The Key to understanding how the Instagram algorithm works is to realize that this social network provides every client with their feed in light of how they connect with the platform. In this article, we make sense of the standard the algorithm takes into account and the steps you should follow to expand your reach and engagement.
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How does the Instagram algorithm work?
Have you ever felt that you have worked a lot on the content you publish on social networks and not achieved the expected results? Surely you have wondered: how does Instagram decide what appears first? Why do some posts get so many more views than others? What criteria does Instagram follow to display posts in Explorer? In short, how does the Instagram algorithm work?
Instagram doesn’t just have an algorithm that monitors what users do. They use numerous algorithms, classifiers, and methods, every with a selected aim. The key is to use as much technology as possible to customize the person’s revel.
At its birth, Instagram was simply a platform displaying photos chronologically. As the venue was refined, it realized that users did not have time to see 70% of all the publications of their close contacts. For this reason, they developed a feed that ranked the journals according to their order of importance.
Both the feed, the Explore and the Reels, use their algorithm adapted to their use. Users often search for the stories of their closest friends but want to see new content in Explore.
Myths about the Instagram algorithm
In recent years we have heard dozens of theories about what Instagram values and what does not. Next, we deny some of the most famous myths:
- Instagram does not hide posts. If you slide the feed, you will see all the publications made by the accounts you follow.
- Business accounts do not have any additional presence in the feed.
- The algorithm does not favour videos. The number of videos or images a user views depends on how often they interact with the respective formats.
- The direct stories and IGTV are not favoured or penalized either. Like films and photos, their placement within the feed is determined by the level of engagement, which is tracked in actual time.
- Instagram does not penalize those who post multiple times a day. If you quickly release a different amount of content on the same day, the algorithm might swap other content between your posts.
In short, Instagram doesn’t penalize anyone for using too many hashtags, posting too often, or anything else considered “excessive.” It is programmed to show the most relevant posts and get the most engagement.
Showing up regularly and posting excellent content is crucial to developing your fan base and business. You can still be aware of how frequently you submit. You have to be mindful of the best. If your content generates little engagement, it cannot be prioritised within the users’ feed. Regardless of the actual or false theories about how the Instagram algorithm works, content creation takes time and effort.
How is content ranked on Instagram?
Feed and stories are typically places where users want to see content from their friends and family. According to the social network, five key factors influence the Instagram algorithm for feed posts. These are the following:
1. Interests
The feed shows us posts based solely on the users we follow. However, it’s also based on the accounts and types of posts we’ve historically liked. The more the algorithm believes we will select a particular publication, the higher it will appear in the feed.
What we see on Instagram combines all our behaviours on the platform. From the accounts we interact with the most to the people who tag us in the photos or the posts, we usually like and comment on.
2. Engagement
The most important interactions for the Instagram algorithm are those with the most engagement. That is, in which a more significant number of people participate. The most important interactions for the classification of the publications are the following:
- Number of comments
- Number of likes
- times it has been shared
- Views of the videos
3. Relations between users
Instagram seeks to prioritize posts from friends, family, and accounts that interest us. For the platform to show you what you want, use our interactions to find out who is closest to you. This is detected by following the different points. As soon as you follow someone, Instagram tries to calculate this relationship, together with your level of interest, showing you their content and monitoring how you interact with each user.
4. The finest times to post on Instagram
The algorithm pays attention to the level of engagement that posts get on Instagram and looks at how long ago the image was posted. It cares about when because it will always try to display the latest content.
Therefore, it is essential to know what are the times when more users are online. Peak hours on Instagram are Monday through Friday when a routine is most established. In the morning from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., noon from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and in the afternoon from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
5. Number of users you follow
As we can imagine, the more people we follow, Instagram has more options to choose the publications it presents so that we won’t see them all.
The same with the frequency of use. If we visit Instagram frequently, our feed will be more chronological since the platform will try to show us the best posts since our last visit. If we check out the app less often, our feed will be sorted by what Instagram thinks we’ll like rather than chronologically.
