Content streams and feeds on Instagram are tailored to the users’ interests. The platform evolved to an extent ever since it switched to algorithmic feeds from chronological feeds. The migration made it daunting for marketers, webmasters, and content creators to unearth the algorithm and find ways to rank their Instagram feed on top.
Instagram’s algorithmic feeds are AI-powered and based on Machine learning. It constantly changes all the time based on the user data. Its volatility makes it difficult for content creators to crack Instagram’s ranking game.
The Primary Instagram Ranking Factors:
What is working and what is not on Instagram is a discussion that never ends. Experts have their opinions on how the Instagram algorithm works when it comes to ranking Instagram posts.
There are multiple opinions on how this photo-based platform determines the posts that deserve the user’s immediate attention. However, certain elements of the Instagram algorithm are significant to the post rankings.
1. Interest
User interest directly impacts engagement. However, it’s quite tedious and complex to find which posts will be able to engage and interest users. To ascertain the most interest-generating posts Instagram algorithm analyzes every type of engagement depending on post comments, post likes, Reshares, and Views for video content.
2. Recency
The Recency of the posts is a crucial engagement metric since every post goes off the timeline sooner or later. Instagram is has a pointed argument for this. Since the platform aims to serve only relevant posts to the users, posts that haven’t been in the frame for a longer duration may be irrelevant. To be relevant know the best time for posting content. This is the time when the account’s audience is online and most likely to interact with posts. It boosts engagement at scale.
3. Post Frequency and Usage:
Post frequency, following, and usage are three metrics that help Instagram’s ranking algorithm to unearth user’s habits on Instagram. Users who are relatively more active on Instagram can see more content. They are more engaged and spend more time browsing Instagram posts.
Active users get the opportunity to get relevant posts in their feeds. So more frequently content is published on Instagram, the feed gets populated more often eventually.
How to Optimize for Instagram Algorithm?
Now as we have discussed a lot on basics of Instagram’s ranking system, it’s time to check through the ways to raise your content’s reach and up their rankings in the feed.
Research Your Audience:
You can’t serve your content randomly. Unless you have a defined user segment, your content distribution will be futile. While discovering the best content on its platform Instagram bots consider users’ best interests in mind. Therefore it’s in your best interest to run a comprehensive audience analysis to determine a number of important points including user preferences, interests alliances etc.
Be Consistent with Content:
Consistency in content posting is important when it comes to Instagram. This is important for staying relevant on the platform. A consistent flow of content helps marketers to build a consistent Instagram presence. It’s undoubtedly imminent when your core focus is on maximizing user engagement. Explore various content platforms to get engaging content ideas. It’s legitimate to steal content ideas and produce genuine content from it. It boosts brand visibility and content ranking too.
Don’t Undermine IGTV Content:
Instagram is a platform that equally treats content in text and video formats. No bias at all. It’s established that users find both content formats equally interactive and useful. Above all, it’s always a great idea to incorporate videos into your Instagram content strategy. It boosts the chances of content being ranked on top of Instagram content feed.
Video content has an obvious advantage over other content formats. Videos have longer viewing period that eventually adds up to user retention and encourage more user interaction with your content. If you consider IGTV video content for Instagram, it amplifies the chances of getting your content discovered.
Try Creating Business Profile:
Instagram has confirmed time and again that type of account doesn’t necessarily make any difference in how posts are arranged in user feeds. It doesn’t matter if you are posting content using an individual account or a verified account. The only thing that decides your content position in the feed is the overall engagement posts are creating and the genuine interest they can produce.
Be Genuine:
While creating content for Instagram stick to authenticity and transparency. When it comes to content Instagram prefers one that can pull genuine engagement. To produce outstanding content for Instagram feeds, content creators have to work hard. Consistent effort is required to create appealing content and establish unique brand personas.
Conclusion
Algorithms evolve. They keep changing. Instagram is no exception. Being a content creator it may appear quite complicated and overwhelming to understand the Instagram algorithm and create a solid strategy to win the game. However, you can up the ante by devoting some time to understanding the way Instagram indexes and rank the content.
Tarun Gupta, CEO of Brainpulse Technologies, is a prolific author and digital marketing specialist. His insightful writings span SEO, content marketing, social media strategy, and email campaigns, offering invaluable expertise to businesses worldwide. Tarun’s contributions continue to shape the digital marketing landscape, guiding success in multiple niches.