Your DMs Matter More Than Your Likes Now


What's Poppin Reader Welcome To Content Corner!!!

Read the web version hereโ€‹

This week:

๐Ÿš Instagram's new ranking signal (it's not what you think)

๐Ÿš Claude just went visual

๐Ÿš RIP to the Metaverse

and more... lets go!

โ€‹Sponsored by Lions Behavior โฌ…๏ธ did you join yet

๐Ÿ“ฐ Corner Newsstand

I spent three years obsessing over the wrong metric.

Likes. Comments. Saves. Follower count. The numbers we can see publicly.

But Instagram just told us what actually matters: DM shares.

In their 2026 algorithm update, DM shares are now the #1 ranking signal. Not comments. Not saves. Not likes.

The content people send privately to their friends.

Let that sink in.

Hereโ€™s why this changes everything:

A like is public. Itโ€™s performative. People like things they want to be seen liking.

A DM share is private. Itโ€™s genuine. People send things they actually want their friends to see.

One is about looking good. The other is about being helpful.

The algorithm is now optimizing for genuine value over public performance.

The One Question Framework:

Before you post anything, ask yourself:

โ€œWould someone send this to a friend who needs to hear it?โ€

Not โ€œWill people like this?โ€

Not โ€œWill this get comments?โ€

Not โ€œIs this trendy?โ€

Would someone feel compelled to share this privately with someone they care about?

If the answer is no, rethink it.

What content gets shared in DMs:

๐Ÿ”น Content that makes people feel seen (โ€œMy friend NEEDS to see thisโ€)

๐Ÿ”น Content that solves a specific problem they know someone has

๐Ÿ”น Content that validates a struggle theyโ€™ve discussed with someone

๐Ÿ”น Content thatโ€™s so good they want to look smart for finding it

Notice whatโ€™s not on that list? Trending audios. Engagement bait. Generic motivation.

The introverts whoโ€™ve been creating deep, specific, helpful content?

This is your moment.


๐ŸŒ† AI Alley

Claude is not playing in this season. It feels as if there is a new update every single week.

This week they added interactive in-line visuals. which means your conversation can now turn into interactive slides, pictures, quizzes, etc.

This is amazing for those who are visual learners because you can turn any conversation inside of Claude into something that you can understand now.

For me, this is a game changer because reading for so long kind of bores me, and the audio in Claude still isn't there yet. this is for all users, whether you are on the free plan or whether you're on the max plan

Have you tried this yet


We have officially reached the end of an era

Remember when everybody was talking about the metaverse? This was huge during the pandemic. well, it looks like Meta is shutting down their Metaverse, aka Horizon World. However, users are actually mad at this, so they double backed on it and said they're going to continue it in maintenance mode. Meaning they're not going to develop it anymore. There are not going to be any further updates, and it is only going to have minimal support.

Pretty much, the Metaverse is over when it comes to Meta.


So you already know you have to email me back about your biggest takeaway from this week's Content Corner take a screenshot and tag me in your stories (or Threads/Substack) so I know you liked this week's content. If not, I'll see you next Friday. Same time, same corner.

I'll Holla,

Nicky S

P.S. Whenever you are ready, here's how I can help you

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