Instagram has long been the best social media platform for great visual content and using it to reach customers has been an integral part of many small and medium business owners marketing plans. However, we’re hearing from them, that their efforts with organic reach and followers isn’t having the same effect as it used to.

Losing engagement, followers or organic reach isn’t unique to 2023, it seems to happen each time there is a major algorithm change. Plus, the number of users is growing still, and that will also have an impact. Whilst having a large number of followers, isn’t always indicative of sales, having followers that are loyal to your brand is.

Let’s look at how the algorithm works and then we’ll cover some pointers on how to reach more people and increase engagement levels so you can reach the people you need to.

 

How does the Instagram algorithm work?

The ranking of Stories, Reels, Feed, Explore and Search each have their own algorithm that governs how users see content on the app. The creators behind Instagram say the purpose of how they rank content using algorithms, is so each user only gets a great experience of content they enjoy.

They have broken down each way of using the app and built the algorithms around them to ensure that the expectations are met, and that the content seen is of high quality.

Along with a rigorous set of reporting guidelines and violation recognition for inappropriate content, Instagram use analytics to explain how people tend to interact with the app.

Feed – mostly family, friends, and interests with some input from sponsored ads and suggested content from Instagram.

Stories – mostly family, friends, and interests with some input from sponsored ads and suggested content from Instagram.

Reels – entertainment that is related to thier interests but created by accounts in and out of their immediate connections.

Explore – similar posts to their favourites, but tailored by their individual use of Instagram but from creators outside of their connections and followers.

Search – specific results based on their search terms as well as the content they consume through their Instagram use.

When Instagram shows users new content they “try to strike a balance between content from accounts you follow with content from accounts you don’t follow but might be interested in.”

The more that a user interacts with content they like, by engaging with it, the more of that type of content Instagram will show them.

 

How is content ranked in Instagram?

Instagram say they use information processed about each of their users interactions and preferences (known as ‘signals’), to show them similar content. In the Feed, these signals are:

• User activity – what they have liked, saved, and commented on etc.
• Details of the post – time, date, and location and whether people are interacting with it a lot or a little.
• Who posted it – whether they follow each other or interacted with each other before and how much interest they have shown in them previously

 

Although the ranking system tries not to show too many posts from one creator in a row, they balance that with the likelihood a user will interact with a post. The higher the chance they will interact with a post, the more likely it will appear top of their feed.

This ranking changes if the post violates a community guideline or is reported.

When Stories are ranked, the number of times they’ve viewed that account’s Stories before, is taken into account so they can be prioritised. More emphasis is put on figuring out if you have a close relationship with the creators of Stories.

Reels and Explore are designed to help users find and discover new content. Similar to the ranking for Feed, this is based on information about the post or Reel, their previous activity and if they have interacted with an account in the past. With Reels, Instagram also takes the popularity of the creator as well as whether the user has shown a preference to that type of content, audio or visual before.

 

How can you increase reach and engagement on Instagram?

As a content creator, having active followers who are likely to buy from you is the ideal situation. Now you know how Instagram ranks content to users, what do you need to do to get noticed by them? Instagram say they used feedback from users to determine what actions are helpful or unhelpful for creators to do.

• Make original content and don’t share watermarked videos from other platforms.
• Make use of your analytics and audience insights to learn what already works, then aim to do more of that.
• Include hashtags, geotags and account tags on all your content, including Stories, to give as much information as possible to the algorithm.
• Create high quality content with good visuals; if it’s blurry or low res, redo it.
• Reels auto play in the Explore tab so consider how that will catch a user’s eye, having a balance of Reels and images will reach a balance of people. Whilst there has been an emphasis on Reels lately, Instagram say that images are still the most popular format on the feed so it’s okay to keep adding them.
• Follow the official creators Instagram profile as they release guidance and tips on how to get the most out of Instagram if you’re a creator.
• Comment, like and engage with your followers. Ask questions, respond to replies, be visible. It creates loyal fans that will interact back with you, they are more likely to purchase from you.
• Post user-generated content and encourage it from your followers.
• Repost old content in a different format, such as a post as a story.
• Do some research on hashtags, choose ones your ideal buyers are likely to be following.

 

If we were to choose three of these as the most important and effective methods to grow, from our research we’d say:

Like Captain Picard on the starship Enterprise, engage, engage, engage. We can’t undersell the importance of engaging with people on the platform.

• Find other creators who have a similar audience to you and engage with their posts (be nice).
• Respond to comments and saves with questions and conversation starters.
• Follow your customers back and engage with their content.

 

Include hashtags, geotags and account tags wherever you can.

• Don’t guess what hashtags are relevant, look at your followers and competition and make a list of the ones they use.
• Geotag your location, posts, or products to improve your chances of being shown to a local audience.
• Collaborate with other creators to share your audiences (with permission) by tagging in each other and raising their profile among your followers. Only if they are happy to do it back to you though!

 

Check your analytics and insights to see what your best posts have been and think about what made them work so well. Was it a new hashtag you used, the audio, or a fluke? Post something similar and see what happens that time. Experiment and make notes on what works and what doesn’t.

 

Instagram can be an exciting an interesting platform to share your work on, however it can be disheartening to see a decrease in numbers, especially when you’re putting more effort in than ever before.

There are a few things you can do as a content creator on Instagram, to grow your reach and followers, even despite the decreases seen by many who rely on the app for their business.

On 26^th October we hosted a webinar on this topic, you can watch it on our YouTube channel or below ⬇️