Instagram is experimenting with a new “Memory” Story prompt to encourage users to re-share their previous posts. The prompt is essentially an archive feature that displays users’ previous stories from around the same date. Similar to Facebook’s “On this day” prompts, the goal of this feature is to provide a more direct push to re-share past stories. This feature could lead to increased app engagement, but it could also indicate a decline in Instagram engagement levels.
In 2015, Facebook was experiencing a decline in content sharing, with personal posts falling by 21% year on year. To address this issue, Facebook increased the number of “On this day” prompts in user feeds to encourage nostalgic engagement and interaction with past updates. This strategy was a success, as more than 60 million Facebook users visited their “On This Day” page on a daily basis, with 155 million opting in to receive dedicated notifications for the feature. While this increased engagement, it also shifted Facebook’s focus to a different type of content sharing, one that was less concerned with current trends and updates and more concerned with friends and family.
Instagram, which is now owned by Facebook, may be taking a similar approach to keep users engaged. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has admitted that personal sharing has shifted from the main feed to Stories and Direct Messages. Instagram’s “Memory” feature could be a way for the company to capitalise on this trend and keep users engaged. While Instagram’s Reels engagement is still growing and AI content recommendations are increasing engagement, fewer people are posting personal updates on both Facebook and Instagram. Instagram Stories usage has also decreased by 10% compared to previous levels. The “Memory” feature could be a new push to encourage more personal updates and re-engage user sharing.
