Why You Shouldn't Pin Your Posts On Instagram

In the last couple of weeks, Instagram has launched a new update (well, not really new, because they simply copied TikTok . . . again) that allows users to pin up to three posts at the top of their feed.  As I'm sure you've noticed, nearly everyone has adopted this trend, and posted the following at the top of their feeds:

• Their freebies
• Their products/services
• What they believe to be their most valuable content

However, I'm here to offer you a different perspective when it comes to pinning posts and why we WON'T be pinning any of our posts to the top of our feed.

The first and most important reason actually came from Adam Mosseri himself when he was responding to a question in his Instagram stories.  A user asked the question, "Will pinning posts at the top of my feed help increase my reach and engagement?"  His response was an emphatic, "NO," that it will not help your engagement at all . . . and I actually argue that it will HURT your engagement in the long run, and here's why:

Instagram posts have an average life of anywhere from 48-72 hours, which means after that, they won't really receive much engagement.  Well, if you're pinning posts at the top, this means that those people coming to your profile are engaging with your OLD posts (not helping your engagement) instead of interacting with your NEW posts, which WOULD help your engagement.

This hurts the reach and engagement of your recent posts because new people coming to your profile are less likely to look at new posts and instead will focus on your old, stagnant posts.

The second reason I don't believe pinning posts is a good idea is that when you do, you're interrupting the flow of your content strategy and plan.  When we create content, we create it in a way that it flows together, like a portfolio that people can read and binge on.

However, when you pin posts to the top, you're interrupting that flow and creating a roadblock in your content that discourages people to go from post to post.  One reason we've been able to grow so quickly on Instagram is that when someone visits our profile for the first time, they rarely like ONE post, but rather they like anywhere from 5-7 posts because they flow in a way that encourages people to continue from post to post.

We always suggest people create content that flows together in order to gain increased reach and engagement, but pinning posts will drastically hurt this strategy because it breaks that flow of content and suggestively tells people to ONLY focus on those posts, which I think hurts your engagement in the long run.

The last reason we don't like pinning posts is that when you do, you're subconsciously (or consciously) saying to your audience: "These are the most important and valuable posts that I have on my profile."

So why is this a BAD thing?

Well, I don't know about you, but I always want our audience to think that EVERY post we create is valuable and that our posts are always getting better, not worse.  However, that's EXACTLY what you're telling your audience when you pin posts.  You're saying, "Pay attention to these," which by default, is telling them to NOT pay attention to your other posts.

I know that pinning posts is the new "thing" on Instagram and that everybody always wants to stay up to date on the new trends, but just because Instagram, or any other social media platform for that matter, comes out with a new feature, doesn't mean you HAVE to use it, especially if it's not helping you gain reach or engagement.  Have some follow-up questions?  If so, drop them in the comments below or you can always reach out to us on Instagram @michaelandjill