The more thing change on so, the more you may find them becoming more confusing. Instagram is one such thing, and it is slowly beginning to operate like Facebook in terms of its algorithm. Because of this, you may find yourself wondering what it is you need to learn about the system.
The good news is that once you know the basics of the algorithm itself, you will find easier ways of breaking the limits it imposes. In fact, you can do this without resorting to shortcuts, even those such as the auto Instagram likes new service coming soon. Here are some important things for you to keep in mind when studying algorithms.
Know how it works when you are posting Instagram stories and explore functions
Most of the time, the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about any social media algorithm, you will think about the content that you are seeing on your timeline – including on Instagram. However, this is not all there is – this is only one instance of how it applies.
In fact, the Explore page (where you get to see other people’s content) will usually have its own algorithm that it uses to rank the posts with the highest engagement. All the posts you see there will be based on things that either you follow, the people you follow, or posts that are related to the subject matter you enjoy.
You can also view videos, which most likely feature posts that are a mixture of automatically placed and handpicked accounts from the algorithm, which cater to the things you love.in many ways, therefore, the manner of operation of the Explore page and your feed is very similar – the posts you see more often are simply an aggregation of the content Instagram thinks you like.
A feature that helps in the filtering of content is hashtags, but this will usually sort the most popular content under that hashtag, and you will, therefore, see it on the top of the Explore page.
In addition, Instagram stories also use algorithms to see the ones that feature on top. The ones that have the most levels of engagement will feature first when you search for them, including the accounts you interact with the most.
Not all engagement is equal
When you update your status, the hope you have is that it gets as much attention as possible while it is there, so you hope for the likes, shares and comments to keep coming. However, are all of these important? That is a good question, but the answer is no.
Based on the information of several research activities, the Instagram algorithm will rank shares and comments higher than likes, surprisingly so.
Even though it is difficult to explain why this is the case, it makes sense when you think about it from a business point of view. When you are liking someone’s post, you are only double tapping it, while commenting and sharing actually takes some effort. In other words, what this means is that the sharing and commenting are better indicators of ‘actual engagement’, compared to likes.
While we are not dismissing the importance of likes, make sure you optimize your content to make sure it has the maximum amount of shares and comments that it can possibly get.
Learn the best strategies of beating the algorithm
The truth remains that having an organic reach on social media, especially on Instagram, is becoming more difficult as the days go by. That means many people are now asking questions on beating the algorithm, and use the opportunity to increase engagement on their posts without using backhanded methods. The good news is doing it using three strategies:
Posting when the audience is active
The more you post when your audience is there, the more chances they will see your content quickly, and then more people will see your post. That means it is also very important to work on a schedule, working around the time when the audience is likely active. You can also use certain tools to help you schedule your posts.
Adding the CTA to the captions
It is also a good thing to invite your audience to comment or engage with you when you post your content, and this will go a long way into boosting your posts to a wider audience.
It is therefore essential to include a CTA (call to action) in all your captions and posts. The audience will engage with your posts and see those more often, which ends up being a major factor when Instagram is selecting the top posts for the day, week or month for a hashtag.
Always optimize your posts for the algorithm
Instagram has changed indeed. Before the major changes occurred, many businesses and people did not need to worry much about increasing their engagement to maximum levels, and they certainly did not need to worry about beating algorithms. The feeds you got were in a chronological order, so as long as you were consistent in your posts, you did not need to worry much.
Today though, that is no longer what happens. Now if you want to succeed, you need to understand how the algorithm works and optimize your content posts around it.
Some of the things you need to know before you post are: do you have a CTA that is compelling enough? Did you include hashtags, and did you use them correctly? Is your entire feed attractive and aesthetic enough to interest other people? Are you posting at the best time?
Today, a brand or business is under greater pressure to make content that is interesting and engaging, and make sure their followers are able to comment and share. It might seem infinitely difficult to achieve this, but the stakes are also high and competition is very stiff.
Final thoughts
Becoming successful on Instagram means investing your time and energy into building a community. However, it is definitely worth the effort, because the results will mean you will get more profits, more sales and increase your influence and brand awareness.