Learning Instagram part 1: the algorithm

November 10, 2023

Listen to Learning Instagram part 1: the algorithm on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts 

This episode is the first episode of a 3-part series about learning Instagram. Today I’m going to dive into the algorithm because there are a lot of misconceptions out there. All of this information comes directly from Instagram or Adam Mosseri (the head of Instagram), so not just speculations or my opinions, but straight from the source. This is obviously very valuable information to know, not only as a consumer of content on Instagram, but also as a creator of content on Instagram.

In this episode about learning Instagram part 1: the algorithm, we cover: 

  • The different types of algorithms within Instagram 
  • The different signals each algorithm is looking at 
  • The main interactions that each algorithm is looking at
  • My takeaways on all of the algorithms for you as a content creator and business owner

Hello hello hello and welcome to another episode of radical disruption — this episode is part 1 of a 3 part series on learning instagram. today we are going to dive into the algorithm because there are a LOT of misconceptions out there and I just want to say that allllll of the information I share in this episode comes directly from instagram itself or the head of instagram adam mosseri so this isn’t my thoughts or opinions, this is actually how the algorithm works. and I also just want to say that this episode is going to be a bit dry because the algorithm is a computer and there’s not really any way to spice things up with a computer system BUT all of the information I share is valuable and super good for you to know as a consumer of content on instagram and as a creator of content on instagram 

the first thing I want to say is that there isn’t one algorithm — there are actually multiple algorithms. there is an explore page algorithm, a stories algorithm, a feed algorithm, and a reels algorithm. so you need to know the strategies for each part of instagram 

let’s start with the feed and stories algorithm—

with feed and stories you are going to see recent posts shared by people you follow with the exception of ads and suggested posts (in the feed) but suggested posts can be muted in the feed for up to 30 days at a time 

this algorithm looks at signals and uses those signals to determine which content you see first on stories and in your feed. these signals include: 

  1. information about the post — like how popular it is, how many people have liked it, when it was posted, how the reel is, what location is attached. 
  2. information about the person who posted the post— things like how many time people have interacted with that person in the past few weeks. 
  3. Your activity: what posts you’ve liked in the past and how many posts you’ve liked
  4. your history of interacting with someone: have you commented on each other’s posts, are you interested in seeing posts from the person 

other things to know:

  • if you post something against community guidelines it won’t be shown to people 
  • if you post something that is considered misinformation to IG then your post will be taken down — third party fact-checkers are what IG uses to find misinformation. instagram says if you post misinformation multiple times they may make all of your content harder to find
  • In feed there are 5 main interactions that the algorithm looks at: how likely you are to spend a few seconds on a post, comment on it, like it, reshare it, and tap on the profile. the more likely you are to take that action the more heavily we weigh that action, the higher up you’ll see the post. 

So what does this mean for you as a content creator and business owner? 

  • you want to try and keep people on your feed posts for as long as possible which means that engaging hooks are important to get people into the post and then you need to find a way to maintain engagement
  • in your insights focus on comments, shares, and profile visits because those are important signals for the algorithm
  • on stories focus on interactions

alright, next is the explore algorithm—

while stories and your feed is curated based on who you follow, the explore page is a bit different since it’s accounts you don’t follow

for the explore page the algorithm looks at what posts you’ve liked, saved, and commented on in the past. For example— if you’ve liked posts about goldendoodle dogs in the past then you’re more likely to see posts from other goldendoodle accounts in the future. once the algorithm has found a group of photos and videos you might be interested in, they get ordered by how interested the algorithm thinks you are in each one — very similar to feed and story rankings

this algorithm looks at signals and uses those signals to determine which content you see on the explore page. these signals include: 

  1. information about the post — like how popular it is which is determined by how many and how quickly other people are liking, commenting, sharing, and saving a post (these signals according to Instagram mean a lot more in explore than on feed or stories)
  2. your history of interacting with the person who posted: instagram shared— “most likely the post was shared by someone you’ve never heard of, but if you have interacted with them that gives us a sense of how interested you might be in what they shared”
  3. Your activity: what posts you’ve liked in the past and how many posts you’ve liked
  4. information about the person who posted: these are signals like how many times people have interacted with that person in the past few weeks, to help find compelling content from a wide array of people 

the algorithm also looks at content that may have effected the community guidelines because instagram doesn’t want to suggest content that might be offensive to you

So what does this mean for you?

  • make sure your content is in-line with community guidelines so your content can be suggested on the explore page
  • if you want your content to be shown on the explore page then you need to make sure that your community is engaging with your content (taking action) — this includes liking it, saving, commenting, and sharing. and not just engaging with it but engaging with your content right after its posted is important 

lastly is the reels algorithm—

this is specific to the reels that show up on the reels tab and not reels that are from accounts you follow — reels from accounts you follow will fit under the stories and feed algorithm

since reels on the reels tab are from people you don’t follow much like the explore page the algorithm will show you reels that it thinks you might like and then it will order those reels depending on how interesting it thinks they might be to you

Reels on the reel tab are focused on what might entertain you. the most important predictions the algorithm makes with reels on the reels tab is how likely you are to watch a reel all the way through, like it, say it was entertaining or funny, and go to the audio page (a proxy for whether not you might be inspired to make your own reel.

the reel tab signals that are important are:

  • Your activity. We look at things like which reels you’ve liked, commented on, and engaged with recently. These signals help us to understand what content might be relevant to you.
  • Your history of interacting with the person who posted. Like in Explore, it’s likely the video was made by someone you’ve never heard of, but if you have interacted with them that gives us a sense of how interested you might be in what they shared.
  • Information about the reel. These are signals about the content within the video such as the audio track, video understanding based on pixels and whole frames, as well as popularity.
  • Information about the person who posted. We consider popularity to help find compelling content from a wide array of people and give everyone a chance to find their audience.

so what does this mean to you?

  1. the algorithm avoids recommending reels for other reasons, such as low-resolution or watermarked reels, reels that are muted or contain borders, reels that are majority text, or reels that focus on political issues
  2. make sure that your reels are engaging people enough to get them to watch the reel all the way through vs just the few seconds. this includes your current followers
  3. use audio that other people will also want to use on their content 

other things to note about the algorithm, again these are straight from instagram: 

  1. avoid back to back posts to get a better ranking
  2. How often people see your content is based on what they like, comment on, and even how you tag or format posts. Try these tips to boost yours:
  • Play to your audience and their niche
  • Post in popular formats, like Reels
  • Tag a location
  • Invite people to engage

alright that is it for the algorithm breakdown

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