You must have heard a lot about Instagram Algorithm and how important it is to beat it to improve your reach. Instagram is an amazing social media platform for businesses and even microbloggers but it is not a piece of cake, as many assume. Initially, it used to be a photo-sharing platform only but with time the owners saw its potential and have complicated it a bit. In the early years, it was easier to be visible to your audience on Instagram. Businesses that built their audience/followers in the early years are lucky. Because now a lot of effort goes into building a genuine following. The culprit of all is the Instagram Algorithm!
What is Instagram Algorithm?
The Instagram Algorithm is basically sort of an AI which studies user behavior. It observes your past activity, content consumption and then shows you content accordingly. It also decides who sees your content by noticing your audience’s activity with it. For example, if you watch/like/comment on fitness videos and follow a couple of fitness coaches, the algorithm will show you plenty of workouts and diet-related content in the explore tab. Similarly, if you are a business account of clothing, Instagram will notice if you actively engage with your audience and other similar brands before automatically showing your posts in exploring. Basically, it controls your organic reach. The more you understand the algorithm the better will be your reach.
How to beat the Instagram Algorithm?
Certain factors play important role in beating the algorithm and improving your organic reach. Businesses that solely depend on paid ads don’t have to bother about organic reach but others who can’t afford should make sure to check the algorithm-related updates.
Relationship
The relationship between the audience and accounts is one of the most noticed factors by the algorithm. The more you engage with a specific account’s content, the more you will see their posts and stories on your feed. The algorithm will prioritize that account in showing on your feed. The stories will always be the first few and the new posts will always be on the top.
Similar is the case with business accounts. The more your audience will engage on your content, Instagram will show your content to them on a priority basis. Additionally, their followers will also see it in the explore tab. Therefore, you must share engaging content or encourage your followers to engage under the posts. Engagement includes like, comment, share, and save.
Furthermore, Instagram also notices your direct messages, searches, and tagged photos. Based on which it shows you their content.
Timing
Even though the chronological order is finished since 2016 but timings of postings still matter quite a lot. Always check your analytics and understand the active timings of your audience. So then you can post at that specific time for better visibility and reach. It is especially important for the accounts with which your insta relationship is already established.
Consistency
Make sure you are consistent with posting your content. The more often you post, the better visibility your posts get, and it will be shown to the users on a higher scale. Accounts that do not post regularly are usually pushed at the back by Instagram considering them somewhat non-serious.
User-friendly content
Try to keep your content according to the likes of your audience and something which triggers engagement. Make posts on which the users comment or like. For example, you can either make posts regarding trending memes or include some sort of fun question in your post. This way engagement will increase automatically and your visibility will improve.
Instagram is a great place to start your business but you must make sure that you are using the right strategies to get sales.
