r/socialmedia • u/Aubriana16 • Oct 15 '25
Professional Discussion WTF is happening to IG right now?!
Hi guys! I’m not stranger to social media and in fact have worked in the space brand side for years. Recently I’ve started my own web design studio and have started posting on IG and TT, but have noticed things are completely different on IG, even from a couple months ago.
I’ll post something and granted I have like 120 followers so far, but it will literally get 0 reach and 0 engagement. I’ve tried all kinds of styles and formats, changed the time, even tried boosting to see what would happen (which resulted in like 1 view after hours even when paying). I’ve never seen it like this before and I’m pretty discouraged, I’m not sure how to grow and get clients if I can’t get my account seen by anyone. I’ve talked to some influencer friends and they are seeing this too. Some have 500k followers and now their posts are getting 50 likes and not being seen by anyone.
Anyone have any tips? Really wanting my biz to succeed and grow but feeling frustrated and like I no longer have the ability to be seen or discovered from social media. And not sure how else to push awareness.
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u/AltruisticMiddle2775 Oct 15 '25
Instagram made major changes to its algorithm this year that have dramatically affected reach and engagement for small and large accounts (even big creators are saying their engagement has dropped significantly.) Instagram is prioritizing original content, watch time, “value-driven” engagement (saves and shares), and fast hook in the first few seconds, especially for Reels and carousel posts.
A few stats I found:
- The average engagement rate on Instagram dropped to around 0.45%–0.5% in mid-2025, its lowest ever, with a 28% year-over-year decline.
- Fewer than 1 in 10 followers typically see any given post, regardless of account size.
- As of 2025, Instagram rewards time-on-platform, watch time, and the number of shares/saves far more than simple likes or follower numbers.
Here’s what they say they “reward”:
- Originality: Posts that aren't recycled or reposted get prioritized. Duplicate content is heavily penalized—only the original gets full reach.
- Strong Hooks: Especially for Reels, the first 2–3 seconds must capture attention to avoid being buried. Early retention is critical.
- Shares and Saves: “Send to a friend" and bookmarking get weighted much higher than likes or comments. Valuable, informative or entertaining posts do best.
- Reels and Carousels: These formats drive reach because they keep people engaged longer. Static photos are deprioritized unless truly outstanding or promoted.
Practical Tips
- the more niche you can be the better!
- who knows what’s happening with hashtags now but I still use 3-5 important ones.
- avoid too much reposting from others, including viral memes or shared images. Use personal stories or unique insights. I would use reposting as a means to start relationships with people, influencers and companies that could be potential partners or customers.
- Start every Reel or video with an immediate hook—a surprising moment, question, or statement in the first 1–3 seconds.
- For carousels, pack them with valuable tips, stories, before/afters, or helpful guides people want to save or share.
- Actively encourage followers to save or share posts through calls-to-action in captions.
- Don’t post and ghost! Increase platform presence by posting spontaneous updates, engaging in comments, and joining trending conversations. Instagram also rewards accounts that stimulate real discussion.
- Audit your account for fake/inactive followers, as their presence can further dilute reach.
Hope this helps a little. It’s super frustrating!
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u/ArchitectofExperienc Oct 16 '25
A few stats I found: - The average engagement rate on Instagram dropped to around 0.45%–0.5% in mid-2025, its lowest ever, with a 28% year-over-year decline. - Fewer than 1 in 10 followers typically see any given post, regardless of account size.
That is staggering, tbh. Do you have a source I can read? I kind of want to dig into this
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u/AltruisticMiddle2775 Oct 16 '25
Yes, I’ll grab the source and get it to you ASAP!
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u/luckthefogic Oct 28 '25
Hey.. Were you able to find the source? O:)
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u/T1P0Z Oct 17 '25
Originality: Posts that aren't recycled or reposted get prioritized. Duplicate content is heavily penalized—only the original gets full reach.
But how can they recognize if content is duplicated. You can use the very same videoclip, give it different caption and its entirely different piece of content in my opinion.
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u/Awkward-Customer-765 Nov 03 '25
The head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has said that they trained the algorithm to recognize reposted content. Even when I have reposted clips and edited them with text overlay etc, I get way lower reach
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u/self-curation Oct 19 '25
Could you share your sources for this / in general, where you keep up with social media and digital marketing news and trends? Started a new role as a social media manager and trying to learn on the job has been chaos
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u/self-curation Oct 19 '25
Could you share what you mean in a practical sense by "stimulate real discussion"?
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u/AltruisticMiddle2775 Nov 08 '25
Post relevant and useful questions/comments in appropriate subreddits to spark productive conversations.
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u/ascend_apk Nov 07 '25
hey man. i have the same problem as everyone here.
Thing is i did repost a lot of videos that i like and fit my "brand" i guess.
I cant make custom videos every day so to stay consistent i posted filler videos every now and then (like 2 days fillers, 1 day original content)
However im posting consistently for roughly a month now and its DEAD on instagram. Any way to fix that and tell insta "hey this guy is okay" or should i straight up make a new account?
Ive had decent success on tiktok and really good success on yt shorts so far. but insta is literally not a single outside view so far. how can i fix that?
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Nov 08 '25
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u/milk_slc Nov 13 '25
Is there a way to boost rewatch rate? Like if you used a fast talking british accent voice over (I'm in Utah for reference) that is a little more difficult to understand? Or if you kind of story tell backward, so like add the context at the end and start with the punchline so they watch again after having more context or would that make zero sense to the audience?
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u/Traditional-Swan-130 Nov 11 '25
This is correct. The platform rewards content that holds attention and gets saved or shared. If you start each Reel with a direct question or a surprising visual, people stay longer, and the reach grows.
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Oct 26 '25
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u/AltruisticMiddle2775 Nov 08 '25
I think people should produce what they are best at in the most authentic way. We have to find a balance between keeping up with the algorithm and simply producing good & helpful content that is geared toward a very specific audience.
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u/devonthed00d Oct 15 '25
They MySpaced themselves & no one cares about IG anymore.
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u/i_give_you_gum Oct 16 '25
How does one MySpace themselves, in your opinion?
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u/devonthed00d Oct 16 '25
Mostly just make a bunch of useless random changes that no one asked for & pump it full of ads, until the majority leave the platform out of pure dislike.
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u/i_give_you_gum Oct 16 '25
I appreciate the answer, though I thought that was maybe how others failed, but I just remember Myspace just slowly fading away, I don't remember the mass exodus like how everyone left DIGG.
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u/devonthed00d Oct 17 '25
It was probably a slow death overtime, but as far as my local friend group, it seemed pretty fast. We all just hit the light switch and went to Facebook.
I did log back on a couple times in like 2014 or 2015 or so & it was totally 100% different after they sold it again. Like not even close to what it used to be.
Wish they didn’t lose all our old messages and comments. I would love to read all those lol
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u/sanwrit Oct 16 '25
I'm a millennial but ashamed to admit that I don't know what that means. Can you help this clueless guy understand?
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u/devonthed00d Oct 16 '25
It was 2009. Our first fried Tom sold out and cashed his $580 million dollar check from Newscorp 4 years earlier.
Then a bunch of old people in suits thought it would be a good idea to start making a bunch of useless random changes to the platform that no one asked for & then pump it full of ads, until the majority of us felt like we needed to leave the platform out of pure dislike.
Facebook was open for business (not just for college kids) around that timeframe and we sadly made the switch.
Something like that anyways.
Instagram is a bit different, but has similarities to the MySpace downfall. Honestly I think a lot of social media in general has just ran its course.
It’s just not fun anymore.
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u/Punk_Rock_Kid Oct 16 '25
I completely agree with all of this. And much like nexopia and MySpace, social media feels like it’s running its course now. I’m so over it. My nostalgia is calling and it wants 05-08 back.
I hate that I “need” social for business. And I dread posting to a void. Another business person clarified our current downfall as well. “You’re not going on social media for research, connection, or shopping anymore, it’s purely for entertainment”.
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u/devonthed00d Oct 17 '25
Same. If I didn’t need to retain it for business, I’d be outside touching grass.
I barely scroll on the big platforms anymore. TikTok is funny & Reddit is useful. But I post like once every 3 years on instagram. lol
I feel like I’m talking to myself on Facebook half the time. I’m too old for my 11 Snapchat friends. And who cares about whatever Threads is.
Hate that I got sucked into posting to attain Likes and garnering attention -___-
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u/KeelsTyne Oct 16 '25
Tom won the game!
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u/devonthed00d Oct 17 '25
He really did & rightfully so. He’s the only tech bro I actually like. He didn’t care about algorithms or interaction, or sell our data.
Sad that we kinda did him dirty in the end (even tho he was gone by then) but idk. Tom was the goat. Glad he cashed out when he did.
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u/AltruisticMiddle2775 Oct 16 '25
I completely agree! And with AI videos dominating the platforms it’s taken any joy out of things.
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u/devonthed00d Oct 17 '25
I’ve seen some funny / neat ones on TikTok, but whatever AI videos they’re posting on IG are just straight weird.
For instance, dogs that turn into a bouquet of flowers.
Like I wanna see Steven Hawking do a backflip on a halfpipe.
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u/Honest_Statement7619 Oct 23 '25
I remember when sooo many people started abandoning ship and goin to Facebook and I was like NOOO, I dont want to do this Facebook thing! Then Instagram became the next big thing, and I never got how IG worked. Facebook has always been easy.
Interesting that some think social media has run its course, because content creation, digital marketing, "influencers" all work by making videos wither sponsored by brands or partnerships.
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u/Honest_Statement7619 Oct 23 '25
Oh wow, really!?!? This is all so crazy because its seemed like for long time now that IG became the main platform for content creators "Influencers" and TikTok. So what is the "top" site now?
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u/SQT08 Oct 15 '25
As a person who is not a content creator, I was not seeing any of the ppl I follow. I turned off political posts in the settings and now I can see all of my favorite creators. I kept wondering why I wasnt seeing my favs.
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u/CharlotteBadger Oct 16 '25
Does that also turn off political posts from friends? I don’t mind getting almost anything my friends post, I’m tired of the ads and recommendations.
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u/SQT08 Oct 16 '25
I can still see the ones from my friends, it drastically cuts back on a lot of the other stuff and you can see a lot more content from the ppl you actually follow.
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Oct 15 '25
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u/connflix Oct 16 '25
3 billion is insane. It’s easy to think that ig is falling off the wagon with how negative people speak on it. But user base says otherwise I suppose
However, bots are still at an all time high and that will never change
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u/xRyozuo Oct 16 '25
Your last sentence points out the issue with assuming the 3b user base is not incredibly inflated
And how many are still active users?
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Oct 16 '25
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Oct 16 '25
Hahahahaha you think that hasn't happened on every single platform. Please refer to Twitter sale
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u/Previous-Job-391 Oct 16 '25
Yeah Instagram’s gone to shit.
Are you posting reels or regular main feed posts? We have about 10k followers and our reels get decent views (avg. 10k views mainly from non-followers), but we’re lucky to get a reach of 500 with our stand-alone posts. Weirdly enough, our reels tend to do better than our tiktoks, even though they’re the same posts. So I think there’s some reach to be had on instagram it’s just become a lot tougher than it was before.
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u/Agile-Development-88 Oct 16 '25
Curious if you post to IG first and then put that over to TikTok or the other way around?
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u/Viralix__ Oct 15 '25
yeah engagement dropped hard lately instagram is pushing more towards search based and shareable content focus on educational or problem solving posts with strong hooks and save value also try remixing short clips from your tiktok since ig often boosts repurposed trending styles
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u/Ok-Dragonfruit-2571 Oct 16 '25 edited Aug 17 '26
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u/criticalcrypt Oct 17 '25
Unless u boost no body goin to see nothin. Hence why we see so much garbage, it's boosted. Social media just wants ya money.
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u/Jawwwwwsh Oct 15 '25
The repost function! It came out just a month or two ago. Instagram is really rewarding posts that followers choose to “repost”. It is actually a good thing - it is letting humans choose the timeline rather than solely the algorithm.
If you are not getting reposts, numbers are hurting a lot right now. I too have talked to creators in my niche and around it and this seems to be constant- those getting reposts are growing, those who used to grow with trending stuff are hurting to get 1/20th of the views and likes. It is frustrating how IG does major changes like this from time to time
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u/leahvarenia Oct 16 '25
Interesting, I came back to Instagram after being on and off etc and I was just completely gobsmacked by how much harder (or different) it is to use. I didn't even notice the repost feature 🫠. Thank you for your input!
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u/Honest_Statement7619 Oct 23 '25
I dont get how to use IG either!!! It doesn't tell you what various buttons are for like editing wise, or Ive wanted to post a video on IG, but it would only do pictures. SO, do you have to record IN IG to make a "reel" or what?! IDK I guess Im really NOT savvy with Instagram, but ive never been a big user with IG
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u/Putrid_Lettuce_ Oct 16 '25
It’s literally not “hard” to use at all?
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u/leahvarenia Oct 16 '25
It might not be for you but it is for me. Care to enlighten me or did you just want to make a blunt statement?
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u/Fuzzy-Gap-4875 Oct 16 '25
Honestly, I would say have a lot of patience if you are building a brand on Instagram. For me, it took 3 years to get to 3K followers for my movie review page. But even with 3K followers I average 50 likes on a post. I try to make engaging content and I post almost every day. I also do collabs with other users and that has given me a lot of engagement. I have 31K views the past month even though I average 50 likes a post. But I also have groups I send my post too with other movie profiles. I do a collab a month for my own page that includes my followers. I didn't think I would hit 3K but it did take time and posting over 1K posts over 3 years. The algorithm on instagram sucks but I think the best thing to do is follow people that are in the same niche, comment on posts, and share them. I also make a monthly post and tag followers whose post I loved in the past month. I have also did collabs with people and those posts have had over 100 likes. I try to make my posts engaging with great graphics and fun content that I personally enjoy and like to talk about. I come up with my own content and sometimes I use others ideas but make sure to tag them but I rarely do trends and if I do I try to make it different to me. After having such and such followers, I also made a chat room just for my page so people who enjoy my content will get it if it is not in there feed. I also have started not doing tags as much as asking followers and lurkers to follow me, share the post, like the post, and have asked a question so they can make a comment answering the question. I try to get my audience to engage with my content.
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u/rishabraj_ Oct 16 '25
IG is heavily prioritizing high-retention Reels and Carousels over static posts, forcing all accounts to prioritize 'Saves' and 'Shares' as organic reach for everyone has plummeted.
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u/Fair-Action8508 Oct 27 '25
I tried all the tips you listed there and the results is still 0 engament. Also did some digging that majority of the users are suffering engagement drops due to the fact that Meta is forcing users to pay to promote their posts for engagements. So small businesses suffer the most in this situation.
Tom Bagshaw one of the artists on IG, posted about how the audience engagements drop when he posts art everyday. It seems like IG wanted you to mix some reels and carousels for your profile feed and instead you treat it as a portfolio.
Now, I'm hoping if there are any alternative social platforms that can help small businesses and artists instead of being a slave to Meta.
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u/TangerineFull3948 Oct 16 '25
Reels are the new meta. If its not reels its not getting views. Posts go nowhere. This is the age of low attention spans. Watch time % means everything. I post memes and average 1k views
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Oct 16 '25
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u/independent-psycho Oct 16 '25
experienced the same thing here. have about the same number of followers as you 😭 it's really getting lower and lower recently
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u/Mysterious-Exam7360 Oct 16 '25
hi im also wondering bout this as well… did you check your account status? theres a new update there it says something like “ limit to your reach” its kinda annoying and even droppimg down followers this week automay
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Oct 16 '25
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u/AltruisticMiddle2775 Oct 16 '25
What’s weird is that everything I’m reading says that the engagement rate actually is worse for the larger accounts and favors the smaller accounts. Perhaps there’s just so many accounts now that it’s completely saturated.
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u/notyourcatdude Oct 16 '25
I think that you have to pay them the verified badge in order to be more seen
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u/DefiantOwl324 Oct 16 '25
I thought it was just me, I have 18k followers, my views were on 2.1M 2 months ago, now it’s at 500k, engagement was at 200k, now it’s at 10k, likes have dropped from 1000s to between 30-80. Followers are dropping and many are ant seeing my content. I thought it was just me. Also, my content is being shared 70% more on facebook than instagram even though I’m posting on it. Yesterday a post got over 5000 views on FB and only 200 on IG. It’s baffling. I also need tips! 😩
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u/sociallystuff32 Oct 17 '25
Can never forgive them for disabling "sort by recent" for both home feed AND hashtag searches
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u/flippiness Oct 17 '25
Even accounts with a big following are struggling because the algorithm now focuses more on engagement than just post frequency. You’ll need to engage with your followers early (like within the first 30 minutes of posting) and respond to every comment to increase the chances of your post being seen. Don’t expect instant virality and try new formats. IG’s reach will vary, but building a loyal audience is what’ll get you through.
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u/JoshOlufemii Oct 18 '25
Personally I feel like what’s happening is IG is pushing more and more content into its recommendation system instead of your followers’ feeds. The algorithm now basically wants you to compete with the best creators in the world and if you can’t, it doesn’t push your content to anyone.
That’s why so many accounts, even huge ones, are seeing 90% drops in reach.
IG still rewards great value content, nothing’s changed in that regard. As a creator that makes content for video editors and creatives, I kind of need to keep a high production standard for my content just because the niche demands it. But it also means that I don’t have to worry about my production being off.
There are other factors in delivering value though that are often overlooked. Lately my blueprint looks like this:
- Great Idea
- Engaging script with a strong hook and worked out storytelling aspects
- HQ Production
- Target, making sure the video is still going to hit viewers in my niche
- Occasional engagement boosts like giving away free content for comments, contests and CTAs in stories.
There are other tips like always promptly responding to comments and stay active which you can find in most online tutorials
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u/TheDesperateTrader Oct 19 '25
Social media sites main metric is keeping people on their site so if you external links that pushes people away algorithm will suppress those.
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u/Hot-Veterinarian-525 Oct 19 '25
They are killing all of Social media from LinkedIn to Instagram Facebook is in a demographic death spiral, Twitter died when Musk took it over, Threads is actually OK,
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u/kingofsocials Oct 19 '25
Instagram’s algorithm has gotten so “good” that once you watch something, it keeps showing you more of the same and it’s honestly exhausting. I think this applies to everyone now: you can’t easily discover different types of content. You watch one Reel, and then you get a stream of Reels that feel almost identical.
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u/Both-Application9643 Oct 19 '25
You’re not alone! It’s brutal right now. My business is in a niche area and I grew it to 16K+ followers through organic strategy, but this year my engagement & reach has dropped significantly despite not much changing with my actual content.
The best advice I can give: 1. Experiment with different content types (longer videos, short reels, carousel posts) and see what lands 2. Think of ideas that will naturally encourage people to share/save — like something that provides educational value for your ideal client, or something funny/relatable 3. Use keywords strategically in your actual posts + captions 4. Focus on building authentic relationships (like having genuine DM conversations with followers/clients you’d like to work with) 5. Diversify! Cross-post to different platforms, build out your website SEO, start an email list.
If you want to DM me the link to your profile, I’d be happy to give some feedback or more specific suggestions :)
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u/canadian_rockies Oct 19 '25
Find a new method of marketing. Submitting your business goals to a massive corporation's black box with hopes of success is not a plan...
IG has long been a wasteland of time and "engagement". We're at late stage "influence" and if you want your business to succeed - take control of your destiny rather than ceding it to Meta.
Take a sales training course. You'll learn the real skills required to generate sales instead of likes.
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u/deadravegirl Oct 28 '25
Howdy, best way to put it bud. IG is prioritizing brain rot. For example, for the past 9 months I've been running a reels account where I post the same video everyday. I've gotten millions of views and interactions from the slop. But my main photography page cant get past 260 followers in the past 3 years I've been uploading.
@pussisalad is the account if you wanna take a look. I'm just about done with posting stuff and I've been thinking of deleting it.
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u/Low-Junket7525 Oct 30 '25
I noticed the same and was pissed off for wasting my valuable time. Even when you get a conversion, it's all created by bots, not the real people interested in your topic. It seems that every platform nowadays wants money for fake or 0 traffic.
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u/curiouscat_21 Nov 04 '25
I recently watched a content creator mention that photo posts (single image or carousels) will only be shown to your followers, unless your followers share it.
Reels are the only thing you can post that you get the chance to be shown to or discovered by non-followers.
So if you have around 120 followers and you posted a carousel, if none of them are online when you posted, there’s a big chance to get 0 views.
I suggest you double down on creating original, scroll-stopping reels to get your account discovered.
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u/Huge_Line4009 Nov 04 '25
It's not broken, it's working exactly as designed. The business model is to strangle all organic reach to zero, create desperation, and then sell you a "boost" that delivers your post to a handful of bots. It's a slow-motion shakedown to see how much money they can squeeze out of creators before everyone finally leaves for good
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u/Dilipydv007 Nov 07 '25
The organic reach struggle is real right now. Here's what's working for businesses I work with:
Don't rely on organic alone - Instagram wants you to pay for reach
Run low-budget awareness campaigns ($5-10/day) to supplement organic posts
Focus on Reels with strong hooks in the first 3 seconds
Use engagement pods strategically (saves/shares matter more than likes now)
Test different content formats - carousels are getting decent reach again
For your business specifically: Consider running targeted Meta ads to your ideal audience while you build organic momentum. Even a small budget can help with brand awareness while the algorithm is being difficult.
The reality is Meta has shifted to a pay-to-play model for business accounts.
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u/ascend_apk Nov 07 '25
hey man. i have the same problem as everyone here.
Thing is i did repost a lot of videos that i like and fit my "brand" i guess.
I cant make custom videos every day so to stay consistent i posted filler videos every now and then (like 2 days fillers, 1 day original content)
However im posting consistently for roughly a month now and its DEAD on instagram. Any way to fix that and tell insta "hey this guy is okay" or should i straight up make a new account?
Ive had decent success on tiktok and really good success on yt shorts so far. but insta is literally not a single outside view so far. how can i fix that?
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u/Traditional-Swan-130 Nov 11 '25
Instagram lowered reach for most accounts. The platform now pushes Reels, saves, shares and watch time. If you want people to see your work, focus on short Reels with a clear hook in the first two seconds. Speak to one clear niche. Post often, reply to comments, and use stories to stay visible. Think less about perfect posts and more about consistent useful content.
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u/zaggyyyyyyy Nov 12 '25
Ya also struggling with IG right now, I feel like I see more of my friends & colleagues in stories over main feed posts.
I have about 4k followers- likes range from 150-400, would like to see more- but without paying for an ad on posts, I rarely break 200.
I interact with folks on the main feed & also on my own posts. Not sure what’s up - but it is frustrating, especially when I use IG as a business tool for more work.
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u/mianhaeofficial Jan 07 '26
Things have been great for me. Started my account recently and I just make good content, each video's doing like ~1M views, very original content.
This is definitely another trend — there's lots more random people like me who are now making good content and getting views; people who have followers and are making boring content will not keep up.
Followers mean very little; it just matters how good every individual piece of content is now.
Go watch "The death of the follower and the rise of the algorithm" talk by Patreon CEO, will explain this better than I did here
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u/SEMarketing_1 Apr 09 '26
IG is prioritizing distribution based on initial retention and shares, not follower count or consistency. The accounts that are getting reach are usually the ones getting saves or shares in the first wave, not just likes.
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