Why are Instagram's attempts to become TikTok failing?

Instagram is constantly changing and this mostly causes negative reactions from its users, but we all get used to most of the changes eventually. However, recent attempts for the video to take absolute primacy over photos, for posts to take up the entire screen, and to constantly bombard us with recommendations of creators we don't even follow have caused a mass revolt and an appeal to Instagram to stop imitating TikTok.

The discontent was crowned by the fact that both Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian shared a post that was circulating on Instagram and agreed with the desire of the masses that they want to see cute photos of their friends. It should be noted that Kylie has 367 million followers, while Kim has 329 million at the time of writing this article (they are the second and sixth most followed person on the platform), so even with the ability that they share a large number of mutual followers, the rebellion they can incite is that which Instagram can't handle so easily. Obviously, it couldn't since they decided to slow down the changes they had already initiated.

Full-screen posts won't become reality (at least not yet), photos will remain (but it's been announced that video will become more dominant) and finally, there will still be recommendations for new pages (this is justified by the fact that they want to recommend people content they will like and give space to the creators to reach a new audience).

There are several reasons why Instagram is facing resistance, but these two, I feel, are the key ones:

1. Instagram is originally a SOCIAL network

Instagram knows that TikTok is growing and surpassing it, especially with younger audiences and they understand what audiences love most about TikTok’s content. However, the fact is that at Meta they act as if they don't know why we have all gathered there.

We opened Facebook, and later Instagram account, to keep in touch with our friends and acquaintances, to maybe expand our circle of people, and to, MAYBE, follow some celebrities/influencers we like. Most ordinary people who are not creators, indeed have their personal profiles intended for their personal needs which are to make connections or maintain communication with people in the digital space. The system is more or less: I show you what I do and watch what you do.

With TikTok, the situation is not like that. It is closer to the one that exists on YouTube. These are video platforms where we go to consume content, to have fun, educate ourselves, laugh, and sometimes even respond to a challenge, and create an interesting video that we hope will go viral. Few people go there because of friends. TikTok is more like a new version of television, specifically reality TV, where at any moment you have the opportunity to become the star everyone is watching.

2. The Instagram algorithm doesn't work as well as the TikTok algorithm

Since the platform is designed to enable connection with familiar people (and some unfamiliar ones), and not as a video platform where we go to watch something fun, there is a problem with recommending new content on Instagram, which I have already written about and it does not seem that this problem will resolve any time soon. I've noticed on more than one occasion that what the algorithm perceives as related to the content I'm watching hardly has anything to do with it (for example: if I follow body positivity influencers, I get recommendations for fitness instructors or nutrition "experts" recommending extreme diets, and the only thing that comes to mind is that these people used some similar hashtags, like #body #healty...). I'm not the only one, otherwise, I doubt that people, in general, would react so badly to the recommendations they receive.

It is true that negative reactions would certainly exist because if you go to a place where you expect a certain type of service (in this case content from your friends) and you get something completely different (unknown creators or brands), it is clear that you will not be too satisfied.

At Meta, they are right that the situation is changing, and that those who want to survive must follow the change, but mere copying is not the solution. To keep users' attention and attract new ones, Instagram needs to find a way to provide an authentic experience and not just try to apply TikTok’s formula which, truth be told, works... but on TikTok.

Author: Natalija Jovanovic, Senior Content Manager