Instagram announced last week that they’re testing a new Instagram Story update that will only show the first 3 Stories a creator has uploaded, unless the user actively clicks a ‘show all’ button to reveal the rest. This means that if you’ve uploaded more than 3 Stories within 24 hours and someone doesn’t click the ‘show all’ toggle, you’ll be swiped onto the next account. The aim is to hide excessive posts from users - but how will this impact creators and brands? 

Creators have been expressing their concerns about the impact of the potential new feature. If followers now have to actively engage by clicking ‘show all’ to see all of the content from their favourite creators, this will undoubtedly lower a creators story views and in turn, have a direct effect on brand campaigns and their success. 

From a brand perspective, brands will have to actively ensure they’re taking steps when working with creators that they’re at the forefront of the Story and be stricter on the number of stories created, to ensure the content is being seen. This is on top of making sure key messaging is featured and the content is engaging and reflective of the brand. 

The idea behind the update is to encourage creators to be as creative as possible within those first 3 stories. However, from Meta Creators top tips with video, Instagram Stories are a “quick, easy and fun way to share everyday updates” and is a way to engage and grow communities. By limiting ‘excessive’ stories, you could be limiting a communities' access to a particular creator. 

Although the update is only being tested with a handful of users, it will be interesting to see how this impacts creators using Stories and the steps they will take to encourage their followers to ‘show all’, if the update become permanent. Additionally, we may see a change in how brands adapt their Instagram Story partnerships to ensure they’re still effective and ultimately seen by target audiences.