Why Instagram Wants You to Stop Sharing Feed Posts to Stories
Unfortunately, you read that right. Last week, Instagram revealed it’s testing a version of the platform without the ability to share feed posts to Stories. This update (or downgrade, depending on your outlook) would arguably put new creators or those without large followings at a significant disadvantage. Posting feed content to Stories tends to drive traffic to that post and encourage users who may have initially missed your in-feed post to engage with it.
In the announcement alerting users to this update, Instagram states that these tests are the result of community feedback from users who found the constant sharing of feed posts to Stories annoying and repetitive. I can sort of sympathize with this, as I’m sure anyone who spends their work breaks scrolling might. Seeing the same content twice can be annoying but at the same time, if it’s helping users boost their audience engagement and reach more eyes, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
Instagram has launched a lot of new features in the past year, including Instagram Shops, Reels, and most recently, the ability to share Tweets directly to your story from Twitter. The increase of small-scale tests like these, combined with bigger updates, suggests that Instagram is really devoting its energy and resources to creating an A+ user experience, and taking feedback heavily into consideration.
According to Social Media Today, this move may in part be due to a decrease in Story viewing activity among users:
“You would assume that a lot of Stories updates are re-shared feed posts. The fact that Instagram is willing to reduce this seems like a positive sign for its development focus – but it might also indicate that people are viewing Stories less as a result of such shares, which has prompted Instagram to take action.”
So, how will this affect Instagram users who use the platform for marketing and visibility? Will it change Instagram Story best practices for entrepreneurs?
If testing succeeds and Instagram decides to permanently do away with reposting feed posts to Stories, the answer is most likely yes. However, this just means users will have to lean into the new features and updates to yield the same results – think utilizing the Instagram Reels x Shops feature, IGTVs, and story highlights – as well as golden oldie features like the proper use of hashtags and tags. There may be an adjustment period, but I’m confident the path to the pivot will become clear.
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