Today we are going to talk about the Instagram Algorithm and how to succeed in it. Besides that we will also debunk some Myths around the Algorithm. Keep reading to find out.
The most important thing you need to understand about the Instagram Algorithm in 2022 is that it creates a unique feed for each user and it does that according to how the user interacts with the platform.
So the Algorithm changes your feed according with your inputs. If you like a lot of pictures of food, it will show you more pictures of food. If you comment in pictures of your friends or certain brands, it will show you more of their content as well.
Instagram is constantly analysing data to understand the behaviour of their users. With this information they are able to offer a customised feed and explorer page to make the user experience unique and enjoyable.
What Instagram says about the Algorithm?
In 2018 everybody was talking about the Instagram Algorithm. Because of that, in January 2019, Instagram finally opened some of their secrets on Twitter (tweets). They offered a rough idea of how the algorithm works.
In one of the tweets they say:
“What shows up first in your feed is determined by what posts and accounts you engage with the most, as well as other contributing factors such as the timeliness of posts, how often you use Instagram, how many people you follow, etc.”
Source: Twitter.com
Did you see the "etc" in the end? That is representing all the other factors the Algorithm considers.
Check bellow for a few tips about the Instagram Algorithm in 2022:
Are you using Stories yet? You definitely SHOULD!
In 2022 the Stories on Instagram are one of the best ways to engage with your audience. They are quick and easy to make and you can add several different call to actions (Stickers) on them, depending on the situation.
These stickers can be a question, quiz, poll, etc. You can add music and other fun stickers to make your Stories pop out and get the attention of your followers. And thanks to the Algorithm, the more people interact with your Stories more they will see them when you post.
Instagram Stories are easy, fun and your followers can quickly interact with them. If you are not using this feature yet, you definitely should use it in 2022. Thank me later.
Be a master of captions. Focus on your first line!
As you might know, Instagram shows only 125 characters of your caption. You have to click on read more to be able to see the rest of it. That's why you should focus on your first line to catch you followers' attention. Just make sure it fits the 125 characters.
In this first line you should try to embrace and involve them to continue reading. To do so is recommended asking questions, challenging your audience, sharing an exclusive offer or bringing interesting statistics. The ideal is to trigger an emotion that will make them engage with you.
Copywriting is so important on Instagram that I should write an entire post in this blog just dedicated to it. Keep it in mind and focus on your first line to "beat" the Instagram Algorithm in 2022.
Dump the videos and use Reels instead!
Posting Reels is easy as well. One great thing about it is that they can show in the Explorer page and on your feed. If someone sees and engages with it on the Explorer page it is more likely that the Instagram Algorithm will show your Reels to more people. That is how you get your Reels to go viral.
There is a bunch of content available on Reels, so you have to be creative and use the tools offered to you such as music, stickers, etc. Because of the insane competition between Instagram and TikTok you can expect Instagram to invest a lot of time in their Reels Algorithm, so your post can be boosted if you get to engage your followers in 2022.
Don't forget to comment on other's posts!
As you know by now, engagement is one of the main keys here. So engage with your followers, their followers and the pages that they follow. Doing a quick research about your followers and who they follow is extremely important here.
Once you have done your research, start interacting with these pages in a positive way. Leave interesting comments and try to be genuine while you contribute to the conversation. Generic comments wont help you.
One important tip in this section is to create alerts for these pages you want to interact with, so you can get a notification as soon as a new post is out. With this you can be one of the first ones to comment and that will increase the chances that people will engage with your comment and possibly start following you.
Use Hashtags, don't forget Hashtags, always post with Hashtags!
Is really important to emphasis, use hashtags! However, don't use the generic and boring ones. Do a research and find the best hashtags for your posts. How? Just keep reading.
As you know, hashtags are used to organize content and make it easily searchable by specific keywords. Stay away from the most popular hashtags and focus on the ones used less than 1 million times.
Using hashtags that are more specific to your followers can bring you more engagement (again, engagement is the key) and bring you better results in your posts. You need to do a basic research and understand your audience to be able to choose the best hashtags for you. This might take some time but it is worth the fuss. Testing different hashtags is definitely important to make sure of what works and what does not.
Just remember, save the beginning of your post for a catchy frase right? Don't use it for Hashtags. Add your hashtags in the end of the post, it is way better that way. Your post will be easy to find but still easy to read and to catch the attention of your followers.
Don't forget your CALL TO ACTION!
If your goal is to have more engagement, and that should be your goal, the Call to Action is your best friend. Just ask for people to engage with you.
You can ask your followers to comment, double tap, tag their friends, share your post or whatever you want them to do. Just ask them. If you are planning a contest or giveaway remember to add that in the beginning of your post so everybody knows what the post is about.
If you want to drive traffic to your website you can just ask your followers to click the link in Bio or to open a URL for example. And to make you Call to Action stand out you can use a different font, capital letters or a bunch of emojis to help getting that attention.
Be consistent and find balance! Post often, but not too often!
The final tip for today is: Be consistent, find the balance between posting too little or too often. No one wants to see 10 posts a day from you. I think that is good to start with at least 3 to 5 posts a week and work your way up to 7 to 10 maximum. Depending on your goals you could post 2 times a day, but that might be too much for your followers to handle and some of them might unfollow you because of that.
Beside been consistent on the amount of posts you have it is important to post at the same time every day. Go to Insights on Instagram to find the best time to post according to your audience. That will make the Instagram Algorithm to show your posts to more people online at that moment.
Image from sproutsocial.com
In 2022 posting frequently is the way to go in most cases, however is important to stick to a schedule that you can be consistent with. Take into consideration the other activities you have daily and try to use tools to schedule your Instagram posts so you don't have to worry about them.
Wrapping up how to "Beat" the Instagram Algorithm
By now you understood that the Instagram Algorithm is not a crazy bot that is trying to put you down. The Instagram Algorithm is actually simple to "Beat", all you have to do is to engage your audience and be active and consistent.
If you want to succeed with the Instagram Algorithm in 2022 follow these tips. In summary you should:
Understand your audience
Post quality content
Be consistent
Understand your competition
Following these tips in 2022 will make your posts visible and engage your audience. Now you are ready to start planning your posts and reach your goals. Keep reading to see the Myths around the Instagram Algorithm.
Myths about the Instagram Algorithm 2022
Bellow you will find five Myths about the Instagram Algorithm. Some of them fooled me so I guess they fooled you as well. Let's check them out?
Myth 1: Carousel posts don’t do as well as single feed posts.
False! Instagram Algorithm even shows your carousel more then a single feed post. Once with the first image and then with the next one. So the same post is shown twice or more.
Myth 2: Instagram will only show your post to 10% of followers unless you pay to boost it.
False! What matters is the engagement. Remember, engagement is the key. If your post gets a lot of comments and likes right after you release it, the Instagram Algorithm will show it to more people. Find out what kind of content your audience engage more and keep sharing that vibe.
Myth 3: If you edit your caption / delete then repost, the post won’t do well.
False! Feel free to do it and relax, it will not affect your reach, engagement nor overall performance.
Myth 4: If you put your hashtags in the comments, instead of your caption, you will be shadowbanned.
False! Just chill out here. You can choose where to use your hashtags. I personally like them in the end of the caption. But you can feel free to post it into the comments as well.
Myth 5: If I mention “TikTok” I’ll get banned.
False! Just make sure to remove the TikTok water mark when posting on Reels. It will look better and could increase your engagement.
Final thoughts
As you could see, and I can't stress more, it is all about engagement, consistency, frequency and understanding your audience. That is the way to "beat" the Instagram Algorithm and succeed in 2022 with your Social Media goals. And now you know that some of the things you heard so far are nothing but Myths. So stay aware of if and focused on your goals. I wish you a good journey full of likes and comments. Ah, and of course, FOLLOWERS!
I hope you enjoyed this reading and got something out of it to apply in your daily Instagram activities. Is there something else you would like to know about Instagram or maybe other Social Media Channel? Let me know in the comments! See you in the next post!
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