How does the instagram algorithm work 2021

How the Instagram Algorithm Works in 2022

What is the Instagram algorithm?

The Instagram algorithm is a set of instructions for how and when to display certain content to any individual user. The algorithm considers hundreds of factors such as user history, location, profile, device, trends, relevance, popularity etc.

From SEO to social media, algorithms are often what determine who actually sees the content you publish and who doesn’t.

As these algorithms change, yesterday’s marketing tactics might become less effective tomorrow. That’s why your strategy on each platform needs to constantly evolve too.

On Instagram in particular, simply posting on a regular basis with the right hashtags won’t necessarily guarantee that your new content always reaches its intended audience.

Instead, you’ll need to consider how you can work with the new Instagram algorithm updates to shake up your approach to Instagram marketing.

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How does the Instagram algorithm work?

The new Instagram algorithm dictates the order of the posts that users see when they’re scrolling through their feed.

Based on specific signals, it prioritizes the best posts, pushing the most relevant ones toward the top and giving them the most visibility, while other content ends up being placed further down.

It can be easy to forget when you're navigating through Instagram, all your favorite brands that you regularly check in on, started at zero. There was a moment for each of us where we had zero followers, lacked comments or a plan.
Gretta van Riel, in an edited excerpt from the course Grow Your Business with Instagram

While it’s important to note that the new algorithm is subject to change, these three main ranking factors can still help inform your Instagram strategy:

Relationship with the user. If a certain user has interacted with a lot of your past Instagram content, they’ll be more likely to see your future content. This makes continual, repeat engagement on your posts important for building a loyal audience.
Interest the user has conveyed. This signal is based on whether the user interacts with similar posts and accounts when they explore Instagram. Users who also engage with similar content are more likely to see your own posts.
Relevancy of the post. When you publish a post on Instagram, the algorithm gives it a relevancy score, which impacts who it shows in the feed.

There were also other, more general considerations that Instagram shared, which you should make note of:

If users follow a lot of accounts, you’ve got more competition for the top spot in their feed.
If users either don’t spend a long time on Instagram or don’t open the app that often, you decrease the odds of having your content seen if you aren’t in one of the very top slots.
On Instagram, business accounts and creator accounts are not immediately at a disadvantage in terms of organic reach compared to personal accounts.
If users’ content doesn’t comply with Instagram’s community guidelines, Instagram will take that post down. If it happens repeatedly, Instagram will suspend that user’s account.
If users post something that is labeled as misinformation, Instagram will put a label on the post and lower it in feed and Stories. If a user posts misinformation multiple times, Instagram may make that user’s content much harder to find.

Instagram Feed and Stories

Most of what you see on your feed and in Stories are the recent posts of the people you follow. Then Instagram’s algorithm further customizes the order you see these feed posts and Stories. The most important signals it takes into consideration are:

Basic Information about the post or story. This means things such as how many likes it’s gotten, what time it was posted, and even whether there are location tags on it.
Data on the account that made the post. Things like how many people have interacted with this account in the past few weeks (i.e., How popular is this account?). The algorithm uses this information to gauge the probability that you’ll be interested in this account’s post.

Your activity. It keeps track of how many posts you’ve liked, shared, and saved, then uses that information to gauge what posts you’ll be interested in.
Your interaction history with this specific account. That means measuring how often you’ve lingered on their posts, commented on them, liked them, saved them, or gone to the account’s profile page.

Instagram takes all this data and then makes educated guesses as to what type of content should be presented on each user’s feed.

In March 2022, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, announced the introduction of two new features that allow you to view your feed the way you want:

Following, which puts posts from accounts you’ve followed in chronological order in your feed.
Favorites, which puts the posts from accounts you interact with the most at the top of your main feed. You can also see these in chronological order.

Instagram’s algorithm will still personalize your main feed using the signals explained above.

Instagram Explore

Instagram’s Explore page algorithm is designed to help users discover new things. It uses the same signals as the feed and Stories, but uses them to curate and rank engaging content for individual users. The user actions that the Explore algorithm pays the most attention to are likes, saves, and shares.

For example, if an Instagram user is a huge fan of Avengers movies, Instagram may find other popular Marvel content to send to that user’s Explore page, or maybe even superhero content from other franchises, like DC or Image.

To get featured in a user’s Explore page, use strategic hashtags and jump on recent trends. Take advantage of hot topics or news stories to get your posts ranked higher on users’ Explore pages.

Instagram Reels

Like Explore, users usually see Reels from accounts they don’t follow. Instagram uses the same signals as it does for Explore, but focuses on what will entertain that user. One of the main things Instagram focuses on is predicting whether a user will watch a piece of video content all the way through.

To increase visibility for your Reels, share them to your feed first and include hashtags and a location tag. Also, try to interact with Reels that will appeal to your target audience. Reels are designed for users to discover you, so you’ll want to jump on a strategy for maximizing your Reel content as soon as possible.

Read more: How to Use Instagram Reels to Market Your Shopify Store

Now, you might be wondering how all of these facets of Instagram’s algorithm will influence your own Instagram marketing strategy. So let’s take a look at some of the different ways you can adapt your approach to reach more of your customers.

Tips for working with the Instagram algorithm in 2021

Focus on relationships, not just reach

Audience loyalty and continual engagement from your followers is now more important than ever, especially since it can earn you one of the top spots in their feeds.

Some ways to create these relationships with your content include:

Post user-generated content on your Stories. User-generated content is content about your brand that your followers have posted. Posting it not only inspires more UGC, but users whose content you share may tag you in their Stories and further expand your digital footprint on Instagram.

Share Reels. Instagram Reels are short, entertaining videos your business can post on Instagram. You can record 15-second clips with audio, effects, and different creative tools to amuse viewers and grow your Instagram following. Reels are shared on your feed and can appear on the Explore page to reach more people.

The Instagram algorithm tends to broadly share content from its newer features, which today is Reels. It’s also important to think outside of your own content if you hope to find your customers on Instagram. This is a social network, after all.

Comment on posts from relevant users and brands

You can also engage with users on their posts to build relationships outside of your own content by leaving interesting and involved comments on content from potential customers, relevant influencers, and related businesses.

Posting first on larger accounts that have a big following can help get your comment more visibility and get more Instagram followers for your profile. Think about accounts that your target audience is likely to follow, follow them, and join the conversation.

When doing this, be genuine and add value. Don’t try to just look for opportunities to get in a public sales pitch or leave generic responses. For example, if they tell you to check out the link in their bio about their new product, actually click the link in their Instagram bio, check out their product, and leave a thoughtful comment. Show your brand’s personality and engage in a meaningful way.

Gymshark, for example, can regularly be found in the comments on posts by UFC heavyweight champion of the world Francis Ngannou, among other athlete influencers, where it gets a fair bit of exposure and the chance to build relationships with its target audience.

You can even opt to get notified of new posts for specific accounts so you can comment early, increasing the likelihood your comment will be seen, thanks to the Instagram feed’s focus on recent posts.

To do this, you need to be following the account first. Then, click on the three dots located in the top right hand corner of the app and tap “Turn on post notifications” to start receiving push notifications whenever they publish a new post.

In addition to connecting with similar-minded creators, try following certain hashtags with relevancy to your brand and engaging with posts that use those tags. This is another great way to optimize for higher engagement rates.

Post when your followers are most active

Since timeliness is still a factor in where your content ends up in your followers’ feeds, use it to your advantage. Getting a surge of engagement when the post first goes live doesn’t hurt either and will show Instagram that it’s a post that more of your followers would like to see.

To maximize the potential of every post, try to have your content go up during your peak posting times.

Finding your peak posting times may take a little bit of trial and error, but a good place to start is in your Instagram Analytics report, available to all Instagram Business profiles in the mobile app.

Click on “See all” in your Insights and tap “Total followers,” then scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and you’ll see a small section showing you when your followers are online. You can view this information by days of the week or by the hour on specific days.

You’ll want to test out specific posting times to figure out the best time to post. Maybe posting right before a big surge of activity will work best for your account, or maybe you’ll find that it’s better to post right after a surge starts.

Respond to comments while they’re fresh

Have you noticed a lot of other business profiles responding to as many comments as possible on Instagram?

This creates social proof for your content, increasing your comment count while also encouraging further replies. But it also boosts your chances of earning more engagement while your post’s potential reach is at its peak.

Responding to a comment can also encourage follow-up comments from the original poster, even if it’s just a thank you for answering a question. In some cases, though, this can jumpstart a conversation, giving you significant engagement that will help the reach of this post and future posts, too.

Use hashtags to reach active users

Instagram hashtags can increase your reach by helping you show up in relevant searches.

For this tactic to be effective, however, you need to choose the hashtags that your target audience actually searches through to discover content and other users.

Community hashtags are especially active. These niche hashtags may not have as many posts as the more popular hashtags, but they are already being circulated and searched through by groups on Instagram looking to connect with others who are interested in that topic, movement, or community.

This is where you’ll actually get views that can lead to clicks through to your profile, engagement, and potentially new followers.

While these valuable hashtags will differ by industry, you can generally spot them because they adequately describe your ideal customer and are continually populated with new posts under the same theme:

A merchant selling custom luggage could use the community hashtag #welltraveled.
Online stores selling beard oil could opt for #beardlife.
Store owners that sell health food items might choose #livingfit.

Don’t just add these hashtags to the Instagram captions of your own posts, however. Click through and engage with the posts you see that are using them. A simple like on someone’s post, at the very least, might translate into a profile view or even a follow.

Again, even if your posts aren’t reaching these users, you yourself can.

Learn more: 7 Best Ways to Make Money on Instagram

Repost old content to Stories

If you’re struggling to figure out what to post on Instagram to get traction on the platform or you want to make sure that specific content gets seen as much as possible, repurposing past posts is a good way to go, especially as your following grows.

This brings your best content back to the top, showing it to more people who may have missed it the first time around.

While some will simply delete a post and upload it the same way they’ve shared in the past, repurposing your content is the ideal approach here.

Repurposing content can be a huge time-saver, but remember to do it sparingly, switch things up, and prune your own feed to remove repeat content. Users can still scroll through your gallery, and you don’t want them to see the same photo come up over and over again.

Encourage engagement on your Stories

Instagram Stories get a lot of attention because they aren’t subjected to the same algorithm as posts in your feed. They’re also a great way to speak to your followers and build loyalty, resulting in more engagement on your static Instagram posts and, thus, more reach.

There are several ways you can use them:

Add hashtag stickers with your branded hashtag. When users tap through on your branded hashtag sticker, they’ll be taken to a feed of static posts using that hashtag, whether they’re your own, customer submissions, or both. Add a location tag as well to help your content show up in local searches.
Share Stories from other users. Instagram allows you to not only be notified when someone shares a Story that mentions you, but also to then share their Story directly to your own. You can even encourage or incentivize your followers to share one of your posts to their Story.
Inspire engagement with interactive stickers. This includes poll stickers, the emoji slider, and question stickers. The latter lets you ask users questions and then post their replies to additional Stories later on. This gives you even more content that your followers might interact with.

But did you know you can also share your own Instagram posts to your Stories?

Simply tap the direct message button on one of your own posts and you’ll see the option to “Add Post to Story,” where you can resize it and apply text and other edits.

This is a great way to maximize your social media marketing strategy by ensuring your most important posts (like a new product announcement) will have a better chance of reaching your followers.

Pay for reach with Instagram ads and influencers

The fastest way to solve limited organic reach on any platform is to pay for it instead. Done correctly, this can give you a burst of momentum that can help you drive better organic results later on. You have two main options here: Instagram advertising and influencer marketing.

Instagram ads do cost money, and the ad spend can add up quickly if you’re not careful, but it’s a good investment if you’re having trouble gaining traction on the platform.

Be sure to set a lifetime budget, especially if you’re new to Instagram, so you remain in control of your spend.

Monitor how your efforts translate into results

You can track your progress with these strategies by checking your Instagram Insights for telling metrics. While most people focus on follower count, you’ll learn more about what your Instagram marketing is doing for your business by looking at accounts reached, accounts engaged, and total followers.

The Instagram algorithm may change, but building relationships doesn’t

If you want to get the most out of Instagram, it’s not enough to fixate only on publishing content regularly. Instead, it’s essential that you also focus on overall relationship building and high-quality content while engaging with Instagram users outside of your posts and on them.

Instagram algorithm changes will always happen. But if marketers are willing to change with them, you’ll find surprising new ways to reach your intended audience.

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Instagram algorithm FAQ

What are the 3 main factors of the Instagram algorithm?

Three things that matter most to the Instagram algorithm is your relationship with the user, interest the user has conveyed, and relevancy of the post.

What is the current Instagram algorithm?

The Instagram algorithm is a mix of factors that helps Instagram decide what content to show users and what not to show them.

How do I fix my Instagram algorithm?

Take better photos.
Publish consistent Stories and Reels.
Publish video content.
Go live.
Post during peak hours.
Use hashtags.

How to Get Your Content Seen

Congratulations! You’ve crafted the perfect Instagram post! But hold up, your work isn’t done quite yet. Because if you want your content to actually get in front of a wide audience, you’re going to need to appease the all-mighty (and ever-changing) Instagram algorithm.

Understanding the 2023 Instagram algorithm and what it deems worthwhile or important is critical to a successful social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we cover the ins and outs of the algorithm’s ranking signals, important recent changes to the Instagram algorithm, and everything else you need to know to boost your content’s visibility on the platform.

Read on to make sure your lovingly handcrafted social content gets the attention it deserves!

What is the Instagram algorithm?

How does the Instagram algorithm work?

2022 changes to the Instagram algorithm

7 tips for working with the Instagram algorithm

Instagram algorithm FAQ

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

What is the Instagram algorithm?

The Instagram algorithm is a set of rules that rank content on the platform. It decides what content shows up, and in what order, on all Instagram users’ feeds, the Explore Page, the Reels feed, hashtag pages, etc.

The Instagram algorithm analyzes every piece of content posted to the platform. It takes metadata (including captions and alt text applied to images), hashtags, and engagement metrics into account. Based on this information, it distributes content in a way designed to ensure that users have easy access to what they are most interested in seeing.

In simple terms, the Instagram algorithm cross-references information about content (posts, Stories, Reels) with information about users (interests and behavior on the platform) to serve the right content to the right people.

The main purpose of the Instagram algorithm is to make each user’s experience with the platform as pleasant as possible. “We want to make the most of your time, and we believe that using technology [the Instagram algorithm] to personalize your experience is the best way to do that,” wrote Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri in 2021 in a blog post entitled Shedding More Light on How Instagram Works.

Why does this matter to marketers? Knowing how the Instagram algorithm works and optimizing your content accordingly can lead to Instagram displaying your posts to more users.

How does the Instagram algorithm work?

Each time a user opens the app, the Instagram algorithms instantly comb through all available content and decide what content to serve them (and in what order).

The 3 most important ranking factors of the 2022 Instagram algorithm are:

Relationship between the author of the content and the viewer. Do you follow each other? Do you message each other, or leave comments? If you have repeatedly interacted with a specific user in the past, you are more likely to see the new content they post. (This is very important for businesses: Active community management (including responding to DMs and comments) can improve a brand’s visibility on Instagram.)
Interest. Does a user typically interact with this type of content? When the Instagram algorithm recognizes that a user enjoys a specific content type or format, they serve them more of the same.
Relevancy. Instagram decides how “relevant” every piece of content is. This includes an analysis of where it fits with trending topics as well as the timeliness factor (recent posts are considered more relevant than old ones).

Secondary Instagram algorithm ranking factors include:

Frequency of using the platform. If a user doesn’t open Instagram very often, they will only see the very most relevant content when they do decide to browse the app. This means that businesses might be crowded out of such a user’s feed by family and friends.
How many users a person follows. The more accounts a user follows, the more accounts compete for space in their feed.
Session time. If a user spends very little time in the app, they are likely to only see posts from friends and family they interact with most often on the platform, making it more difficult for businesses to surface in their feed.

Beyond these core signals, here’s how the Instagram algorithm distributes specific content formats.

The 2022 Instagram algorithm for the feed and Stories

For your feed and Stories, the Instagram algorithm sorts through the content of the accounts you follow and predicts how likely you are to interact with a post based on the following criteria:

Information about the post. How many likes did a post get? When was it posted? Has it been tagged with a location? If it’s a video, how long is it? These signals help the Instagram algorithm determine the relevance and popularity of a post.
Information about the person who posted, and your history of interaction with them. Instagram tracks how many times you’ve interacted with any given person (with comments, likes, profile views, and so on) to try to get a sense of how interesting a person might be to you.
Your activity across the platform. The quantity and content of posts you’ve interacted with gives Instagram a clue as to what kind of other posts you might be interested in seeing.

The 2022 Instagram algorithm for the Explore tab

For the Explore tab, the algorithm looks at previous posts that you’ve liked or interacted with, and pulls in a collection of photos and videos from related accounts that you don’t follow (yet!).

These photos and videos are then ranked by what the algorithm thinks you’ll be most interested in, based on how likely you are to like, save or share a post.

Information about the post. When curating content to share via the Explore tab, Instagram looks at the overall popularity of a post, using signals like how many people are liking, commenting, sharing, and saving, and how quickly these activities happen.
Your history of interacting with the person who posted. Most of the content on Explore will be from new-to-you accounts, but accounts you have interacted with get a bit of a boost here.
Your activity. What posts have you liked, commented on, or saved in the past? How have you behaved on the Explore page previously? Your activity history impacts what Instagram assumes you might be interested in seeing more of.
Information about the person who posted. If an account has lots of interaction with users in the past few weeks, it’s a signal to Instagram that there’s some compelling content going on that others might like, too.

The 2022 Instagram algorithm for Reels

With Reels, the algorithm pulls from both accounts you follow and accounts you don’t follow, trying to entertain you with content it thinks you’ll watch all the way through.

It evaluates this by looking at the following:

Your activity. Signals like which Reels you’ve liked, which you’ve commented on, and which you’ve engaged with all help Instagram understand what kind of content could be the most relevant to your interests.
Your history of interacting with the person who posted. With Reels (much like Explore), you’re likely to be served up videos from creators you haven’t heard of… but if you have interacted with them in some way previously, Instagram takes that into consideration too. That’s probably why you see lots of content from creators you know of, but haven’t pulled the trigger on following yet.
Information about the Reel. The Instagram algorithm tries to guess what the video is about based on the audio track and analysis of the pixels and frames, and takes into account the video’s popularity, too.
Information about the person who posted. Is the original poster someone with an engaged audience, or whose content receives consistent likes and shares? Instagram takes this into account too.

If you’re more of a visual learner, check out our video explaining the Instagram algorithm for beginners.

Now that you’re armed with all this information about what Instagram values from its creators and users, it’s time to use it to your advantage.

2022 changes to the Instagram algorithm

In 2022, Instagram re-introduced the ability to see your feed chronologically, as well as the ability to view a curated list of recent posts from your favorite accounts. Find more details on the latest Instagram feed viewing options here.

While these are important updates, it’s safe to say that the Instagram algorithm as described above still impacts how content is displayed to most users and in most placements on the platform.

Testing Feed Changes 👀

We’re starting to test the ability to switch between three different views on your home screen (two of which would give you the option to see posts in chronological order):
– Home
– Favorites
– Following

We hope to launch these soon. More to come. ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/9zvB85aPSp

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) January 5, 2022

Video content and AI-driven recommendations have also become visibly more prominent on the platform since the beginning of 2022. So prominent, in fact, that they triggered a Make Instagram Instagram Again movement in July, supported by casual users and A-list celebrities (including a few Kardashians) alike.

7 tips for working with the Instagram algorithm

At a glance, this list of variables may seem extensive or complicated… but ultimately, the algorithm rewards quality, engaging content.

So really, the best way to get a little Insta-boost is to just do the same things you would do to delight, entertain, or inform your audience.

Here’s how to grow your reach and optimize the power of the latest Instagram algorithm(s).

Respect the community guidelines

Whether you’re posting on the Feed, in Reels, or to Stories, Instagram’s algorithms limit the visibility of content that goes against the app’s Community Guidelines. If you’re sharing misinformation, posts that are political in nature, content that’s potentially upsetting or sensitive, or even just low-resolution media, you may find your content less widely distributed.

(Hot tip: if you think you’ve been shadowbanned, this is probably why!)

Get creative with Reels

Embrace the opportunity for visibility by adding Reels to your content calendar. Reels are one of the newest features on Instagram, and the platform still seems to be promoting the format.

(Check out our Reels engagement experiment here!)

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A post shared by Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite)

According to Instagram’s @creators account, Reels currently has live humans sifting through them to feature the best ones. Official tips for posting Instagram Reels that will get noticed include:

Do not recycle watermarked TikToks
Shoot in vertical
Use the bells and whistles: filters, camera effects, music, etc.

Keep videos short and sweet, and above all, fun. The algorithm ranks Reels for their entertainment value.

Schedule your posts at the right time for maximum reach

Audience interaction is an important signal across the board on Instagram, so posting your content at the right day and time is going to make a huge difference to your organic reach.

Luckily, Hootsuite’s dashboard helps crunch the numbers and offers suggested best times to post, based on your audience’s unique behavior.

Start your free trial. You can cancel anytime.

Here’s our guide to how to schedule Instagram posts, and another on how to schedule Instagram Stories.

Encourage engagement

Engagement is HUGE for the algorithm.

Not getting the engagement you want though? It’s often as simple as slapping on a sticker. With Instagram Stories, question stickers, emoji sliders, and polls are direct ways to ask your fans and followers to weigh in.

Similarly, on posts, directly asking questions or encouraging commentary with the caption (or within the image or video itself) is a surefire way to get the conversation going.

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A post shared by Instagram for Business (@instagramforbusiness)

After all, comments are the best way to signal engagement to the algorithm (though we’re not going to turn our nose up at a like, share, or save), so prompt your audience to speak up whenever you can.

For reference, the general benchmark for “good” engagement on Instagram is somewhere between 1-5%. But the average engagement rate on Instagram for business accounts was 0.83% through 2021.

If you’re looking to improve your own engagement rate, here are a few action items for your list:

Define your audience so you know what they want from you (a.k.a. research your target market)
Respond to comments and DMs (if you have a lot, we have a tool for that)
Create an ongoing Story where you can share posts you’ve been tagged in (yes, we’re talking about UGC)

Here are some more tips for increasing your Instagram engagement.

Or, you can find inspiration for your next Instagram caption, dive into our guide to social media engagement more generally, and brush up on how to write an effective social media call to action.

Embrace the power of hashtags

The Instagram algorithm can’t understand and admire that cute picture of a cat in wire-rimmed glasses the way the human brain can (tragic), but it can understand the #catsofinstagram hashtag.

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A post shared by Benson (@a_street_cat_named_benson)

Employing accurate and descriptive hashtags is a great way to label your content for maximum reach. If the algorithm can compute just what your photo or post is about, it can more easily share it with people who are interested in that particular topic.

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

Get the free guide right now!

Plus, unlike Instagram ads (the other way to expand reach past your existing audience), hashtags are free.

To use hashtags correctly, don’t just slap #loveandlight and #instagood on everything. Instead, dig around in your niche, do your research, and use hashtags that actually describe what your post is about.

Hone your hashtag skills with our ultimate guide to Instagram hashtags.

Post consistently

This is key whether you’re looking for help with reach, engagement or follower growth. (Because, of course, those three things are related.)

On average, businesses post 1.6 posts to their feed per day. If that sounds like way too much for your mom-and-pop operation, rest assured that just showing up consistently (every weekday, for instance), is enough to keep the ball rolling.

During Instagram’s Creator Week in June 2021, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri revealed that a posting cadence of 2 feed posts per week and 2 Stories per day is ideal for building a following on the app.

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A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

Pro Tip: Consistency requires planning. This is where having a social media content calendar becomes crucial, as well *ahem* as scheduling your posts in advance with Hootsuite.

Look at how nicely planned out your Instagram posts could look in Hootsuite’s planner — for weeks or months in advance!

Start your free trial. You can cancel anytime.

Track (and understand) your analytics

A good Instagram analytics tool will go beyond vanity metrics and help you zero in on your audience and identify the kind of content that they’ll keep coming back for.

No matter how busy you are, getting automatic analytics reports will help you with almost all of the above tips.

Taking the time once a month, for instance, to look at the numbers and see what’s working in terms of content, posting time, and hashtags, will save you a lot of wasted effort.

Use an Instagram analytics tool to find out:

when your audience is online (so you can schedule your posts during that window)
which hashtags are performing well
what posts are earning real engagement

Meanwhile, a truly great tool (like Hootsuite) will give your brand the low-down on everything from audience sentiment analysis to campaign click-throughs to customer service response times.

Here’s a peek at Hootsuite Analytics, which shows you the most Instagram important metrics to track alongside performance stats from your other social networks for easy comparison.

Start your free trial. You can cancel anytime.

Bonus: Notice any big dips or spikes in your stats recently? Analytics is often the first place a social media manager can tell if something has changed in the Instagram algorithm — and start adjusting their strategy accordingly.

Of course, social media platforms are always evolving, so there are certainly more Instagram algorithm changes to come as the years go on. But whatever specific signals, features, or top-secret-AI-recipes the future may hold for the app, creating engaging Instagram content is always a winning strategy.

Instagram algorithm FAQ

What is the Instagram algorithm?

The Instagram algorithm is a set of rules that rank content on the platform. It decides what content shows up, and in what order, all across the app (users’ feeds, the Explore Page, the Reels feed, hashtag pages, etc.).

How do I fix my Instagram algorithm?

Create relevant content (keep up with trends)
Post when your audience is online
Use the right hashtags
Post carousels to your feed
Frequently post Reels
Try out new content formats and features as soon as they come out
Write long captions

What are the 3 main factors of the Instagram algorithm?

The Instagram algorithm has three main ranking factors: relationship, interest, relevancy.

How do you get picked up by the algorithm on Instagram?

Respect community guidelines
Get creative with Reels
Schedule your posts at the right time for maximum reach
Respond to comments and DMs
Use the right hashtags
Post consistently
Check analytics

Beat the Instagram algorithm and save time managing your social media using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule and publish content, engage your audience, and measure performance. Try it free today.

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How the Instagram algorithm works and how to get maximum reach

Instagram explained how the news feed generation algorithms work. Previously, the platform had never published such data, and there were many rumors about the social network among marketers. The site also answered the most common of them.

Read more: Understanding Instagram's algorithmic feed will help you get the most out of your posts and engagement.

Timeline was not more convenient

This is not said by the representatives of the social network (and certainly not by users), but by the numbers: users missed 70% of all posts, and 50% of friends' posts, when the results were formed in the order of publication of posts.

Users now see up to 90% of their friends' posts, according to Instagram. Recall that in recent months, Facebook has been paying attention to maintaining contacts between friends and family within the social network.

Top Factors for Instagram Ranking Algorithm

Interest

Instagram predicts whether a post will interest you based on your previous activity with similar content. The similarity of publications is also determined by machine vision. nine0003

Relevance

Priority is given to publications made recently.

Relationships

Instagram determines how close you are to the author of a post. Comments under his photos and marks on joint photos are taken into account.

Three additional ranking factors

Instagram representatives also identified three additional factors affecting the display of posts in the feed.

Frequency

How often you visit Instagram: the algorithm tries to show you the best posts since your last visit. nine0003

Number of subscriptions

If you follow a large number of accounts, the algorithm has a wide selection of posts to add to your feed - so you see the posts of a particular person less often.

Behavior

How much time do you spend in the app, and how do you view the content: quickly scroll through the feed or go to your account and see the posts there.

Myths about how Instagram algorithms work

The Instagram team has debunked well-known user misconceptions about how Instagram works, especially how the feed is displayed. nine0003

1. Instagram has no plans to bring back the timeline. This will complicate the use of the service. However, the company listens to user dissatisfaction with the current algorithm. Gradually, changes will be made to its work.

2. Posts in the feed are not hidden, but only ranked. If you scroll for a very long time, you will see posts from absolutely all the accounts you follow.

3. The Instagram algorithm doesn't prioritize posts with videos as well as posts with photos. nine0054 It analyzes what content the user watches more often, and it is in his personalized feed that posts with this type of content are more likely to get.

4. Instagram does not rank above users who post Stories, Live, or use any other features of the app. It's a myth that using Stories affects reach.

5. Users who post content too often are not demoted in the feed. But if posts are published one after another with a small time interval, Instagram will in most cases add posts from other users between them. nine0003
6. Account type does not affect reach in any way : Switching from a business account to a personal account and vice versa will not give any results.

7. Shadow ban (hiding posts in search results by hashtags) does not exist v.

How to improve the performance of your Instagram account knowing the feed ranking factors?

1. Publish regularly

You need to catch the eye of your followers to stay in their feeds. Some marketers and bloggers advise making at least one post per day. For some, this is too much - sometimes creating content takes time and effort. Three posts per week will be enough. nine0003
2. Communicate with the audience

Yes, those same questions “How will you spend your summer?” actually work on Instagram too. Ask your audience open-ended questions, and if you run a brand account, try to engage subscribers in a conversation - not only about your product, but also on abstract topics.

3. Interact with similar content

Browse accounts similar to yours, reply to friends in direct on Stories, participate in discussions relevant to your profile topic. nine0003
4. Study the audience

Determine what your subscriber likes: photo or video, long or short text, useful information or beautiful pictures.

To do this, ask them directly - for example, through a survey in Stories, or analyze the account's old posts. You can quickly do this in Popsters.ru: it will show the most popular and discussed posts of all time, determine the days of the week and hours when subscribers are most active, show on the charts the optimal text length for your audience - and many more metrics that will help you improve content in the account. nine0003
Terminals

Three main factors of new algorithms for ranking the news feed in Instagram: interest, relevance, relationship with the author of the publication.

Three additional factors: posting frequency, number of subscriptions, user behavior.

Ranking algorithms do not hide posts, but only arrange them, if you scroll through the feed for a long time, you can find any publication from subscriptions.

Instagram algorithms do not consider account type and content type. nine0104
To increase the effectiveness of posting, you need to publish content regularly, communicate with subscribers and participate in discussions in other people's comments yourself.

To find out what your audience likes, ask them through polls, or analyze past experiences with Popsters. Advanced analytics on Instagram will help in the rapid development of your account.

Useful articles on a similar topic:

Finding the best time to post on Instagram; nine0104
How users perceive content in Instagram Stories and feed;

15 facts and figures about Instagram that a marketer should know;

How to write an effective description on Instagram.

for Posts, Stories, Reels and recommended

.
Instagram has always hushed up how the algorithms actually work. The official advice was either "make good content and you will be rewarded." Or long technical articles, the essence of which is almost impossible for an ordinary person to delve into, sinks into sleep after the first paragraph. In 2023, we received a more or less sane answer on how the new algorithms of Instagram 2023 work.

The main thing we learned from the article about the new Instagram algorithms 2023:

how the algorithm works for Instagram posts and Stories

how to get into the recommended Instagram

how they get coverage thanks to the new algorithm Reels (Reels) Instagram

pro shadowban Instagram

How the algorithm for Instagram posts and Stories works

Stories and posts in the feed are photos and videos of those you follow. Plus advertisements. nine0003
To rank them (who will be at the beginning and who will be at the end), the Instagram algorithm uses "signals":

Information about the post: how popular it is (by likes), posting time, length (for video), geolocation

Recent interactions: Account posts will be higher in your feed if you have interacted with them in the last couple of weeks

Likes: the algorithm will put a post higher in your feed if you liked other posts of this account more often

Comments: the post will be higher if you have left comments in this account before

Based on these signals, the Instagram algorithm predicts how much you will be interested in new content. If you want to follow all these signals from your account, connect Instagram statistics.

Instagram Feed has five main indicators of engagement:

how likely are you to hold your attention for longer than a couple of seconds0104
will you like it

will you leave a comment

save or not

go to account profile or not

But there are exceptions. For example, there will not be too many posts from the same account in the feed. That is, it is better not to make several posts in a row at once. Some of them will still end up at the very bottom of the feed of your subscribers.

Instagram is fighting disinformation. If there are complaints about your post, it may not be removed immediately. But in the tape it will be at the very bottom. nine0003
How the Instagram algorithm works for the recommended

Recommended is an Instagram section that consists entirely of posts, Stories and Reels from accounts that you have not yet followed, but may potentially be interested in.

Signals for the Instagram algorithm that help you get into Recommended:

which posts you liked recently

kept

commented.

The Instagram algorithm looks at these posts to see who else liked them. What kind of posts do these people like. And then offers this content to you. nine0003
These posts are ranked in the recommended feed based on signals:

post popularity: how fast it gets likes, comments, shares, saves

your history of interaction with the account: most likely you see it for the first time, but if you interacted before, then this post will be higher in the recommended feed

Which of the recommended posts have you previously liked, saved or commented on

recent interactions: in the last couple of weeks, how often people have interacted with this account

How the new Reels algorithms work Instagram

Instagram Reels' main goal is to entertain. Basically, the Rils feed consists of videos from accounts that you do not follow.

This is a fairly new format, so Instagram is trying to support small accounts as much as possible, giving them more reach. Instagram also conducts polls on whether users find this or that Reels entertaining / funny, whether they will go to the page of the music track (to create their own video with it). These are the videos that will get the most exposure. nine0003
Signals for the Reels algorithm:

Reels you interacted with recently: likes, comments

have you previously interacted with this particular account

Reels video information - music, video analysis by picture, its popularity

information about the account that posted Reels (with a focus on small accounts to help them find an audience)

Videos with watermarks (for example, from TikTok), as well as "political" videos, are not included in the Rils feed. nine0003
Shadowban on Instagram - does it exist?

Instagram responds like this:

“Users often complain that their posts get fewer likes and comments due to the shadowban on Instagram. We cannot guarantee that you will always get the same reach when you post. Most of your followers won't see it because many of them watch less than half of their subscription feed. But we promise to be more transparent about why we remove certain content and better explain how the Instagram algorithm works in 2023. We are developing a notification system so that you immediately know why your post was removed.” nine0003
Thus, Instagram does not directly confirm or deny the existence of the "shadow ban". But based on what signals are used to recommend content, conclusions can be drawn.

The history of interactions/complaints about the author's content in the last couple of weeks is most often taken into account. Therefore, if your content was rated as “potentially inappropriate” or received a lot of complaints, then most likely the new content in the next two weeks will be at the end of the feed for everyone and will not fall into the recommended. Therefore, coverage will be lower than usual.
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