WHAT IS THE INSTAGRAM ALGORITHM AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOUR POSITIONING?
The Instagram algorithm was launched in June 2016: it is generically called “Instagram Algorithm” because it does not have a proper name yet.
Given that Instagram is a sister company of Facebook, it is not surprising to learn that these social networks somehow dictate what is the priority or not in the news feeds of users. Indeed, the algorithm directly affects the content they see and that your subscribers do not see.
You will certainly understand how much the Facebook algorithm strongly affects the organic visibility of the official pages of companies or brands. These accounts have seen their visibility and commitment decrease rapidly. “The Edgerank” is the nightmare of marketers and brands because if you do not invest in advertising, your visibility will be almost zero. It is therefore legitimate to wonder what happens with the Instagram algorithm. Does it work the same way as Facebook?
Visibility counts a lot to generate a winning strategy on social networks. In this article, you will discover everything about this Instagram algorithm: its definition, how it works and what you can do to counter it so you do not lose visibility and achieve your goals.
WHAT IS THE INSTAGRAM ALGORITHM AND HOW DOES IT WORK IN 2019?
The Instagram algorithm was born in 2016 and Instagram simply stated that this algorithm ranked the content of each user’s feed according to their preferences. It was a big change because, in the beginning, a user saw all the publications of the people he followed, without restrictions. Today, it’s estimated that only 10% of active Instagram account subscribers see publications.
We do not know for sure how the Instagram algorithm works, but what we’re sure of in 2019 is that it takes into account two factors to display your publications in the newsfeed:
THE RELEVANCE OF YOUR ACCOUNT
Relevance is evaluated against the accounts and publications with which users interact the most. This is supposed to send a signal to the Instagram algorithm giving priority to the publications of these profiles.
ENGAGEMENT ON INSTAGRAM
Based on user interactions Visualizations of videos and stories, likes, DMs, republished content, comments, recorded images and many more.
HOW DOES THE INSTAGRAM ALGORITHM AFFECT BUSINESS ACCOUNTS?
The Instagram algorithm has not been as devastating for brands as it is for Facebook. That said, Instagram posts always follow the same standards as the rest. We need interactions with subscribers to maintain a high level of visibility. However, it’s a bit harder to get social interactions with your potential customers than with your friends. It’s a challenge that everyday businesses face. However, as the following example shows, users are always happy to interact with a certain content of different brands on Instagram.
Instagram Algorithm: Going Further You need to understand the algorithm to make sure your posts are displayed to as many users as possible. The solution lies in getting a high commitment from your subscribers. This is the key to getting a winning strategy on your business account in the long run.
How to defeat the Instagram algorithm? If you want to have and maintain a high degree of engagement on your Instagram account, you need to know how to counter the famous Instagram algorithm. For that, you have several solutions:
Use Instagram stories
The stories were one of the big novelties of Instagram. Today, it is unthinkable to imagine Instagram without the stories. There are nearly 300 million active users a day who use and interact with them. As a result, you can not ignore the power of stories and the power of stories to generate user engagement. The Instagram algorithm has no choice but to take this feature into account.
Are the stories directly related to the Instagram algorithm? The answer is yes. If your users interact with you through the stories, your publications in the newsfeed will be rewarded in terms of visibility.
Identify your best content
The first technique is to identify your main content. By identifying your best content, you can begin to follow the trends that make publications the most effective.
Also observe things such as:
✅ Hashtags (hashtags specific to your sector compared to broader hashtags)
✅ Different types of publications (advertisements, tutorials, user-generated content)
✅ Different visual formats (video, images or carousels).
Follow these trends for a while and see which one you receive the most comments, likes or both at the same time.
Create content similar to your best posts on Instagram to continue to maintain your engagement. Remember that generating a commitment will earn you points in front of
the eyes of the algorithm
Post on Instagram at the best time
You will also need to publish your content at strategic times. Your content receives a greater number of interactions at the time of publication. Thus, they will be located longer in the upper part of the timeline of your subscribers. Posting at strategic moments will help you eliminate the Instagram algorithm and you will earn:
Greater visibility that will generate greater engagement
A powerful combination that will give you a boost in the long run instead of sending you further and further into your subscribers’ news feed. This is the best strategy to position yourself at the top of your subscriber’s timeline with the current Instagram algorithm.
The best hours of publication vary by company and community. A university bookstore, for example, will surely have an audience with peak hours different from those of a chiropractic center.
Discover here your best hours to publish your content
Learn to overcome the algorithm Instagram by publishing your best niches schedules Meet your comments and hold your waking community now more than ever, you need to be reactive when replying to comments on your content, especially in the first hours following the publication. This is another detail to pay attention to.
Create the content on Instagram designed to generate engagement Finally, you need to create publications designed to encourage the participation of your subscribers.
Generate participation in your Instagram posts
Use questions about your subscribers’ opinion on a specific topic. Ask them for their opinion and invite them to post comments, including inviting them to identify some of their friends under your publications.
Be careful how you ask, you can do it indirectly, do you have a friend who also likes our gym? What you can not do is ask them directly to tag their friends in irrelevant posts or in Instagram contests.
Will the Instagram algorithm mark a before and after?
Although Instagram’s algorithm has not been as devastating as Facebook’s in terms of publications and organic traffic, we need to take this into account. The key is to interact with our subscribers immediately after publishing your content. In this way, your content will be maintained at the beginning of your subscribers’ news feed instead of being forgotten. Apply the tips in this article to gain visibility and achieve your goals.
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