By Lital Castel, Community Leader
A step-by-step guide to increasing engagement on your Instagram content in 2021 by ‘hacking’ the Instagram Algorithm.
Many of us aspire to be successful social media managers, but one of the key aspects to achieving this goal is understanding how algorithms work, and no, we are not talking about the mathematical ones!
One of the most prominent social platforms with a fairly complicated algorithm is Instagram. For years, we have tried to understand how to create engaging posts, stories, and reels to promote our businesses and go viral.
However, Instagram is pretty selective in regard to giving us information to help us understand how their algorithm works. In this article, we will break down some key elements to ‘hacking’ said algorithm and increasing engagement on your future posts.
To ‘hack’ the algorithm, we first must understand what it is and how it works. According to the company’s official statements, “Instagram doesn’t have one algorithm that oversees what people do and don’t see on the app”. The company uses “a variety of algorithms, classifiers, and processes”.
Back in 2010, when Instagram first launched, there were far fewer users, therefore, it was much easier for the platform to organize the posts chronologically. But times have changed; with many more users and posts, users are missing a lot of relevant posts, and the algorithm has changed to accommodate that.
As an Instagram user, you have probably noticed that when you scroll through your feed, you see more and more posts from your friends, family, and generally, the accounts you interact with most. This is because Instagram learns how you use the app and will suggest content to you accordingly.
Understanding the Instagram Algorithm
Here are the factors that Instagram considers when ranking Feeds:
- Information About the Post – How many people liked it, when it was posted (the newer the better when it comes to Instagram), what location was attached to it if any.
- Interest – Your Instagram behaviors, your likes, saved posts, and comments are considered, and the more the Instagram algorithm thinks you will “like” a certain type of post, the higher it will appear in your feed.
- Relationships – The algorithm always looks to prioritize posts from accounts owned by your friends, family, influencers, or brands you care about. This is based on the history of your interaction with users. Direct messages, search history, and people you know in real life are taken into consideration.
- Timeliness – As we have mentioned, when it comes to Instagram, the newer the better. The platform constantly looks for the newest and most relevant content to show its users. As it is with many other social media platforms, the timing of your post is as important as the content you post.
- Frequency and Usage – Instagram will consider how often you open the app. The more often you open it or spend time scrolling in it, the more chronological your feed will appear. If you spend a lot of time scrolling, you will also be seeing more posts that might be from accounts you are not following, but that fall within topics of your interest.
How the Algorithm Works for Instagram Stories
Usually, Instagram Stories at the start of our feed are from accounts we engage with the most. However, the importance of timeliness is greater, as the algorithm aspires to show you the most recent stories from your favorite accounts.
Instagram Stories have been proven to be a great tool to increase engagement with followers, especially if you are posting consistently, which gives your account a greater chance to be viewed by your targeted audience.
The Instagram Algorithm and the Explore Page
Like the way the algorithm organizes your regular feed, the Explore page will usually deliver the content you are expected to be interested in. However, unlike the regular feed which shows you posts from accounts you already follow, the Explore page will consist almost entirely of content from accounts you do not follow.
Instagram recently implemented a feature that allows you to search through keywords and even shows you some suggestions to topics you might be interested in. You may also search by hashtags relevant to you.
The Algorithm and Instagram’s IGTV, Videos, and Reels
For IGTV videos and Instagram Reels, the algorithm will prioritize content from the accounts you interact with the most but will also include new posts you would most likely engage with. This is of course unlike the normal Feed.
How to Increase Engagements and Improve Ranking with the Instagram Algorithm
Now that we have established exactly what it is and how it works, we want to give you our top tips on increasing engagement and improving your ranking with the Instagram Algorithm.
- Utilize Instagram’s Latest Features
Instagram users who utilize the latest features Instagram has to offer (such as Instagram Reels) will benefit from improved ranking. This works in two ways; the first being that not as many users use these features (because they are new), providing a much higher chance for your posts, videos, and stories to be seen, and the second being that the platform ‘pushes’ its newest features to users all the time, which in turn, will help you place your content higher up in the Algorithm.
- Make Note of Your Target Audience’s Active Hours
Like we have mentioned before, the timing of your posts is as important as their content. Therefore, you should research when your target audience is scrolling through their Instagram feed. Say you own a gym that opens very early in the morning (around 5 AM), catering to busy people who want to get their morning workout in as soon as they wake up. One way to drive up your account engagement is by posting your content very early in the morning when they are likely scrolling through their feeds.
- Use Instagram Stories Stickers
People love engaging with content, rather than mindlessly scrolling through it. This is why we like, share, and save posts. One clever way to boost engagements and increase viewership of your stories is to utilize Instagram Stories stickers. Use polls, emoji sliders, and question stickers creatively to give your audience something to look forward to every time they check your stories.
- Write Engaging Captions
One of the most overlooked factors in understanding how to accommodate the Instagram Algorithm is comments. Remember we mentioned how we love engaging with content? This is yet another way to do so. A good way to ensure your content receives some comments is by asking your audience questions, preferably those which indirectly have to do with your brand (if you have a way to insert your brand’s slogan, even better).
- Master a Hashtag Strategy
Many brand owners and influencers make the mistake of using generic hashtags that are overused and give your content little to no chance to be seen by your target audience. We suggest focusing on “niche” hashtags that are specific to your brand identity. The more specific, the better. If we take the early gym membership from before, a good way to attract your target audience will not be by adding #gym to your caption. Instead, you could use #earlybird, #earlymorningworkout, etc. If you are not sure which hashtags are ‘too’ popular to use, simply search for them and see how many posts use them.
- Do not Stick to One Channel
As we have mentioned in the first tip, Instagram is constantly coming up with new content for its platform. This can help us as brand owners to increase the likelihood of a higher engagement rate by cross-promoting our content. Instead of creating different content for our posts, stories, IGTV, and Reels, adapt a singular piece of content to each format.
- Measure Success Using Instagram Analytics
The best and most reliable way to measure how well your content is performing on Instagram is by using Instagram Analytics. After using these tips, look at your account’s analytics. By seeing which posts have done well and which have not, you will be able to build on success.
We hope this guide has helped you understand how the Instagram Algorithm works and how to utilize the platform to increase your engagement using our tips. Best of luck!