Are you trying to understand the Instagram algorithm? Me too, me too. It seems like every single day, Instagram has changed something with the algorithm, and I am trying to figure out how to understand it; lol, this is why I always subscribe to the latest news on social media to help me better understand the changes.
I am not going to lie to you, Instagram is my absolute favorite social media platform, and I do spend a lot of time on it especially when I am trying to figure out best practices to beat the algorithm. I am sure you are thinking well; how does the Instagram algorithm work? This is a question that has caused a lot of confusion among users since Instagram moved away from the chronological.
Some questions that I hear all the time are do videos perform better on Instagram than photos? How do you get your posts to be seen by more of your followers? Is there a specific hashtag strategy you should use for your posts?
IGTV Video: How to understand the Instagram algorithm
I recently read that Instagram cleared up a lot of confusion surrounding the algorithm. Let’s chat more about it.
How The Instagram Algorithm Works
Instagram recently announced that six essential factors influence the algorithm of what you see in your feed on Instagram.
Interest
The more you like and interact with people’s posts, the more they will show up in your feed. Instagram does this based on your past behavior. How you act with similar content predicts what Instagram will show you. What you see every day is a combination of all the things your behavior on Instagram.
What type of engagement is the most important on Instagram?
According to Instagram, your feed performance is based on the algorithm. Instagram prioritizes content that receives the most engagement. The best types of engagement are comments, likes, reshares, and saves. Saving on Instagram is still really new, but it’s beneficial for the algorithm. Create savable posts. For video posts, views are most important. This information is useful when you are planning content and your captions.
Recency
How recently was your post shared? Instagram wants to keep the timeline fresh and shows you the latest and greatest content on your feed. Instagram prioritizes new content over older content to display.
Relationship: Have you often interacted with who shares your posts? Instagram looks at your interactions. Interactions include comments, tagging, liking, and sharing posts. So if you are in a lot of photos with family and like their photos and interact, Instagram sees them as people you like on Instagram and shows their content to you more. Whose stories do you watch? Who do you DM? Are you searching for people on Instagram?
Tip: Replying to comments and responding to DM’s also help you with the algorithm. It’s best to respond within 2 hours. I know it can sometimes be hard to reply to everyone, but you can turn the settings on Instagram to get alerts when people comment. You can also hire a social media manager like myself lol to help you.
Instagram also takes a look at the following factors that affect the Instagram algorithm:
Frequency
How often you open Instagram, as it will try to show you the best posts since your last visit. When you post on a consistent basis, and you also post good content, you will improve your engagement. This also shows the algorithm that you’re a quality account that posts excellent content! If you post consistently and frequently, you will notice that your audience engages more with your content because they see it more in their feeds.
Following: If you follow a lot of people, Instagram will have a lot of people to pick from when they show you content.
Usage
Instagram takes into account how frequently you open your app and how often you use it. How long you spend on Instagram determines the types of posts you see in your feed.
Let’s put some myths to rest about the Instagram algorithm.
- Photos vs. videos, which is better? Instagram said both carry the same weight when it comes to the algorithm. Instagram actually will prioritize the type of content that the people who follow you engage with the most. So if someone follows you and they engage with your video, they will see more videos in their feed and vice versa.
- Fake interactions don’t count in the algorithm. Please don’t buy followers. Instagram can tell if you have bought followers. It is also said that comment pods are not authentic, and Instagram knows this as well.
- Yes, even an emoji as a comment counts.
- You don’t have to get engagement within the first 30 minutes to stay in the algorithm and show up.
Instagram Story Algorithm
Now, are you wondering how the algorithm affects IG stories? I know I definitely care about seeing as how I post stories on a daily basis lol. Instagram always shows you the latest stories. This is why it’s important to post consistently to IG stories. When you post consistently to Instagram Stories, you will have a better chance of showing up at the top of the stories feed on your follower’s homepage.
How The Instagram Algorithm Works For IGTV
Instagram has made changes to the way IGTV is used. You used to only be able to upload to your IGTV channel with no preview on your feed. Now your audience can preview your video on your feed. If the IGTV preview in your feed gets a lot of engagement then it will help you get more views on your video on IGTV. It also tells the algorithm that you produce good content and show it to more people. IGTV videos are shown to your audience based on interest.
6 More Tips to help you beat the Instagram algorithm
- Use IG story stickers to engage with your community. (polls, question stickers, etc.) The more engagement your story gets, the more it shows it to your community.
- Create engaging captions. Do you put a CTA in your captions? Likes, comments, and shares are essential when it comes to the algorithm.
- Share your content and cross-promote. Share your IGTV video preview in your stories, share your in-feed post to your stories. All of this creates more engagement and will get your content in front of more people.
- Use a good hashtag strategy. If you want your content to be seen by more people, use hashtags with photos with 100k-500k. This helps you reach more relevant people who are more likely to engage with your content. Make sure your hashtags are related to your photo.
- Respond to your DMs. Responding to your DMs helps you with the algorithm. IG will know you are a real person responding to your community.
- Regularly check your analytics. You want to always keep up with what is working for your account and what isn’t. Staying on top of your analytics will help you create the best social media strategy that works for your brand or business.
Related: 10 Instagram Tips For Success
I hope this post helped you! Do you understand the Instagram Algorithm better?
