How the Instagram Algorithm Works

You’re coming here expecting major revelations, when deep, deep down, you know the answer. So if you want to save yourself time: just create good content.

Now for the long answer, let’s break it down.

How often do you hear people wanting to “beat” the algorithm? There is really nothing to beat. Put yourself in the shoes of the algorithm. What do you want?

You want people to keep coming to Instagram because they find content that engages with them or content that they are passionate about.

So as the great protector and manager of the feed, the algorithm will want to ensure exactly that. But my content is brilliant you might think. Well, how can the algorithm know that? To simplify things, it “judges” the quality of your content by the interaction it gets from people. The more interaction, the more likely the algorithm will show it to more and more people. The opposite is true, if few engage, it will show it to less and less until it doesn’t anymore.

Not all interactions are born equal.

At the tip of the spectrum is a view or a like, someone just stopped for a few seconds or chose to double-tab your post. A higher-quality interaction is when people comment, share in their stories or save the post. This tells the algorithm that this post was so good they deemed it worthy of sharing or saving or even wanting to share their input on it via a comment. If you think about it for a minute, this TOTALLY makes sense.

Think about how many posts you double-tab blindly as you browse your Instagram feed. Now think about how many of those you remember after you’ve closed the app? Probably few. Now do the same for a post that got you to comment or share on your story or maybe save it for later.

So looping back to the top, it all comes down to good content. Reflect on the content you are sharing. Does it really add value, educate or entertain? If not, then it’s okay. You just need to experiment with more.

So how does one “beat” the Instagram algorithm?

You don’t really have to. Just don’t even think about it. Instead, put your efforts into your content:

• - Engaging meaningfully with other people’s posts (be human!)
• - Creating content that people want to comment on, share, or save.
• - Creating content that makes people feel good or help people.

That’s it.

Want some quick tips for your content?

• - Ask questions or start conversations
• - Share tips, tricks or tutorials
• - Share ideas that can benefit your fans
• - Share something unique, interesting or motivational
• - Always add call-to-actions so it’s clear what you want out of a post or caption

And, happy posting!