What is the 'above the fold' concept and how does it apply to Instagram?

Above the fold refers to what’s visible on a screen without scrolling—the term comes from newspapers that were folded in half, where the top stories were visible in the fold. In digital contexts, it’s what you see immediately when you land on a page or open an app. On Instagram, the stories bar at the top of the feed is ‘above the fold’ and at the very top of that fold. This is prime real estate because it’s the first thing users see. When you post a story, your icon appears there. When you go live, you get a special live indicator. If you post a regular story first and then go live, you get two spots at the top—your regular story icon and your live icon. Having multiple presences at the top of the feed dramatically increases the chances that people will notice and engage with your content. This is why consistently having stories and going live is so valuable—you maintain that top-of-feed visibility.

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Asked by an artist learning about Instagram visibility · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2017-02-01