They built their businesses on Instagram. Then the platform changed

After losing her construction job early in the pandemic, Kaitlin Tokar decided to try selling some of her vintage furniture and housewares collection on Instagram.

"It took off way faster than I expected," she said. Her account, Midnight Tokar Vintage, has racked up nearly 6,000 followers since launching in September 2020 and she's started a second account centered on resale clothing. Even with a relatively modest following, Tokar, a 30-year-old single mom living in New York City, was able to make the Instagram shop her full-time source of income about a year ago.

But more recently, her posts haven't been reaching as many of her followers and regular customers, which has meant items have been selling much slower, issues she thinks may have something to do with recent changes to Instagram's platform. "Things just aren't being seen. ... I still will get messages months after [posting something] like, 'Oh my god, I never saw this,'" Tokar said.