Sana Javeri Kadri relied heavily on Instagram for marketing when she started her spice business Diaspora Company in 2017. “There was a moment when I dreamed that Instagram could go back to the way things were, and my nightmares were about all the reasons why that was impossible.”
Since joining Instagram, Diaspora’s followers grew to over 100,000. “Until three months ago, we never paid for ads on Instagram,” said Ms. Javeri Kadri, although the company has used PR agencies. “These aren’t hard numbers, but we had 2,000 to 3,000 likes on most posts for our 100,000-strong audience,” she added. “Now it’s 200 to 300.”
Since Instagram arrived in 2010, sharing food photos, writing thoughtful captions, and adding relevant hashtags have been the foundation of many small food businesses’ social media strategy and a low-cost form of advertising. In late 2021, Instagram’s parent company Meta changed the platform’s algorithm to prioritize videos, called Reels. Accounts that don’t regularly post the short videos appear among those that have embraced the format in users’ Instagram feeds, resulting in a notable drop in post engagement — and, in turn, sales — for many small businesses. .
“With the way Instagram has shifted everything to video, the amount of traffic we get to our Instagram account, which means to our website, has really decreased,” said Skyler Mapes, a founder of Exau Olive Oil. “You have to fight harder than ever to get out and be seen.”
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, announced the change in a video posted to his Twitter account in the 2021 finals. “We are going to double our focus on video,” said Mr Mosseri. “We are no longer just a photo sharing app.”
He added that the company is focused on growing Reels, which was launched in August 2020 as an obvious response to TikTok’s success. Roles appear on an Instagram user’s feed and on the content discovery page; the videos can only be one minute long and can be filmed and edited within the app.
The change has failed small food companies and their social media managers. Instagram feed captions have functioned as a direct line to consumers and a way to humanize brand accounts.
“It was terrifying because I was really good at taking great pictures and writing long emotional captions,” said Ms. Javeri Kadri, “and suddenly, for the past six months, I’ve been mourning the loss of value of that skill.”
While the pivot to Reels doesn’t involve much writing, it does require video production experience. Instagram tells its users that successful roles are high quality; use text, filters, and camera effects; are set to music and trending sounds; and are “entertaining and fun,” with content that “delights people, grabs their attention, makes them laugh, or has a fun surprise or twist.”
This is no small feat for business owners and social editors who lack video editing skills. Abigail Knoff, the marketing director at the mushroom company Smallhold, notes it’s a much bigger lift for her team.
“The planning, editing and voiceover and music skills for more produced video content are very different from iPhone photography,” she said.
Ms. Knoff has two options: “We can occasionally work with freelancers who, quite rightly, have higher costs, or have patience as we learn these new skills on the job.”
Some Instagram executives who have these skills still have to pay for outside help. Danita Evangeline White, who manages social media for Trade Street Jam Company, has noticed a 38 percent drop in the reach or number of users viewing the company’s content over the past 90 days. Traffic to the company’s website has also fallen by a third since the end of 2021. Ms. White has since recorded more video on the company’s account, which has approximately 25,500 followers, but she believes content is still not a priority. gets by the algorithm.
After considering the options, Trade Street Jam hired a social media consultant to conduct an Instagram audit. “Our founder is the only full-time employee; we don’t have a lot of budget for external marketing or consultancy,” said Ms. White, but “we thought the investment would be worth it.”
A new favorite way for a company to end its reliance on Instagram’s algorithm: moving to a different platform.
PJ Monte, the founder of Monte’s Fine Foods, turned his attention away from Instagram and to TikTok. “With virtually no followers on TikTok, I’ve watched two videos a few million times,” said Mr. Monte.
Ms. Javeri Kadri also shifted her focus to TikTok, and after six months, Diaspora had its own viral video. It grew the company’s followers on the platform, she said, “but it’s not like TikTok is suddenly cashing in,” because the app doesn’t have integrated shopping features or links like Instagram does. (The company declined to provide sales figures.)
Brands whose result remains untouched are the ones who foresaw the inevitable change of the algorithm. Denetrias Charlemagne, founder of Avec Drinks, avoided investing heavily in social media from the start and instead relied on press relations and word of mouth.
“Our strategy was never to build on Instagram,” said Ms Charlemagne, who has experience working in the media. She pointed to Facebook’s decision to change its algorithm in 2018, which reduced the priority of brand accounts and reduced traffic from media companies.
Ultimately, the success of small businesses on social media is in the hands of a few companies.
“These platforms are not ours, they are from technology companies,” said Ms Mapes of Exau. Now that she has to “fight harder than ever to get there and be seen,” she said, “I’m over it.”
