If you use social media for your business, it just became more difficult and definitely more expensive to reach your audience. A few weeks ago, we saw Twitter move to an optimized feed 
rather than an “as it happens” live feed. A live feed is why we liked Twitter. Now, Instagram (owned by Facebook) has made the same move. Rather than see content as it is posted, users will see an “optimized” feed with curated content that Instagram chooses to show you based on relationship and interests. Chances are you will see a lot more ads.
More ads and, in the end, more money is the point. A community of people are hooked on their respective platform of choice: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Businesses then see that platform as a great way to get their message out. A following is built and business is good. Then, as the platform needs to turn a larger profit, they take away that constant stream of likes, views, and re-tweets unless you pay for ads to “boost” your post or purchase other types of ads.
We are certainly not anti-capitalist. However, this trend significantly hurts small businesses that rely heavily on a fan base that wants to see their content on social media. Many businesses, especially new or small market ones, do not have large marketing budgets to afford $10, $20, or $50 a day in ad expenses.
As a user, I want to see the information from people and places that I like. It is now, in effect, being hidden from me. Last week, I took ten minutes to review the businesses that I had previously liked on Facebook. I was shocked at the number of restaurants that I had previously liked but, because they did not boost their posts, I had never seen another piece of their content.
Techcrunch says Instagram is dead for brands. We hope that is not true. In the meantime, stay creative and keep looking for innovative ways to stay in front of your customers.