Your reposting strategy just broke. Here's what to do instead.
If creating content from scratch feels overwhelming, but reposting everything is killing your reach, this is for you.
Instagram changed the algorithm in late April 2026. If your content strategy relies on reposting, the discovery engine that drives your growth has effectively closed.
What changed
If most of your monthly posts are reposted content, your account stops surfacing to new audiences. Existing followers still see everything. New ones do not. For precincts, shopping centres, and venues that have built strategy around sharing tenant and partner content, this is a significant shift.
Meta has been moving in this direction since mid-2024. The latest update makes the penalty explicit. Instagram now evaluates your output month by month. If most of what you post belongs to someone else, the algorithm treats your account as low-value for discovery.
What doesn't work as a fix
Crediting the original creator won't save you. Minor edits and crops won't either. Instagram's systems are sophisticated enough to detect reposting versus creating.
The same applies to Collab posts used as a workaround. Using the Collab feature to co-post someone else's content doesn't bypass the penalty. It makes the same repost visible to two audiences.
What actually works
Create original content. Full stop.
For venues and precincts, that means filming your own footage of what's happening on site. Writing your own copy about events and experiences. Building a content calendar around your venue's story, not your tenants' stories.
Then use collaboration as amplification. When you genuinely co-create with a partner, that content earns the algorithmic benefit. Collaboration amplifies original work. It does not replace it.
The audit to run today
Check your Account Status. Settings. Account. Account Status. Instagram flags obvious violations here. Some restrictions happen silently, so don't stop there.
Pull your last 30 days of posts. Count original versus reposted. If more than 50% is reposted, you're at risk. Higher than that, you're likely already being penalised.
Check your Insights. Look at reach from non-followers over the last 30 days. If that number has dropped without a change in posting frequency, you've been hit.
What to do next
Stop curating. Start creating. Shoot content of your space, your programming, your community. Then bring partners in to co-create, not just to be featured.
This isn't a penalty for working with partners. It's a signal. Meta rewards original creators. Become one.
Strategy first. Always.
Need help making the shift?
If your venue or precinct depends on partner and tenant content, this change has already cost you reach. A Strategy Sprint maps your content system end to end. What to create. Who creates it. How partners plug in. How to measure what's actually working.