Instagram Hiding Hashtags to Tackle Election Misinformation: What Should your Business Do?

Instagram recently announced on October 29th, 2020 that in order to stem the flow of misinformation surrounding the U.S. election, they will be temporarily removing the recent hashtags page. This essentially hides any new, incoming posts (sourced in the U.S.) that are hashtagged from being seen in searches or streams related to those hashtags. This may be a pivotal, temporary change for platforms users, as hashtags are often a leading source of reach and are considered a crucial part of many marketing strategies.

Instagram has yet to declare when this measure will be over, but until then, it’s best to find ways to transition and get on with business as usual. So, what do you need to know about marketing your business during this next week?

First of all, it’s not exactly social media posting as-usual. Feel free to include hashtags, but know that they won’t make a difference to your post until after this temporary blockage. Instead of relying on hashtags for reach, try focusing on utilizing your current audience. Choose posts that cater to engaging and impressing your current followers, the people who regularly like your posts. To get some ideas, take a look at your most-liked posts and try to mirror some of the same images, wording, or messages. You can also incorporate your story to share your post or request openly that your customers share your posts to help them get seen! Transparency can be key to earning viewer trust and assistance– don’t be shy to tell them you want your business to be heard!

Keep up your posting schedule as normal, to ensure that you don’t throw off your frequency and therefore your followers. Even if your reach is down, you can still do your utmost to encourage interaction, continuing to post what they want to see and maintaining your business’ presence online. Don’t panic about this change– it may be brief or it may last weeks, but regardless, marketing will always evolve to help get you in front of your ideal audience. If you need help navigating the waters, i3’s marketing experts are here to help you create success with your social media marketing strategy!