Cracking the Instagram Algorithm: How to Boost Your Growth
- Blog
- September 15, 2023
- 11:01 pm
Instagram stands tall as one of the world’s most prominent social media platforms, boasting over 1.4 billion active monthly users and an impressive 500 million daily users. Yet, for many individuals, achieving growth and reaching their target audience on Instagram remains a puzzling challenge. This struggle can be attributed to Instagram’s ever-evolving and enigmatic algorithm, which decides which content gets displayed to whom.
Understanding the Instagram algorithm is crucial for those aspiring to expand their presence on the platform. In this article, we will divulge strategies to decode the Instagram algorithm and supercharge your growth.
Deciphering the Instagram Algorithm for Different Content Types
Instagram deploys distinct algorithms for various content types, including feed posts, stories, reels, IGTV videos, and the Explore page. Each algorithm considers different criteria when ranking and displaying content. Here are the primary factors that influence each content type:
– Feed posts: The feed algorithm evaluates your relationship with the account, post timeliness, engagement levels, post content, and your app activity. Interacting more frequently with a user or brand results in their posts appearing more often on your feed. Recent and engaging posts receive higher rankings. The algorithm also takes into account your content preferences, such as photos or videos, and tailors your feed accordingly. Lastly, it considers your app usage frequency and session duration to curate the most pertinent content.
– Stories: The algorithm considers your relationship with the poster, the timeliness of the story, the engagement of the story, and your viewing history. The more you watch or interact with someone’s stories, the more likely it is that they will appear at the front of your stories bar. The more recent a story is, the higher it will rank on your story bar. The algorithm also looks at how popular a story is among other viewers and how likely you are to engage with it. Finally, the algorithm takes into account your previous viewing behavior, such as skipping or tapping back on stories, and shows you more of what you like.
– Reels: For reels, the algorithm takes into account your relationship with the creator, reel engagement, content information, and your interaction with reels. Following and engaging with reel creators ensures their content surfaces on your reels tab or feed. Higher likes, comments, shares, and saves lead to better rankings. The algorithm also notes your preferred reel content, whether it’s comedy or music, and tailors recommendations accordingly. Your usage frequency and viewing duration shape your reel recommendations.
– IGTV videos: The IGTV algorithm evaluates your relationship with the creator, video engagement, content details, and your IGTV activity. Following and engaging with IGTV creators increases the visibility of their videos on your IGTV tab or feed. Higher engagement metrics like likes, comments, shares, and saves boost rankings. Content preferences, such as educational or entertainment, are also taken into account. Your IGTV usage frequency and viewing time influence the videos you see.
– Explore page: The explore algorithm considers your interests, post engagement, content information, and your explore activity. Machine learning analyzes your Instagram behavior and preferences to match content with your interests. Posts with more likes, comments, shares, and saves rank higher on the Explore page. Your typical interaction with content types, like photos or videos, influences recommendations. Lastly, the algorithm observes your Explore usage frequency and session duration to display relevant content.
Crafting Engaging and Relevant Content for Your Audience
The Instagram algorithm places paramount importance on content engagement. The more likes, comments, shares, and saves your posts receive, the more favorably the algorithm treats them. To succeed, you must create content that resonates with your audience and encourages interaction.
Here are some tips on how to create engaging and relevant content for your audience:
Tip #1: Know Your Audience and Goals
As cliché as this may sound, this is very important and is the first step to cracking the Instagram algorithm. You need to have a clear idea of who you are trying to reach, what you want them to do, and how you can provide value to them.
Your audience is the key factor that influences how the algorithm ranks your content. The algorithm uses signals such as likes, comments, shares, saves, views, DMs, and other interactions to determine how interested your followers are in your content. The more engagement you get from your followers, the more likely it is that the algorithm will show your content to more people.
Therefore, you need to create content that resonates with your audience and encourages them to interact with you. You can use tools like Instagram Insights or Hootsuite Analytics to analyze your audience’s demographics, behavior, interests, and preferences. You can also use polls, quizzes, questions, and other stickers on your stories to get feedback from your followers and learn more about them.
Your goals are the desired outcomes that you want to achieve with your Instagram account. They can be related to brand awareness, traffic, sales, leads, conversions, or any other metric that matters to you. Your goals will help you define your content strategy and measure your performance.
To this end, you would need to set SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, instead of saying “I want to grow my Instagram account”, you can say “I want to gain 10,000 new followers in 3 months by posting high-quality content daily and collaborating with influencers in my niche”.
Tip #2: Create Diverse and Engaging Content
The second key to conquering the Instagram algorithm is diversifying your content. Leverage all available content types, including feed posts, stories, reels, IGTV videos, live sessions, and guides. Each format has distinct advantages and limitations, so experiment to discover what resonates best with your audience and aligns with your goals. Tools like Later or Planoly can aid in content planning and scheduling. Consider using design platforms like Canva or Adobe Spark to craft visually compelling content.
To maintain audience engagement, your content must be captivating from the outset. Use attention-grabbing headlines, captivating captions, enticing thumbnails, and engaging hooks to seize your audience’s interest. Furthermore, provide value through education, entertainment, inspiration, or problem-solving. Techniques like storytelling, humor, emotional appeal, curiosity, and controversy can enhance engagement. Implement clear calls-to-action (CTAs) to prompt your audience to take action, whether it’s liking, commenting, sharing, saving, clicking, or following.
Tip #3: Optimize Your Content for SEO
The third tip to cracking the Instagram algorithm is optimizing your content for SEO (search engine optimization). SEO is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of your content in the search results of Instagram and other platforms.
A while back, Instagram introduced a new feature that allows users to search for keywords in addition to hashtags and usernames. This is optimally important because it allows your content to be easily discovered by users who are looking for specific topics, not just specific tags or accounts.
Therefore, you need to optimize your content for relevant keywords that your audience is searching for. You can use tools like the Keyword Tool or Ubersuggest to find popular and related keywords for your niche and content.
You need to include your keywords in strategic places in your content, such as your username, bio, name, captions, hashtags, alt text, etc. You also need to use synonyms, variations, and long-tail keywords to increase your chances of ranking for different queries.
However, you should not overuse or stuff your keywords in your content, as this can make it look spammy and unnatural. You should also avoid using irrelevant or misleading keywords that do not match your content or your audience’s intent, as this can hurt your reputation and trustworthiness.
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Tip #4: Collaborate with Other Users
Collaboration emerges as a formidable weapon for conquering the Instagram algorithm and expanding your reach. Various collaboration methods can help you tap into new audiences on Instagram:
– Shoutouts: Collaborate by exchanging shoutouts with users who share similar or complementary audiences. Shoutouts involve mentioning or tagging another user in your content and encouraging your followers to explore their profiles. You can incorporate shoutouts into your feed posts, stories, reels, IGTV videos, and more.
– Takeovers: Amplify your reach through takeovers with users whose audiences align with yours. Takeovers involve temporarily managing another user’s account or allowing them to do the same with yours, creating content for each other’s followers. This strategy can be executed on stories, reels, IGTV videos, live sessions, and beyond.
– Features: Spotlight or get featured by users who cater to a comparable audience. Features entail showcasing another user’s content or products, or vice versa, on either of your accounts. This can be implemented on feed posts, stories, reels, IGTV videos, and other formats.
– Giveaways: Organize or participate in giveaways with users whose audiences complement yours. Giveaways involve offering prizes or rewards to your and/or their followers in exchange for certain actions like following specific accounts, liking designated posts, commenting certain phrases, or tagging friends. Giveaways can be hosted through feed posts, stories, reels, IGTV videos, and more.
– Contests: Engage in or initiate contests with users whose audiences align with your niche. Contests challenge you and/or their followers to create specific types of content, employ certain hashtags, adhere to particular rules, and more, with the best entries receiving rewards or recognition. Contests can be conducted through feed posts, stories, reels, IGTV videos, and other content forms.
– Interviews: Participate in or host interviews with users whose audiences resonate with your content. Interviews involve posing or answering questions about yourself, your niche, your industry, your products, and more while delivering valuable insights and tips to your and/or their followers. These can be conducted on your stories.
– Live Videos: Go live or join live sessions with users whose audiences align with yours. Live videos allow you to broadcast in real-time, interacting with your and/or their followers. They can be hosted on stories, reels, IGTV videos, and other formats.
Collaborating with others offers access to their credibility, expertise, and network. It also exposes your content and account to a broader, more diverse audience that may be interested in your niche. Building relationships and partnerships through collaboration can lead to additional opportunities and growth.
However, exercising discretion is paramount when choosing collaboration partners. Seek out users who:
- Share similar or complementary niches to yours.
- Boast comparable or superior levels of engagement and content quality.
- Possess similar or larger follower counts and reach.
- Embrace values and objectives compatible with yours.
Approach collaborations with professionalism and respect. Adhere to agreed-upon terms and conditions, fulfill your promises, give credit where credit’s due, and express gratitude for the collaboration.
Tip #5: Stay Consistent and Updated
The fifth and final tip to cracking the Instagram algorithm is to stay consistent and updated. You need to maintain a regular and reliable posting schedule and keep up with the latest trends and features on the platform.
Consistency is key to growing your account and building trust and loyalty with your audience. The algorithm favors accounts that post frequently and consistently, as it signals that they are active and relevant. You should aim to post at least once a day on your feed and several times a day on your stories, reels, IGTV videos, etc.
You should also post at optimal times when your audience is most active and likely to engage with your content. You can use tools like Sprout Social or Buffer to find the best times to post for your account based on your analytics. You can also use tools like CoSchedule or Sked Social to create a content calendar and automate your posting schedule.
However, consistency does not mean monotony or repetition. You should also be creative and innovative with your content and try new things. You should keep an eye on the latest trends and features on Instagram and experiment with them. You should also monitor the performance of your content and see what works best for your account.
Instagram is constantly introducing new features and updates that can affect how the algorithm works and how users interact with the platform. For example, in 2023, Instagram launched Reels Ads, Live Rooms, Remix Reels, Captions Sticker, Insights for Reels and Live, Affiliate Tool, Drops, etc.
You should stay updated with these new features and updates and learn how to use them effectively. You should also follow the official Instagram accounts, such as @instagram, @creators, @shop, etc., to get the latest news and tips from the platform. You can also follow other accounts that share useful information and insights about Instagram marketing, such as @latermedia, @hootsuite, @socialmediaexaminer, etc.
By staying consistent and updated, you can show the algorithm that you are a valuable and relevant account that deserves more exposure and reach. You can also attract more followers and engagement from your existing and potential audience.
Measuring, Analyzing, and Adjusting Your Strategy Accordingly
The final, indispensable factor that influences the Instagram algorithm is your performance. The more you measure, analyze, and adjust your strategy based on insights, the greater your chances of optimizing your Instagram growth.
Effective strategies for this process include:
- Use Instagram Insights: Instagram Insights is a native analytics tool offering various metrics and insights about your account, content, and audience. Access it by tapping on the menu icon in the top-right corner of your profile and selecting Insights. This tool enables you to track metrics such as:
– Account metrics: Overall account performance metrics including reach, impressions, profile visits, website clicks, email clicks, and more.
– Content metrics: Performance metrics for each content type you post, including likes, comments, shares, saves, views, engagement rate, and more.
– Audience metrics: Characteristics and behavior metrics of your audience, such as gender, age range, location, active times, growth rate, and more.
- Utilize Other Tools: In addition to Instagram Insights, leverage other analytics tools to gain deeper insights and recommendations for your performance. These tools include:
– Google Analytics: Track and measure website traffic and conversions from Instagram. Monitor metrics like sessions, users, bounce rate, pages per session, average session duration, goal completions, and more. Create custom reports, segments, and dashboards for data visualization and analysis.
– Socialbakers: Utilize this social media analytics and management platform to track metrics such as reach, impressions, engagement, sentiment, influencers, competitors, and more. Generate reports, benchmarks, and insights to enhance your performance.
- Adjust your strategy: After you have measured and analyzed your performance, you need to adjust your strategy accordingly. You need to identify what works and what doesn’t work for your account, your content, and your audience. Discover best practices and trends relevant to your niche, industry, or market, as well as experiment with different formats, topics, keywords, hashtags, captions, and tactics. Keep learning and continually improving your Instagram growth strategy.
In Conclusion,
Cracking the Instagram algorithm isn’t a mystery; it’s a matter of comprehending how it functions and optimizing your content strategy accordingly. By following these five tips, you can conquer the algorithm and propel your account to new heights in 2023. Stay tuned for more valuable insights in your journey to Instagram mastery.
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