feature EVERYONE freaks out because they are scared about what this is going to do to their reach and engagement. So, the first thing I want you to do is to take a deep breath and remember Instagram is only ONE part of your business, not your entire business, and if it is your entire business now is a great time to start diversifying. 

You will likely see a decrease in reach as people start to use the chronological and favorites feed, but you may also see higher conversions and engagement when people select you as a favorite. This is why I want to share…

5 ways to become someone’s “favorite” on Instagram. 

1. Host a giveaway and have the entry requirement be to add you as a favorite. This giveaway should only focus on becoming a favorite not on growing your community. 
2. Ask for what you want. The simplest answer I tell people is to just ask your community to add you as a favorite. You can’t expect people to do something if they don’t even know you want them to. 
3. Create content that is so valuable your community doesn’t even blink when you ask them to add you as a favorite. The key here is to remind them of your value and the free resources you are offering them. 
4. Focus on creating content that your current community is asking for or you think they need. Some days when we create content we do it to sell or to reach new people, but if your goal is to stay connected to and engaged with the people who already follow you then be sure to be creating for them. Don’t be afraid to ask in a post or story what they want to see from you. 
5. Share a tutorial on how to add people as favorites and remind your followers in the caption to not forget you. A simple tutorial like this will serve as a good reminder or nudge. 

If you want to add me as a favorite on Instagram I would be absolutely honored, and if there is content you want to see from me, let me know in the comments below.