Instagram is the most popular photo- and video-sharing app in the world, or at least that is what it claims to be, because TikTok seems to have surpassed it.
Surpassed it in terms of short-form video content. This can be seen on the abundance of TikTok content reposts that happen on Instagram. The Meta-owned social media that realizes this, hates this so much that it released an update to its algorithm in order to surface original content.
In an attempt to defend itself against TikTok, the ranking change targets videos that have been reposted from rival platforms, or copied from other users.
When Instagram's revised algorithm encounters such posts, it will down rank them on places like the Reels tab and feed, making them less visible.
The change was announced by Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram.
He described it as a way of rewarding the creation of original videos and supporting influencers.
"If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you are resharing something that you found from someone else. We’re going to do more to try and value original content more, particularly compared to reposted content."
"We’re going to do more to try and value original content more, particularly compared to reposted content."
And about reports that already on the platform, Instagram elaborated that they are going to be less recommend.
Instagram noted that the change is because it believes the importance of crediting original authors, by distributing more original contents, allowing them to grow and monetize.
"As we lean more into recommendations it’s becoming increasingly important that don’t overvalue aggregators, as that would be bad for creators, and therefore bad for Instagram long term," Mosseri said in the tweet.
Read: Instagram Is 'No Longer A Photo-Sharing App', As It Pivots To Videos
New Features
We’ve added new ways to tag and improved ranking:
- Product Tags
- Enhanced Tags
- Ranking for originality
Creators are so important to the future of Instagram, and we want to make sure that they are successful and get all the credit they deserve. pic.twitter.com/PP7Qa10oJr— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) April 20, 2022
Alongside the announcement about prioritizing original content, Mosseri also announced two other launches: allowing all users to tag products in their posts, to aid shopping on Instagram; and the addition of occupation tags for Instagram users, such as rapper or photographer.
The moves come at a time when it was revealed that it was having trouble attracting younger users of the kind who enjoy TikTok.
While Instagram is still dominant in many regions, many of which are in part because of its willingness to copy features from other platforms.
Instagram Reels are 60-second video clips very similar to TikToks while Instagram Stories are video or photo updates that last 24 hours and ape a similar feature from Snapchat.
But the similarity means many users simply repost clips originally made for TikTok or other platforms to Instagram, making it sometimes appear more like an aggregator for the social internet.
Instagram doesn't like this.
As a brand, it need not to promote other brand.
And these changes should help restore Instagram’s distinctiveness with Mosseri acknowledging that ranking shifts can be contentious.
Read: Instagram Starts Allowing Users To Tag Products The Way They Tag People