One of the main features that made Instagram great upset many people when removing it. Still, now, Instagram is finally bringing back the much-requested chronological feed and introducing Favourites. 

Adam Mosseri, the Head of Instagram, commented on the latest updates to the app:

“We want you to be able to shape Instagram into the best possible experience, and giving you ways to quickly see what you’re most interested in is an important step in that direction.”

Okay, so what does this mean for your feed? 

There will now be three view options for your feed: 

1. Home (main-feed): The current default feed (ranked and personalised content). This one won’t change for now.
2. Following: The chronological feed (I’m doing a happy dance that this is being brought back!) Yay, no more confusion about missing sales or events because you’re being shown something from DAYS ago.
3. Favourites: A second chronological feed with content from a list of 50 accounts that you can choose. (If you’ve favourited an account, their posts will show up higher in your home feed).

Mosseri said, “It’s going to continue to be ranked. It’s going to continue to be personalized. We believe in personalization.” This could mean that more suggested content, like Reels, could continue to be added to your feeds. They are increasingly focused on personalisation. The feedback on the chronological feeds has been listened to, but taking personalisation one step further with the favourites could help keep people engaged on the app. 

What can we expect in the future from Instagram? 

This is a massive choice for Instagram to reintroduce a key feature of a previous version; they will be competing directly with TikTok and fighting to claw back Gen-Z users, and these updates will create more opportunities to deliver recommended content through the main feed – very closely to TikTok’s For You Page, without losing users who want a chronological view. 

What should small businesses do? 

Video content is increasingly popular, and businesses should look to social media strategies that include Instagram reels and TikTok videos to discuss their offering/products and showcase their brand personality. Embracing these areas could really help develop your channel’s engagement by utilising the suggested and for your pages. 

Add @socialglobalgrind to your favourite feed to make sure you don’t miss any of our critical updates and tips:

To find these new feeds, click on the Instagram logo in the top left corner of the home page. If you don’t have them yet — wait for the update in your region.