Making Sense of Instagram’s Algorithm
Algorithms on social media can be confusing, especially when it comes to who’s going to see the content you post and when. With Instagram, the social network recently changed its algorithm in an effort to be more transparent with the average user’s audiences, filtering through more personal connections and brands that interest them.
In this post, we are making sense of Instagram’s latest algorithm and how you can utilize it to your advantage.
While using Instagram, there are a few major elements to take into consideration, as they influence the network. In no particular order, they are the following:
1. Timing
Posting content at a certain time of the day plays a huge role on who’s going to see your content, and ultimately, who’s going to like it or follow you. If you post at a less-than-ideal time of the day, you won’t see the results you were hoping for. If a post is under-performing compared to the average post (measured based on the amount of engagement you usually receive) the post will only be shown to a small percentage of your audience and it will appear further down people’s news feeds. In other words, way less people will see your posts and discover your page. What’s notable here is the fact that many users have said they have recently seen an increase of older content in their news feeds, going back almost a week in some instances.
2. Engagement
How often do you like the content by that friend of yours that just posted their latest food pic? Or how often do you engage with your favourite clothing brand? In all the ways we can engage with other users and businesses on Instagram, this will greatly determine whose posts take precedence on your own curated news feed.
3. Taking your best interests at heart
When you jump onto Instagram, you want to see content you love, right? That’ll incline you to like different posts and possibly follow a few new pages. By getting to know you and picking up on what you tend to resonate with, Instagram will keep your interests top of mind, or rather, at the top of your news feed.
Now, you’re probably wondering: “This is all fine and dandy information, but what can I do to effectively utilize Instagram so that my content doesn’t get lost?”
We’re glad we imagined you questioning this, because we are presenting you with three tips that can help you stay at the top of the news feed and easily discoverable on Instagram:
Stay consistent and post often
Posting content often will allow you to appear more than once and stay within more people’s news feeds. Be cautious, though – we always advise that quality will always trump quantity as over-posting could be a detrimental step backwards. Our suggestion? Try and aim to post content three times a week. Setting up a schedule for reactive or proactive posts is a great way to effectively plan, optimize and execute your own social media strategy.
Post engaging content!
Get your audience involved! This is a key ingredient in sparking up conversations, sharing opinions and being an overall social butterfly. After all, it is called social media for a reason.
What’s in it for your audience?
What can people take away from your content? Do you want to add a call to action to your posts? Whatever you may intend to do with your photos or videos, ensure that there is meaningful value behind what you’re delivering.
Social Know How is equipped with a team that is always learning the latest algorithms and trends among social media networks and will help you combat speed bumps and other obstacles in the way of getting to your social destination. For more information on setting up an effective social media strategy for your brand or business, please call us at 416-930.6581.
