Meta is redrawing the map of digital engagement, reshaping how brands connect, reach, and resonate across Facebook and Instagram. With its 2025 algorithm update, the platforms have shifted from familiar social signals to a new era of AI-powered discovery.
It’s no longer just about who follows you. Now, it’s about how relevant your content is, how often it’s shared privately, and how quickly it captures attention. For brands ready to adapt, this moment isn’t just a challenge, it’s an opportunity to be found, followed, and forwarded like never before.
A New Era of Discovery
Meta’s latest shift isn’t just another update, it’s a fundamental rewrite of how content gets discovered on Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook, up to 50% of a user’s feed is now populated by posts from creators and pages they don’t follow, surfaced entirely by AI based on content relevance and user behavior. It’s a clear move away from the social graph and toward the interest graph.
Follower counts, once a primary marker of influence, have been deprioritized. What matters now is resonance, how your content performs with people who’ve never heard of your brand before. That means shareability, saves, and time spent watching are the new levers for visibility.
Instagram has made a similar pivot. Posts that travel privately, especially those shared in direct messages or saved for later, now outperform those with high like or comment counts. In Meta’s eyes, private actions are stronger signals of value than public engagement.
Meanwhile, short-form vertical video continues to gain traction. Meta has merged Facebook Watch and Reels into a single, AI-ranked stream, increasing distribution opportunities for brands that lean into video storytelling. With young adults already spending over 60% of their Facebook time watching videos, Reels are quickly becoming the most efficient way to drive incremental reach.
Together, these changes signal a clear direction: Meta wants to serve users content they didn’t know they needed, and your brand’s job is to be exactly what shows up next.
Why Shares, Saves & Reels Trump Everything Else
On Instagram, Adam Mosseri has gone on record calling shares “the strongest signal of value.” In fact, more photos and videos are now shared in private DMs than via Stories, or even the Feed itself. This is a seismic behavioral shift, and brands that want to stay visible need to design content that’s built to be passed along.
Creators are already adapting, scripting the first three seconds of Reels with one goal in mind: to earn that DM forward. Because that’s what reliably activates the algorithm.
Facebook is following suit, guided by the “interest graph” rather than the social graph. This democratization of content means your brand has as much potential to go viral as any influencer, if the content hits the right notes.
Video continues to dominate, particularly among Gen Z and younger millennials. The message from Meta is clear: if you want to grow, you need to think vertical, fast, and emotionally resonant.
How Zozimus Is Already Leaning In
At Zozimus, we’ve been ahead of this curve. Our social strategy has already embraced these algorithmic signals, putting data and creativity to work in perfect tandem.
We’re designing content specifically to optimize for DMs and saves, the top two ranking factors on Instagram today. From CTAs that prompt a colleague tag or a save for later, to vertical video snippets born from long-form webinars, we’re engineering assets for reach and relevance.
Our hooks are built to evoke emotion and spark curiosity. Openers like “You won’t believe what 50% of your audience now sees before they see you…” are crafted to drive not just attention, but action.
Every week, we’re analyzing non-follower reach, DM shares, and save-to-follower ratios through Meta Business Suite, using these insights to refine our approach in real time.
What Your Brand Can Do Right Now
If your social strategy hasn’t shifted yet, now is the time to evolve. Start by auditing your last 90 days of posts. What percentage of your reach came from non-followers? How many DM shares did each post generate?
Next, rethink your creative scripting with “pass-along power” in mind. Hook viewers in under three seconds with a bold stat, surprising truth, or emotional claim. Deliver a universally relatable insight, something that instantly makes someone think, “I need to send this to my team.”
Build assets that are save-worthy: checklists, how-tos, swipeable tips, all tailored for mobile consumption. Use Instagram’s native editing tools to schedule Reels, and be sure to smartly cross-post to Facebook to capitalize on Meta’s unified video stream.
Finally, keep iterating. Monitor retention curves and private-share data each week. Eliminate formats that fail to move the needle, and double down on what works.
Ready to Rethink Your Reach?
These platform shifts aren’t just theoretical, they’re reshaping how brands show up in the feed, how content gets shared, and what earns attention. At Zozimus, we’re already testing, measuring, and optimizing creative strategies to align with Meta’s new discovery model. From Reels performance to save-to-follower ratios, we’re watching the data in real time and adjusting accordingly.
If your team is looking to make sense of the changes, or build a content strategy that thrives within them, we’re here to help. Let’s explore how your brand can turn this moment into a competitive advantage.
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