Instagram: a platform that can be as frustrating as it is powerful. With billions of users, there’s no doubt that Instagram is a force to be reckoned with in social media marketing. But, trying to understand the platform’s algorithm can be like trying to find Waldo—just when you think you’ve got the hang of how it works, Instagram changes it.
Luckily for brands and content creators, just like finding Waldo, understanding and leveraging the Instagram algorithm isn’t impossible, at least not with proper guidance.
If you’re wondering how to increase engagement on Instagram, stick around as we explore how the platform’s algorithm works and how you can leverage it to improve your rankings.
What is the Instagram algorithm?
The Instagram (IG) algorithm is not a single algorithm but a series of processes that go into how Instagram works as a platform. It’s an evolution from the original reverse-chronological order used in 2010, where 70% of posts weren’t seen, including 50% of posts from close contacts.
Interestingly, Instagram re-introduced the chronological order feed in 2022 as an alternative to its algorithm but received negative feedback—the move turned Instagram users to TikTok and YouTube, increasing their time on the apps by 36% and 20%, respectively. So, despite all the negative talk about the platform’s algorithm, it’s a significant contributor to its popularity.
The new Instagram algorithm is separated between Feed, Explore, and Reels, which will be discussed later. So, how does the Instagram algorithm work? Several main metrics apply across every part of the IG app. With any Instagram algorithm change, the following ranking signals never change:
- Post information: Signals like how quickly people like, comment, share, and save factor into whether your target audience sees your post.
- Interactions: You’re more likely to see content from people you have interacted with in the past. This information is used to share similar content from people you’ve never interacted with.
- User activity: Signals like the posts you’ve liked, commented on, shared, and saved are considered when Instagram shows new content in your feed.
- The poster: How many times have you interacted with a poster? How many times have you interacted with posters of similar content? Instagram uses this to show you content you’re most likely to be interested in.
- Timeliness: New, fresh content tends to appear first. The platform maintains that older posts do get seen, but new content has a natural advantage.
Remember, Instagram isn’t a static platform like Google. Your Instagram feed will be different from that of the person sitting next to you because it’s based on your individual activity.
How does the Instagram algorithm work?
Did Instagram change its algorithm for 2024? The short answer is yes; Instagram has made alterations to its platform over the past few years to continually improve user experience. Let’s delve into the changes made to the different algorithms on Instagram, as well as how they impact your Instagram reach:
Posts
The Instagram posts feature is essential to marketing campaigns as it allows brands to maintain a consistent presence on the platform. You can use it to showcase your products and services or engage with your target audience through comments, captions, and hashtags.
Not much has changed for the general feed algorithm. Like other social media networks, including Facebook, Instagram prioritizes fresh posts from a user’s closest connections. This is why marketers need to work less on pure numbers and more on building real relationships with their followers.
Regular content and interaction in the comments are two critical activities to ensure potential customers see your feed posts. The same tips apply in 2024 as they did in previous years:
- Post high-quality content.
- Bond with your audience.
- Focus on a niche.
- Create relationships with similar accounts.
- Use relevant hashtags. (Instagram recommends three to five hashtags per post. However, a study by Later revealed that 20 hashtags had the highest reach rate, suggesting that the algorithm currently favors more hashtags.)
Stories
Because of their limited-time (24 hours) factor, Instagram Stories are perfect for special time-sensitive offers. Incorporating them into your marketing campaigns can spark immediate action from your audience, making them a crucial part of your marketing strategy.
Stories don’t influence your broader Instagram reach, as they’re designed for your closest followers. Still, the algorithm plays a crucial role in how they’re positioned. Beyond looking at closeness with your target audience, the Instagram Stories algorithm considers important signals like viewing and interaction history. So, to improve your visibility, you need to create content that captures your audience’s attention and drives them to send likes and DMs (direct messages).
Reels
If there were ever a battle between Instagram Reels and static posts, Reels would be the clear winner. With roughly 140 billion reel views daily, this is one of the best ways to improve brand awareness. You can use the reels feature in your campaign to join in on challenges, offer tutorials, provide behind-the-scenes footage, and so on.
Typically, the algorithm considers ranking factors like your relationship with your target audience, interactions, user activity like comments and shares, and Reel information like captions, audio tracks, and video length when determining how to position your content. To improve your ranking:
- Prioritize forming genuine relationships with your audience.
- Keep your videos short.
- Avoid low-resolution videos.
- Accompany each video with audio.
- Only include relevant text.
Live
As with Instagram Stories, Instagram Live can be the holy grail of driving immediate actions. This feature can help humanize your brand by showing the faces behind what you do, ultimately driving Instagram engagement.
Typically, the Instagram algorithm shows your live broadcasts to your followers. So, in this case, it’d be a great idea to invest in broadening your audience.
Shopping
Want something to supplement your Instagram ads? The Shopping feature is your best bet. It can be an excellent tool for brands looking to gain direct sales from the platform, as you get to showcase and tag your products.
The algorithm for the Instagram Shopping feature works pretty much the same way as the Instagram Reels algorithm, Feed algorithm, and Stories algorithm. It personalizes users’ experiences on the platform based on their activity. For example, you’re likely to see clothing shopping-related content if you interact with brands that sell clothes through likes, shares, comments, tags, and so on.
The quality of content also plays a role in rankings. Typically, Instagram accounts with high-resolution images and relevant product descriptions, captions, and hashtags rank better than the rest.
How to use the Instagram algorithm to improve your rankings
The Instagram algorithm may be complex and appear daunting to many brands and content creators, but, as with anything under the sun, it isn’t “unbeatable.” Here, we provide some Instagram tips for businesses and creators looking to leverage the platform’s algorithm for better rankings:
Keep up with algorithm changes
The Instagram algorithm is constantly changing to improve users’ experiences and meet the needs of content creators on the platform. For example, according to Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, the platform plans to push rankings toward photos too, unlike previous years when it primarily focused on video content (reels). This means your Instagram Explore page algorithm and the Feed algorithm will display many more pictures and carousels of static posts.
What does this mean for creators on the platform? You need to expand beyond reels if that’s what you’ve been focused on to maintain or improve your rankings. The key to successfully navigating Instagram as a marketing platform is keeping up with changes and adjusting your strategies, as the same ones won’t always work.
Maximize your engagement opportunities
As you’ve probably already deduced, engagement is king on Instagram. Whether you predominantly post Reels, Stories, or static posts, the Instagram algorithm will push your content if it gets a lot of engagement. So, this needs to be a focus point when crafting your strategy. To drive engagement:
- Encourage your audience to interact with your audience through likes, shares, and comments.
- Use interactive stickers on your stories.
- Post when your audience is most active.
- Post user-generated content.
Analyze engagement with Bitly
The type of content you post on Instagram can determine your engagement rates and, consequently, how the algorithm ranks you. Focus on the kind of content your target audience enjoys to increase activity on your page. How do you identify what they want? Through Bitly Analytics.
With Bitly’s branded social media links, you get insights into which types of content drive the most engagement, helping you refine content strategies in alignment with the algorithm’s preferences.
Test and iterate your content
The truth is, you may not get it right the first time—it’ll likely take several tries to determine exactly what your audience likes. Take an iterative approach to content creation on the app by creating different types of content, testing how they impact your engagement rates, and repeating until you find the most impactful type.
Luckily, this doesn’t have to be a taxing process—Bitly can help. Rather than manually checking how many likes, shares, and comments each type of content receives, create Instagram short URLs for the different content types with Bitly, share them with your audience, and assess your click data on the Bitly Connections Platform.
For in-depth insights, conduct A/B testing and check how each tweak to your strategy impacts your engagement. For example, you could change your content format from videos to photos to start with and observe how your interactions change.
When you identify the most engaging content format, you can further improve your engagement by testing different posting times to see which works best. Aim for formats and posting times with the highest number of clicks to send positive signals to Instagram’s algorithm.
Expand your reach with hashtags
Want to broaden your reach beyond existing followers? Don’t wait for Instagram to show your content to people who might be interested—be proactive and use hashtags. They serve as a reference for Instagram’s algorithm, helping categorize your content. This way, the algorithm can suggest it to users who’ve shown interest in a similar type of content.
As mentioned earlier, Instagram typically recommends three to five hashtags per post, as it believes that fewer hashtags are more reliable for self-categorization than many. However, the number isn’t set in stone. You can use more hashtags as long as they’re high-quality and relevant to your content.
If you’re unsure of which kind of hashtags to use, look for inspiration on the Explore page. Identify what popular hashtags have in common and incorporate that into your strategy.
Alternatively, you can jump on already popular hashtags as long as they’re relevant to your content, audience, or business. Or, better yet, create branded hashtags and encourage your audience to use them in user-generated content to boost engagement. Remember, a high engagement rate often results in greater visibility.
Collaborate with other creators and brands
Collaborating with other creators and brands can help you tap into wider audience segments and drive engagement to your personal or business account.
If you’re a creator, look for fellow creators in your niche and release shared content for combined audience engagement. If you’re a business owner, look for brands that offer complementary products to your own or influencers with authority in your industry and collaborate. A high user activity or engagement rate on your account is a positive signal to the Instagram algorithm, so you’ll likely enjoy better rankings.
The key to a successful partnership is alignment. Ensure your chosen partner aligns with your values, audience type, and Instagram aesthetic. For example, if you sell sustainable clothes, find a creator or brand popular for its sustainability efforts to maintain your brand’s image and values. This way, you don’t send conflicting messages to your audience.
Master Instagram’s algorithm and stay competitive with Bitly
Instagram’s algorithm can be a nightmare for creators or brands that haven’t cracked the code, but it’s a valuable tool for those who understand how it works. The key to achieving or maintaining success on Instagram is keeping up with its algorithm changes and adjusting your strategy to reflect current updates.
With Bitly, you can effortlessly move to the beat of the algorithm’s drums by getting a clear visual of how different Instagram marketing strategies perform. Bitly Analytics will give you insights into your most popular type of content, allowing you to refine your approach to send positive signals to the algorithm and boost your rankings.
Sign up for Bitly today for in-depth Instagram analytics to help you leverage the platform’s algorithm for greater visibility.