Understanding Instagram's Algorithm to Optimize Your Strategy in 2024

11 Jul 2024

Instagram's algorithm, often perceived as a mystery, plays a crucial role in determining what you see in your feed. Understanding how it works is essential for any effective digital marketing strategy in 2024.

The Instagram algorithm is a complex and constantly evolving system, crucial for determining the visibility of content on the platform. This article explores the mechanisms of this algorithm to help you optimize your presence on Instagram.

First of all, it should be noted that there is not 1 but several Instagram algorithms. There are: 1 for Feeds & Stories, 1 for Search and Explore, and 1 for Reels.

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Feeds and Stories: The Keys to Visibility

The Instagram algorithm for feeds and stories is centred around content from friends, family, and close contacts.
There are three main views available: Favourites, Following, and Default.
The algorithm uses various signals to rank posts, such as the number of likes, timing of the post, and user interaction with the content.

Once they have all these signals, they will establish a series of preferences based on:

The time spent on the post
commenting
liking
sharing
checking the person's profile

Moreover, if you really want to understand why you see a post in your feed, you just need to go to the 3 small dots and click on "why am I seeing this post"

This really helps us understand how the algorithm works and why this post is shown

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Search and Explore

Explore is designed to help us discover new creators or brands.

The grid is made up of recommendations - photos and videos that Instagram will find for us - which is very different from Feed and Stories, where the vast majority of what we see comes from the accounts we follow.

The Explore tab is designed to help discover new content, based on personalised recommendations.
Reels, inspired by the success of TikTok, focus on entertainment and the discovery of content from un-followed creators.
The signals used include past interactions, content popularity, and the quality of Reels.

For example, I often like the posts “the nuggets of France”

And well, the Instagram algorithm will extract all the people who also interact with their post, to look for similar accounts that everyone follows.

Because if we interact with it, we are likely to have common interests.

And there, Instagram will realize that there are also accounts like Gregsway, for example.

So if you want to be highly recommended by Instagram, you need to niche down.

In this way, Instagram will understand much more quickly the type of content that you are highlighting.

Control what you see

You can influence your Instagram experience by engaging with content you enjoy.
Actions such as muting accounts or marking posts as "Not interested" help personalize your feed because they send a direct message to Instagram regarding certain posts.

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The Shadowban

Many people accuse Instagram of “shadowbanning” them. This means Instagram mutes you by stopping the promotion of your content on the platform. In fact, it’s a term used by many to describe different experiences they have on Instagram.

First of all, you can check if your account has been shadowbanned. To do this, go to your settings → account → account status.

Now, I will explain to you what actually happens when you have significantly less reach. In fact, Instagram conducts numerous tests with their algorithms, and depending on how your audience reacts, they may or may not show your content to a larger number of people.

Ultimately, with Instagram, you are never sure of the reach your posts may have!

The truth is that most of your followers won’t necessarily see what you share, and to counter this, you should encourage your community to use features like turning on notifications, favoriting mentions, etc., to be informed of your news.

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To maximize your visibility, there’s nothing better than interacting daily with your audience and also with people who don’t know you yet. To get support in your growth on Instagram, reach out to My name is Bond.

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