Instagram Algorithm
As you probably know, Instagram's algorithm is a nearly unsolvable puzzle and right when we think we've solved it, it changes again. Staying in the loop is harder than ever, as many changes are no longer being regularly announced on Instagram'sblog, but rather just being updated in a buried folder in their Help Center. There's some good and bad with these changes. How people interpret these changes is to each their own. I am writing this to inform you of what I've read and/or heard, not to impose my own opinions on you. That said, here are some of the most recent changes you might expect to see on Instagram, along with changes you can make to increase your exposure and get ahead before your posts get buried and unseen. To be clear, remember that this is mostly speculation and rumors. I cannot vouch for the validity, but I figure it doesn't hurt to gather information if it's floating around, right?
1.)Algorithm / Post Exposure
When you post something on Instagram, it may only be exposed to 10% of your audience. I believe this would mean that it gauges the interest of your audience to determine whether or not it should be shown to the rest of your followers. If your brand new post gets enough engagement right off the bat, it would then be released and shown to the remaining 90%. So if you've been wondering why one post gets 1/10 of the engagement of another post, this could be why.
You know last year when people started forming "pods?" These pods are groups of people who have agreed to boost engagement for the group by liking and commenting when a member of the group announces that they have a new post. Well guess what? This might not be a loophole. This could actually be one of the reasons so many people were getting shadow banned.
Business Accounts: If you're promoting your business in any way and represent yourself as such, rumor has it that the best thing you can do now to ensure your work is seen is to switch over to a business account if you're not already on one. This is another rumor from people are are "in the loop" on Instagram's new algorithm game. The plus is that with a business account, you will also be able to check additional stats, which can be very helpful when determining your audience's prime times.
2.)Engagement
Instagram is now thought to be restricting exposure based off of YOUR engagement. Now, you might want to respond to comments left on your posts within 60 minutes. Otherwise, your post's visibility might gradually decrease.
You know those comments from bots? The emojis or comments like "Great pic!" "Love it!" and "Nice!" supposedly now do not count as engagement. The plus is that they'd be filtering out these pesty accounts and increase genuine comments. This is good to know for us as well, because too often, we're also the ones that comment with "Love this!" Here's a good new practice: In order to count as engagement, comment with 4 words or more.
Good to know: Instagram stories helps you pop up more, so definitely utilize this feature. The stories that are shown first are accounts that you engage with the most, so give people a reason to see you first!
3.)Captions
Ohhh hashtags. These are incredibly convenient, but also a little tricky. Although you can use up to 30 hashtags in a post, this can now be picked up as spam. Spam = shadow banning. It's been up in the air for a while about what the sweet spot with hashtags are, but people say that they seem to have better luck with about 5 unique hashtags.
Don't use the same hashtags over and over! Switch these up or it will look like you're a bot, which means spam, which means shadow banning.
Here's the big one: Hashtags that you post in the comments of your post will no longer display under search results. You must now include hashtags in the body of your caption.
Another big one: Do NOT edit your caption for 24 hours after posting. This oldcu significantly lower your chances for it to be seen.
Piggybacking that last one: Do NOT delete your post and then repost it. Same reason as above.
Random note: When you pick hashtags, I suggest using tags that have high search results, but not SO many that they're too popular and your post will immediately get buried in all the others that are being uploaded like crazy.
4.)New Features
You know the Explore Feed? It's a specially curated collection of posts from people you both follow and don't follow, most of which you don't already. It's shown to you specifically based off of your interests that Instagram picks up from your hashtags, who you follow, posts you like, and your searches. Well, Instagram is now rolling out an addition of these posts to your regular feed. Yep, you read that right. Strangers will be popping up in your feed.
You can now follow hashtags. Rumor has it, your profile might be favored if you're following hashtags. So follow your favorites!
That concludes my update for you all. Hopefully you gathered some new information that will help you moving forward this year. Until next time!
As you probably know, Instagram's algorithm is a nearly unsolvable puzzle and right when we think we've solved it, it changes again. Staying in the loop is harder than ever, as many changes are no longer being regularly announced on Instagram'sblog, but rather just being updated in a buried folder in their Help Center. There's some good and bad with these changes. How people interpret these changes is to each their own. I am writing this to inform you of what I've read and/or heard, not to impose my own opinions on you. That said, here are some of the most recent changes you might expect to see on Instagram, along with changes you can make to increase your exposure and get ahead before your posts get buried and unseen. To be clear, remember that this is mostly speculation and rumors. I cannot vouch for the validity, but I figure it doesn't hurt to gather information if it's floating around, right?
1.)Algorithm / Post Exposure
When you post something on Instagram, it may only be exposed to 10% of your audience. I believe this would mean that it gauges the interest of your audience to determine whether or not it should be shown to the rest of your followers. If your brand new post gets enough engagement right off the bat, it would then be released and shown to the remaining 90%. So if you've been wondering why one post gets 1/10 of the engagement of another post, this could be why.
You know last year when people started forming "pods?" These pods are groups of people who have agreed to boost engagement for the group by liking and commenting when a member of the group announces that they have a new post. Well guess what? This might not be a loophole. This could actually be one of the reasons so many people were getting shadow banned.
Business Accounts: If you're promoting your business in any way and represent yourself as such, rumor has it that the best thing you can do now to ensure your work is seen is to switch over to a business account if you're not already on one. This is another rumor from people are are "in the loop" on Instagram's new algorithm game. The plus is that with a business account, you will also be able to check additional stats, which can be very helpful when determining your audience's prime times.
2.)Engagement
Instagram is now thought to be restricting exposure based off of YOUR engagement. Now, you might want to respond to comments left on your posts within 60 minutes. Otherwise, your post's visibility might gradually decrease.
You know those comments from bots? The emojis or comments like "Great pic!" "Love it!" and "Nice!" supposedly now do not count as engagement. The plus is that they'd be filtering out these pesty accounts and increase genuine comments. This is good to know for us as well, because too often, we're also the ones that comment with "Love this!" Here's a good new practice: In order to count as engagement, comment with 4 words or more.
Good to know: Instagram stories helps you pop up more, so definitely utilize this feature. The stories that are shown first are accounts that you engage with the most, so give people a reason to see you first!
3.)Captions
Ohhh hashtags. These are incredibly convenient, but also a little tricky. Although you can use up to 30 hashtags in a post, this can now be picked up as spam. Spam = shadow banning. It's been up in the air for a while about what the sweet spot with hashtags are, but people say that they seem to have better luck with about 5 unique hashtags.
Don't use the same hashtags over and over! Switch these up or it will look like you're a bot, which means spam, which means shadow banning.
Here's the big one: Hashtags that you post in the comments of your post will no longer display under search results. You must now include hashtags in the body of your caption.
Another big one: Do NOT edit your caption for 24 hours after posting. This oldcu significantly lower your chances for it to be seen.
Piggybacking that last one: Do NOT delete your post and then repost it. Same reason as above.
Random note: When you pick hashtags, I suggest using tags that have high search results, but not SO many that they're too popular and your post will immediately get buried in all the others that are being uploaded like crazy.
4.)New Features
You know the Explore Feed? It's a specially curated collection of posts from people you both follow and don't follow, most of which you don't already. It's shown to you specifically based off of your interests that Instagram picks up from your hashtags, who you follow, posts you like, and your searches. Well, Instagram is now rolling out an addition of these posts to your regular feed. Yep, you read that right. Strangers will be popping up in your feed.
You can now follow hashtags. Rumor has it, your profile might be favored if you're following hashtags. So follow your favorites!
That concludes my update for you all. Hopefully you gathered some new information that will help you moving forward this year. Until next time!
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