3 Crucial Tips For Outsmarting the Instagram Algorithm – A Guide
In recent years, countless companies have jumped onto the Instagram bandwagon, leveraging the powerful platform to promote their brands as well as their products or services. This social media channel is where many consumers exist and converge in the digital world. It can be very easy for your business to reach out to your target market and even improve your bottom line. If you own or run a company but have yet to really see results from your Instagram marketing efforts, it’s time to buckle down.
The algorithm is constantly being updated
Before we even address what you need to do to see Instagram success, you need to understand how it works. Instagram is an incredibly powerful marketing tool when leveraged correctly. If you don’t know what you’re doing, however, you’ll just be wasting time and resources. The visibility of Instagram accounts is at the mercy of the algorithm, which is constantly being updated. As a business, your goal is to ensure your content remains highly visible in users’ feeds.
Back in 2016, Instagram announced that the priority on the users’ feeds would be according to content revolving around “the moments you care about.” This ended the reverse-chronological feed in a move similar to one previously made by Facebook. In 2018, IG announced improvements in the users’ feeds by giving priority to fresh and timely posts. In January this year, however, Instagram acknowledged the growing public concern over its algorithm and continued adapting the algorithm until it became what it is today: what shows up first in your feed is primarily based on your own activity.
To see the best results from your Instagram efforts, you have to ensure that you’re keeping them aligned with the algorithm. Here’s a quick rundown of three tips that will guarantee that more people will see your content—whether it’s a photo, video, or IG story.
1. Enhance your photo quality.
Instagram is a visual platform where ranking higher in users’ feeds is based on great content. “Good content” can be rather relative, but as far as Instagram is concerned, high-quality photos is the key. Consider bold colours, breathtaking landscapes, or pictures that paint a thousand words. Veer away from pixelated images, boring photos, or graphics without any real value at all. Make sure to enhance your imageries before publishing them.
2. Publish regular video content.
When it comes to video content, it’s hard to figure out exactly what makes a great video and what appeals to the audience. For the most part, however, create brief, concise, and compelling videos. Produce content that tells a story, regardless of the business or industry you’re in. At this point, the IG platform has been pushing video hard lately through stories and IGTV. You might as well take advantage of this and post more videos on a regular basis! Speaking of regularity…
3. Post consistent stories.
You can’t forget to post consistent stories. Sure, stories may not have a huge impact on the IG algorithm and whether or not your posts are seen. However, IG stories are easily the most popular content type on this platform. You should definitely take advantage of this trend. Second of all, IG stories provide an authentic, quick way to engage your audience. They can put your brand to the front of your followers’ Stories updates. Overall, Stories will consistently keep your profile popping up, so make sure to post them consistently!
At this point, you now hopefully realize how powerful Instagram is as an online platform for your business. Keeping up with the algorithm is crucial. Even if you don’t read the notes for every update, however, you can fare quite well with the above tips—posting quality photos, creating more videos, and publishing live stories regularly. All these things can help you build a strong social media identity and level up your Instagram gameplan in no time!
If you’re looking to stay updated with the changes in Instagram algorithms for your social media marketing, get in touch with us today! We’re happy to help.
