There’s a definite trend in social media companies being more open about algorithms. This is a good thing.
Here’s Instagram’s algorithmic checklist that you’ll find handy if you are using the platform. The original is here but I thought I’d blog it to get my head around it.
Many of the pointers are refinements on previously published notes on the algorithm but its good to see the latest version.
Instagram say their algorithms vary for their feed, for stories, for explore for when you are searching the platform as well as Reels.
Good to know.
What you can do as a creator
All too often, people just shovel content out in a way they always have. Don’t. As the algorithm changes, so how you create content should change. Key to all of this is engagement. You should be asking how you can encourage people to engage with what you are sharing. Reading through the algorithm and so much is about this.
You also need to educate the client. This means letting them team know. Letting senior people in the organisation know that you may be tweaking what you are doing.
Don’t wait for people to get the wrong end of the stick and criticise what you’re doing.
The Instagram feed algorithm
Here’s what gets rewarded and penalised.
- You’re likely to see things from friends, family and the accounts you follow.
- You’re also likely to see things they think you’ll like.
- They’ll work out how likely you are to spend time and engage with it. They’ll judge this on your past history of you liking, commenting, sharing and tapping the profile picture. If they think you’ll do that with this you’re more likely to see it.
- They also won’t show a slew of posts from one person. If you’ve seen something from them already you’re not likely to see something else for a while.
- They’ll also look at how popular the post is with other people. They’ll judge that on how others are liking, commenting, sharing and tapping the profile picture. The more others do it the more you’re likely to see it.
- They’ll also check what’s being posted against community guidelines. So, hate speech, bullying, harassment, adult nudity, sexual solicitation, violence, incitement and buying and selling restricted items will also be marked down.
- Posts found to be misinformation will also be marked down.
The Instagram stories algorithm
Here’s what the skinny is:
- You’ll see things from accounts you follow. You’ll see more from people close to you.
- You’ll see ads.
- They’ll check what’s being posted against community guidelines. So, hate speech, bullying, harassment, adult nudity, sexual solicitation, violence, incitement and buying and selling restricted items will also be marked down.
- They’ll see how you use Stories and see what you’ve been seeing. They want to show you the things they think you’ll like.
- They’ll see how you’ve been engaging. The more engagement the more chance of seeing things.
The instagram explore algorithm
Explore helps you discover new things, this is how the algorithm works.
- This is about new profiles. You won’t see friends and family here.
- They’ll look at the kind of picture or video you’ve engaged with previously to find things that are similar. If they think you’ll engage with it you’ll see more of that kind of post.
- They’ll look at how popular that post is with others. If there’s lots of likes, comments and shares then you’re more likely to see it. This is particularly important in explore.
- They’ll look at how you’ve used explore in the past.
- They’ll look to see if you’ve interacted with someone before. If you have but don’t follow them there’s more chance of seeing them.
- They’ll see if you’ve used the ‘not uninterested’ button on similar content before.
- They’ll check what’s being posted against community guidelines. So, hate speech, bullying, harassment, adult nudity, sexual solicitation, violence, incitement and buying and selling restricted items will also be marked down.
The Instagram Reels algorithm
Here’s what they look for.
- This is about discovery and new accounts more than friends and family.
- Entertainment is key. Is it entertaining?
- Survey data. They’ll ask on Reels if that video was worth the time. If the answers are broadly yes it’ll get shared to more people.
- They’ll look at what kind of Reels you watch all the way through. You’ll see more of that.
- They’ll see if you’ve interacted with that person before. That’s likes, comments, if you’ve sent it to someone or favourited.
- They’ll look at the content of the video, the audio, who posted it and popularity.
- They’ll penalise Reels for being watermarked – eg from TikTok as well as being low res, majority text, if they’ve already been posted on Instagram or about politics.
Enjoy. Algorithms and how to use them features in my five-part ESSENTIAL COMMS SKILLS BOOSTER workshop. More here.