Whether you’re assessing last year or finalizing your plans for 2021, the next few weeks will undoubtably involve a combination of analysis, goal setting, and planning for small businesses and brands. Understanding the Instagram algorithm might not be a major goal for you personally, but for social media teams, knowing how Instagram prioritizes posts remains key to successful engagement and growth on the ever-changing social media platform.
Instagram is not chronological
During Instagram’s early days, the social media platform used a chronological algorithm for its feeds. Users, to be perfectly frank, prefer this type of feed, especially if you use social media mainly to catch up with friends and family. A chronological Feed means you’re seeing what people are sharing almost in real time, and that feels like you’re catching up with friends.
Like it or not, most social media shifts back and forth between the social aspect and the media aspect, landing firmly in the media, or business, side of the platform. A chronological feed doesn’t always serve advertisers, because it’s tough to tell when and where engagement matters.
The big five: Major factors in the Instagram algorithm
Keep in mind that Instagram aims to show users what they want to see. The algorithm evaluates user behavior constantly to adapt how it shows posts to users. Keep in mind the following factors when planning, and implementing, a strategy on Instagram:
Consistency
Followers
Interest
Relationships
Time
Why consistency matters on Instagram
We’re using the term consistency to encompass frequency of posting and frequency of engaging on the platform. Both matter to the algorithm. Consistent posting gives Instagram more content to analyze for your business. It allows you to help grow your following, especially if you’re using hashtags and producing coherent content in Posts, Stories, and Reels.
The more you interact with other posts matters, too. It signifies relationships, which we’ll talk about shortly, and it helps curate your own feed to be a little more chronological. If you engage infrequently on Instagram, the platform will continue to show you highlights instead of its most recent posts.
Size (of your following) does matter
As much as we wish it wasn’t true, the size of your following does matter. The bigger your following, the more likely Instagram is to show your posts to your followers. The platform figures accounts with higher follower counts must be producing content people want to see. With this in mind, we still emphasize organic growth for our clients. In the long run, followers is only one of the factors Instagram takes into account, and artificially high numbers can lead to greater visibility -- but not always greater conversions.
Show Instagram your interests
The types of accounts you follow matters, but one of the most striking ways to highlight interest is the use of Instagram hashtags. Time and again, we find hashtags to be one of the most effective and efficient ways to make inroads on Instagram. Using relevant hashtags works in two ways. It directs Instagram to understand where your posts fit, and it allows your content to be seen by people following particular hashtags. Hashtags also play a role in getting your posts featured on users’ Explore pages, which is another way to get your content in front of fresh eyes.
Relationships count on social media
Instagram wants its users to feel connected to their feeds. After all, you’re more likely to spend time on a platform if you feel a connection with what you’re seeing. The algorithm uses factors like mutual followers, reciprocal followings, location, and engagement to determine what relationships matter the most to an account. To get your content in front of potential customers, be sure to engage with users that make sense for your brand.
Timeliness of posting makes a difference
When you post matters to the algorithm. If you’re posting when more of your followers are online, your engagement will increase, which helps Instagram prioritize your future posts. Thankfully, discovering the best times for posting is a measurable metric. Check out the data on your past posts, determining which times of day your followers interact the most with your content. These times can shift during the course of the year, but it’s likely they’ll remain similar over time.
Even small changes help your placement in the algorithm
As we’ve mentioned, your own brand’s engagement and relevant hashtags are two crucial ways you can increase your standing with the algorithm. Making use of Instagram’s internal features can help, too.
Using stickers in Stories, particularly polls, questions, and the simple reaction slider, makes it easy for people to react to your content. That type of engagement matters, so it’s a quick way to drive engagement on your account.
Replying to direct messages in a timely manner boosts your standing with the platform as well. Behind-the-scenes relationship building helps increase customer satisfaction, of course, but it also lets Instagram know you’re doing your part to encourage engagement.
We encourage our clients to cross-promote their content between platforms, but as Instagram grows, you can cross-promote within Instagram as well. Use Stories to point people to recent posts in your feed. You can do that with teasers, blurred images, or calls to action. Getting people moving back and forth between features builds relevance in relationships, which always matters when you’re looking to grow your business.
The importance of Stories, Reels, and upcoming Instagram features
Jumping aboard new features feels a little like changing your outfit in the middle of a party, especially if you’ve worked to create content following a set social media strategy. However, adapting your strategy to include Instagram’s newest features remains a crucial part of keeping your content relevant on the platform.
Just like you want your newest content seen, admired, and interacted with, Instagram wants its users to appreciate its newest and shiniest features. Users that prioritize features when they first roll out will see better placement and visibility in all areas of the platform than those that simply post in their Feeds while ignoring newer features.
The bottom line
Like so many other things, consistency is key to working through the Instagram algorithm. If you’re focused on content creation and other areas of growth for your business this year, we can help your brand with engagement, relationship building, and cross promotion. Contact Take Flight to see how we can work with you to create, enhance, and implement a social media strategy for you.