Social media · 5 min read
Instagram reach dropped again — what small businesses should do now
Instagram now shows most content to people who don't follow you, based on watch time rather than your follower count. Small business pages that post polished 'brand' content lose; pages that post short, face-to-camera, specific videos win. And regardless of reach, you need a website so the enquiry doesn't depend on a platform you don't control.
By Raja Wahab, Co-founder, Fixby Studios · Updated
Why your reach fell
- Distribution is now interest-based, so followers no longer guarantee views.
- Watch time and sends dominate ranking — a saved or shared clip beats a liked photo by a distance.
- Static promotional graphics get almost no distribution.
- Posting less than twice a week means the account is effectively cold-started every time.
What to post instead
- Short vertical clips of the actual work: the fix, the cut, the build, the plate.
- One clear idea per video, said in the first two seconds.
- Customer questions answered on camera — these get sent between friends, which is the strongest signal there is.
- A consistent weekly rhythm rather than a burst followed by a month of silence.
The part most businesses skip
Reach is rented. A website is owned. Send every viewer to a page you control, capture the enquiry there, and the next algorithm change becomes an inconvenience rather than a crisis.
Raja Wahab is co-founder of Fixby Studios, a Huddersfield studio building websites, SEO, social media and business software for small, owner-managed businesses across West Yorkshire.
Want this handled for you?
Fixby Studios builds websites, runs SEO and manages social media for small businesses across Huddersfield and West Yorkshire.