What you should know about the Instagram Algorithm

Wanted to chime in with some information about Instagram’s Algorithm as I’ve seen quite a lot of banter about their ever-changing Algorithm

In late January Instagram posted this onto their twitter


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Although this was in Late January, it helps clear out a lot of suspicions and I believe that the following are important

  • Authentic engagement is extremely important, you should always comment/like people that have a similar following if not more within your niche because Instagram ranks engagement over follower quality so having similar niches like/comment and returning them will rank your posts on their follower’s explore page. As of now, the algorithm has definitely evolved to reduce engagement pods effectiveness with follow/like blocks so naturally organic like/commenting is effective.

  • Increase your engagement by posting stories to turn on post notifications/constantly engage your followers with story/poll options because each engagement directly translates to higher ranking on follower engagement so your posts appear on the explore more often for the followers of the engaged follower

Although I wouldn’t trust Instagram 100% on what they say I think its a good framework to understand their algorithm basis. I do believe getting rid of ghost followers are good too because it helps rank a higher engagement on your posts which will be dictated by the algorithm for explore feeds. Instagram will always be a competition for niches to claim their space within an explore page and its important to keep a high engagement quality per follower than quantity in order to have a greater chance of reaching explore.

What do you guys think? More than happy to hear opinions :smiley:

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Instagram invited some journalists to talk about how the ranking works back in 2018 and this guide explains it more in depth.

Some takeaways to improve your ranking in your followers’ feeds:

  • As ever, content is king. The more engaging your content, the more likely your followers will like, and the more likely you’ll rank higher in their feeds.
  • Target users who are more likely to engage with your content. If you acquire a follower who doesn’t engage with Babe posts, your Babe posts will may rank lower in their feed from the start!

I don’t do these, but maybe they’re useful?

  • Message / engage with your your followers. It’s not confirmed, but it’s possible that direct messages are a signal in the relationship factor.
  • Post stories. Similarly, if you get your followers to view your stories, maybe your posts will rank higher.

Any thoughts on the last two? Do they seem to work for y’all?

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Thanks for this very useful tip!
Yes, @InstaPop, DM is important in determining engagement. I’ve read that the quicker you respond to an incoming message the better it is for IG.

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really like the guide, def gonna explore it further

yes its important to engage with your followers through messages too as its the warmest method of conversion in increasing engagement (very genuine because you actually message them which is personal) this will result in high loyalty which in turn gives strong engagement from that one follower increasing by x followers

when you post stories such as “asking me questions” you’re also building loyalty as you give more personal info about yourself beyond what your followers see on your feed. I often get 2x the amount of views on my personal when I post a question stories and respond to them and Instagram ranks highly upon organically engaging with your followers.

They may not have a direct correlation but definitely will affect your account quality over time as even one more engaged follower will help you along your journey :stuck_out_tongue:

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To be honest I don’t really trust instagram, I have noticed a huge drop of engagement for my posts although i know that, that content usually peforms well. I don’t know the clue but i believe instagram is pushing me to use more ads

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That’s what I was going to post too. And we can’t forget that IG said too that the shadow ban doesn’t exist…