Understanding The Instagram Algorithm

We all have that age-old question of what really is involved in the algorithms of social media, and how do they change?

They feel as illusive as the Google algorithms from an SEO perspective, which will open up a whole new can of worms when you’re looking into ways to boost your social media presence.

In this day and age it’s actually really important to prioritise your social media strategy to help with its overall growth later on. It can leave you in a tricky situation if you’re looking into building a following later on.

Here is what we know about the algorithm and how you can beat it.

What key features are in the Instagram algorithm?

There are known to be 3 key areas to put your focus on, in order to see results.

Firstly it’s all about who you interact with. The more you interact with these posts and their content, along with similar accounts that post the same things, the greater chance you will see these accounts and more over the coming weeks and months.

Then, it’s all about the kinds of content you interact with. If you’re an avid hiker keen to find new walking routes, you’re probably going to see a lot more mountain routes and ways to explore their local area. Similarly if you have a big interest in beauty products, skincare and makeup are going to be hot on your Insta feed.

Finally, it will be when you decide to use the app – either posting or scrolling through. Instagram takes into account when you scroll and how often you do so, which will help in forming its personalised content for you.

How will this work in 2023?

There’s also a lot of work involved in keeping things relevant.

You will see a lot of videos in content as opposed to the more traditional method of seeing photos all of the time in posts. Reels and Stories are hugely popular now, which has changed the way we interact with the platform.

But there are of course other factors. For instance, the post’s success – how many likes and watches (if applicable) does the post have? How interesting are the users to you? Do they post often? Is it similar content?

It’s also about image quality and how the video looks and feels, how others interact with it and other issues like if the account has previously broken Instagram violations.

What’s the most important aspect of Instagram right now?

It’s definitely all in the main aspects of interacting with accounts: likes, saved posts, comments and mentions of accounts. It does mean that your content has to be interactive and engaging all of the time. How do you achieve that?

Through trial and error in a lot of cases.

Mimic what the top accounts are doing with their content and how you can do better with your own content. It could be a unique part of your account to have that part nailed, or you can tailor your content to what is posted about all the time. Sometimes being safe works, but experiments will help you figure out what does work and what doesn’t.

There are also other areas to consider, like stories and business posts that will be very specific to your brand’s growth.

It’s worth trying out these things when you can, and it will really help your brand continue to grow if used correctly.

Looking for a social media strategy that sticks? We have some great advice we can share with you to help boost your campaign efforts.