2021 has brought in a new change in the Instagram algorithm and marketeers are all looking for ways to crack the magical code to still be able to market effectively.
Well, here’s the good news, you can actually use it to your advantage!
Figuring out how the algorithm works will help you find ways to get the best out of your campaigns. So let’s start by understanding what this change entails and how it can be used for your brand’s benefit.
The Change
Instagram is very closely reviewing our content and controlling the organic reach on our accounts. It takes help from the past behaviour of our followers, audience and our own activities to do this.
It is primarily controlling the following features with the latest algorithm:
- The Audience (Who will see your post)
- The Reach (How many will see your post and which posts will make it to the explore tab)
- The Priority (Which post will make it to feed and in which order)
Basically, creating a scenario where the best content wins!
Factors that influence the change
Here is a quick breakdown of the 6 key factors that influence the algorithm on feed posts.
Sources: Hootsuite, Later, Buffer and Sprout Social
An easier way to explain this is, Instagram is controlling audience behaviour on two feeds, one being the timeline where people see posts from their followers and the second being the explore tabs where they see posts from people they don’t follow. Along with this, audiences’ behaviour on these feeds, such as comments, likes, saves, shares and the time they spend on a post is also tracked.
Therefore, the posts we create have to show content that is engaging, relatable, and high quality.
By considering these factors, our campaigns and marketing strategies can stay far from becoming prey to the algorithm.
Instagram’s response to audience’s reaction on the change
Instagram stated that what shows up first in your feed is primarily based on your own activity.
However, this is perhaps Instagram’s way to gain more screen time from its audience. If you are active and people tend to spend a lot of time engaging with your posts, Instagram rewards you with the ‘Explored Trophy’.
Rising above the change
The new algorithm has left people with questions on how to maximize engagement taking the change into account. Not just that, but also on how to create a campaign that works wonders despite the frequently occuring algorithm changes.
However, an additional point to be considered is that a drop in engagement is not always due to the change in algorithm.
Here are some strategies that give the Instagram algorithm exactly what it wants.
- Embrace the latest features
Instagram will always reward the accounts supporting their new features. So do not hesitate in trying them all out.
- Post Carousels
Carousel posts make up 17% of feed posts, pulling 3x the engagement and 1.4x the reach of other post types.
- Post Consistently
Instagram does not check whether accounts are posting consistently before ranking your posting. However, a consistent presences helps build a good connection with your audience.
- Post when you’re audience is online
- Post good quality, aesthetically pleasing photographs
It’s an established fact that good content ranks high on your audience’s feed. And you may have experienced this yourself, that visually striking content attracts your audiences’ eye and makes them hit like.
- Post hashtags effectively, stop using old hashtags
Include hashtags on your posts that ensure your posts are searchable. The more eyes on your posts, the better it is. - Go live more often
Instagram Live generates a notification to your followers and puts itself ahead of your followers’ story feed which gives you good visibility.
- Cross-Promote on Instagram
To help increase your algorithm ranking, cross-posting on Instagram is a quick and easy hack. You can strategically cross-post your IGTV on your reel or your feed post on your story to get better reach.
The ever changing algorithm is easy to tackle when you adapt, strengthen your campaign strategy and of course, remember that quality content always wins.
While you get to experimenting with the new algorithm, here’s a small takeaway, ‘save is the new like’. We will be showcasing a comprehensive research on this metric in our next blog, stay tuned!