The Instagram Algorithm
What does it want and how can you give it to it?
Hey there gorgeous,
Have you ever wondered why some of your Instagram posts reach a wider audience than others? And why sometimes you’ll get an influx of new followers and at other times there will be crickets?
It's not just luck or a random act of the gods, or even one magic ingredient like always using trending audio; it's the Instagram algorithm doing its thing.
But what is the algorithm and how does it work?
The algorithm is a complex system that Instagram uses to determine which content to show to each user.
The algorithm takes into account a huge variety of factors when making these decisions. They include:
-Your interests and engagement history: What accounts do you follow? What posts do you like, comment on, or save?
-The content you've created: The type of posts you make (photos, videos, Reels), how visually appealing they are (ie do you have the black bands at the top and bottom of your photos in your Reels that come from using the wrong dimension images- Instagram have publicly announced you will be penalized by the algorithm for these), and the captions you use (think words for SEO, hashtags, length of caption).
-Your activity on Instagram: How often you use the app and for how long each time along with what features you engage with (Instagram ‘surfaces’ like Stories or Reels and the features offered within them like trending audio, hashtags and polls or stickers ).
-The time of day you're active on Instagram: Instagram is more likely to show you content from accounts that are also active at the same time.
So, how does this affect who sees your posts?
The algorithm prioritizes content that it thinks you'll be interested in and that is likely to engage you (that you will like, share, repost to Stories or save). This means that if you've been consistently engaging with a particular type of content, you're more likely to see more of that content in your feeds.
Viewed from the perspective of the content creator (which we all are now, like it or not) what this means is that we need our content to be optimised for engagement. In other words, it needs to be made with the desires and activities of our target market taken into consideration because when they engage with us, the algorithm rewards us.
What does optimising for engagement look like?
It means we want our content to:
-go out at the times that are most likely to reach the people we want to reach
-be the sort of things that people will want to like, repost, share via DM or save
-use great SEO to ensure people looking for the type of content we offer can find it
-ditto for hashtags
But here's the thing: the algorithm is always changing.
Instagram is constantly experimenting with new features and tweaking its algorithm. Features come and features go based on the business goals of Instagrams parent company Meta. What this means is that sometimes what worked well for you as a content creator a few months ago may not work as well now. So often I suggest when you find a combination of things that work you run with them until they don’t, and then you experiment to find a new combination that will get you the results that you want.
There are some things that will always help you increase your organic reach on Instagram though.
Create high-quality content that appeals to the sort of people who want what you have got to sell: Make sure your posts are visually appealing and engaging. Make sure that they contain something that your audience actually wants from you. Use relevant hashtags (check out my Hashtag How to here) and write captions that are optimised for SEO.
Engage with other users: Just like chatting with people in the local cafe, this will help you get noticed by more people. Like, comment on, save and share other people's content in your DMs and in your Stories. Reply to polls. Make sure the content that you are engaging with is targeted though, this is really important - choose the wrong content to engage with and it will end up damaging the way the algorithm sees your account and what you share.
Post consistently: So the general rule is that the more you post, the more likely you are to show up in your followers' feeds. Makes sense right? Only we are small businesses with a million things to be doing other than content creation so I like to talk about posting content in Sprints and Rests. Unless you are able to outsource your content creation and posting/ engaging schedule you need to look at your calendar throughout the year and work out when it will be most beneficial to be posting and when you are able to take breaks. I talk more about this in my private coaching sessions but as solo creatives in business even though taking time out from the content treadmill will have short term negative effect on your Instagram account, it is an absolute must for long term sustainability. When you are posting you should be posting regularly and consistently for the algorithm to favour your posts.
Use Instagram Stories and Reels: These features are highly prioritized by the algorithm currently and with updates incoming in the last few weeks to these features we can take heart that they will remain so for the foreseeable future.
The Instagram algorithm is a complex system, and there's no guaranteed way to reach a massive audience. But by understanding how it works and following these tips you can increase your chances of getting your content seen by more people.
And if it all still seems incredibly confusing don’t stress. My first course on my new platform will be released in a few weeks for those looking to crack that first 1000 followers mark. You can join the waitlist here. If you are after a more bespoke approach to getting your Instagram world in order, my private coaching sessions for the final quarter of 2024 are due to be released in September as well. You can join the waitlist for them here.
So tell me, how confident are you with your approach to IG these days? And what is your favourite type of content to consume?
X Ilona