How To Beat The Instagram Algorithm In 2022
The Instagram algorithm is considered by many business owners to be a thing of mystery. But, once you take the time to start optimising your content strategy to please the platform, you’ll soon start to see your engagement rise once.
Whether you’re fairly rusty when it comes to social media, or your previous tactics just aren’t cutting it anymore, we’ve shared an easy-to-follow guide on the Instagram algorithm to give you all the knowledge you need to nail that winning formula.
From an expert summary of the current algorithm’s formula to content tips and tricks tailored to each content format (reels, stories etc), we’ve covered all bases. All it takes is ten minutes of your time to read it. Go!
How does the Instagram algorithm currently work in 2022?
The truth is, there isn’t just one algorithm for Instagram. But, don’t let this panic you.
This is simply because the platform has multiple content verticals (e.g reels, stories, feed), meaning each one needs to have a tailored algorithm to ensure content is delivered to each user that is of high interest to them.
After all, Instagram’s priority is ensuring that the user experience is as ‘optimal’ as possible to ensure that users stay on the app.
Because of this multi-strand approach, we’ve simplified it per content placement below.
How does the Instagram algorithm work for feed posts (including video) in 2022?
There are four key factors that are taken into consideration by the Instagram algorithm for feed posts — as detailed by Instagram in this blog.
Information about the post: Is it a photo or a video? When was it posted? How many likes does it have already?
Information about the poster: How interesting are they to you? Are they your friend? How often do other people engage with their content?
Your activity: Do you tend to watch a lot of videos? What type of content do you typically engage with?
Your interaction history: Do you typically like or comment on the poster’s posts?
Based on the above factors, Instagram’s algorithm then calculates how likely a user is to interact with a post. This is known as a score of interest, which ultimately determines the order in which posts are displayed in their feed.
Additionally, the Instagram algorithm also weighs up how likely a user is to engage with a post, judging this per engagement type as outlined below.
Time spent: Are you going to spend time looking at the post?
Likes: How likely are you to like the post?
Comments: How likely are you to comment on the post?
Saves: How likely are you to save the post?
Profile Visits: How likely are you to tap on the poster’s profile after seeing the post?
The Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, stated in an ever-so-useful IGTV that “The more likely you are to take an action, and the more heavily we weigh that action, the higher up you’ll see the post.”
Therefore, you need to ensure that your content and captions are optimised for your audience, to encourage meaningful interactions from your followers. You need to consider content which provides value to them so that they can save for later; content which disrupts the feed and makes them spend time looking at your post; content which is aesthetically pleasing or entertaining which encourages maximum likes.
How does the Instagram algorithm work for stories in 2022?
It’s not surprising to learn that the Instagram algorithm works similarly for stories as it does for feed posts: content which provides value or entertainment for your audience is key.
The chance for brands to reach their followers on Instagram stories is typically much greater than that on feed nowadays. This is due to the typical user experience of flicking through stories first coupled with Instagram’s binge-watching design of the story feature, meaning that users usually tap their way through countless accounts stories, before even looking at the first three posts in their feed.
Therefore, we recommend prioritising a story-heavy content strategy in 2022 to help maximise the results of your grid posts.
By increasing your Instagram story content, you have a better chance of reaching viewers as they browse their daily stories — and the more story views you gain, the better your ranking will be, thus increasing your reach and engagements for both stories and feed posts. A win all round.
How does the Instagram algorithm work for reels in 2022?
Since Instagram reels were introduced in 2020, they have been a game-changing content format for brands looking to reach more users and attract more engagements due to Instagram favouring short video content instead of static imagery, which they publicly announced in 2021 with Adam Mosseri stating the platform is no longer a “square photo-sharing app”. (Aka: we need to compete with TikTok so your pretty product flat lays just aren’t going to cut it anymore).
According to Instagram, brands and creators should create Reels that are entertaining, inspiring, or experimental and use creative tools like text, camera effects, or filters.
You should also avoid using video content for Reels that is low-resolution, too blurry, or has been visibly recycled from other apps (such as TikTok)
These types of Reels will be flagged by Instagram and deprioritised — meaning they’ll be less likely to appear on the Explore Page and Instagram Reels tab, resulting in lower reach and fewer engagements.
Is the Instagram Algorithm going to change again?
It’s important to note that, whilst the above is how the Instagram algorithm currently works, Instagram did announce they would be testing a new feature whereby users can actively choose how they want the social media app to serve them content.
This new feature, which has only been rolled out to test beta groups, includes three options for users to choose from when it comes to curating their feed, each with a different algorithm mechanic: “Home”, “Favourites”, and “Following”.
The “Home” setting is what users are familiar with — a feed Instagram creates based on what it thinks will interest each user, ranked using an algorithm. A new “Favourites” feed will be populated with content from a subset of accounts a user chooses (Mosseri says he uses it for siblings, certain creators, and friends). And finally, a “Following” feed will return what many users have been asking for: a chronological stream of posts from accounts you follow.
Tips & tricks to engage your followers
Have a consistent look to your grid
These days, it’s becoming a basic expectation for brands to have a clean, consistent grid which has a slight colour grade to it - meaning that, whilst not every post has to use the same colours, there should be a subtle colour theme to your posts which can help add to your overall ‘vibe’ on Instagram. You need to showcase your brand.
A tidy and cared for grid encourages users to keep scrolling on your profile and interact with multiple posts. You want users to be able to recognise your content amongst a sea of other users.
Engage with your audience
It’s crucial to build and nurture your relationship with your audience, so remember to respond to all comments and DMs.
As well as responding to your followers, be sure to interact with other people’s posts on a daily basis to help boost your algorithm ranking. If you connect frequently with another profile on Instagram and they interact with you, your posts and stories are sure to appear high up in their feed.
Post Carousels Instead
A carousel is more likely to top trump a static when it comes to engagements, because they are designed as a collection of photos and or videos to be ‘swiped through’ meaning users are spending more time on your post, resulting in this getting a hypothetical gold star from Instagram.
If you’re struggling to think of carousel content, a simple photo dump always works well, particularly when this content includes lifestyle, travel, food, fashion etc.
Upload To IGTV
A successful IGTV still goes a long way in 2022. Whilst it can seem a lot of effort to create a high quality, long-form piece of content, if you do this right, Instagram will reward you greatly by maximising your IGTV’s reach on the Explore page.
Whilst your first priority should be reels, it wouldn’t hurt to trial an IGTV now and then to see how this sits with your audience. Some thought starters below on engaging IGTV ideas:
A Q&A with the brand’s founder or with a brand ambassador
A vlog style tour of your showroom or shop, showing products too
An exclusive behind the scenes look of your day, or of your brand’s warehouse / workspace
Write ‘Microblogs’
You’re probably wondering what a microblog is. Essentially, a microblog is an Instagram caption that is informative and tells your audience about a specific topic. It is usually much longer than a typical caption and is therefore referred to as a microblog.
A good example of this is writing out tips on a certain topic within your field. Such as, if you own a sustainable fashion brand, your Instagram post caption could provide five tips on how to dress more consciously for the planet.
Prioritise story content, then reels, then feed posts
In terms of frequency, you want to be posting most on Instagram Stories, aiming to post around 3 story frames per day, if you can. Although stories won’t directly drive follower growth, as they are only served to your followers and not new users, they can help you keep your growing community engaged and are the most effective at building this engagement due to their design and countless interaction opportunities.
Next, your priority should be Instagram Reels. It would be wise to post 3 Reels a week, if you can. Whilst this sounds like a lot, Reels don’t have to be time consuming to create .Some of the most popular Reels have been filmed on an iPhone in less than ten minutes. Just remember to create valuable, shareable content.
Make Instagram Stories Fun
Your ultimate goal with stories is keeping the viewer engaged enough so that they don’t swipe off your story or exit before they’ve reached the end. You need maximum retention, otherwise Instagram will limit the reach of your stories, and in turn, limit the reach of your following content until you get it right.
So, how can you make an engaging Instagram Story? The clue is in the name: tell your audience a story from beginning to middle to end to help maximise retention. Don’t forget to use engagement stickers such as the poll, question and quiz stickers to encourage user interactions and help boost your overall algorithm ranking.
Use hashtags to drive discoverability
Hashtags aren’t the be all and end all to your post being successful. BUT, it’s still wise to use them to your advantage.
It’s recommended to use around 30 hashtags on photo posts and no more than 5 on Reels, by commenting your hashtags instead of including them in your caption, you can avoid your caption looking ‘spammy’. Whilst using hashtags will increase the reach on your post somewhat, don’t expect this to be the answer to all your problems.
Be topical and reactive
As organised and flawless as it sounds, you can’t plan all your content in advance. Well, you could but you’d be missing out on huge opportunities to hijack the latest trends and reference pop culture news.
Sign up to newsletters and follow accounts which will provide you with the latest news in your industry, that way, you can be one of the first accounts to drip this news through to your followers as well as finding a way to voice your own opinion on it.
As well as news, you need to stay on top of the latest social media trends, such as the ‘photo dump’ carousel, or perhaps a certain audio is blowing up on Reels which gives you an opportunity to tailor this to your brand and product.
Looking for more help with your brand’s Instagram or social strategy? Drop us an enquiry via our Contact Us page and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours!
