How the Instagram Algorithm works.Do you want to know how the Instagram algorithm works in 2023? Don’t know if the decrease in interactions is due to not knowing how to use it? Don’t worry because I’m going to tell you EVERYTHING about the 4 Instagram algorithms. Yes, 4 algorithms.
Instagram itself has confirmed that there are 4 algorithms : for the feed and stories, for the Explore tab and for video Reels.
How the Instagram Algorithm works
Do we see how the Instagram algorithm works?
Table of Contents [ Hide ]
- 1- What is the Instagram algorithm?
- 2- Why is an algorithm important on Instagram?
- 3- How the Feed and Stories algorithm works
- 4- How the Explore algorithm works
- 5- How the video Reels algorithm works
- 6- How the Instagram search engine algorithm works
- 7- How you can change what you see on Instagram
- 8- Other factors that the Instagram algorithm takes into account
- 9- How to use the Instagram stories algorithm
- 10- How to beat the Instagram algorithm
- 11- Frequently asked questions about the Instagram algorithm
- 12- Conclusion on the Instagram algorithm
1- What is the Instagram algorithm?
The Instagram algorithm is a mechanism that classifies content according to what it thinks might interest you the most.
Instagram says that they don’t have one algorithm that monitors what people do and see on the app, instead they use various algorithms, classifiers and processes, each with their own purpose so that we get the most out of our time on the app.
I don’t know if you remember Instagram from 2010. It was an application of photos that were viewed in chronological order. As the app gained more users, it was impossible to see everything our friends and contacts shared.
The chronological order also caused us all to post at the same time to be seen, so the new Instagram algorithm has its advantages.
What did Instagram do? Activate a new timeline in 2016 that classified the publications according to the interest they might have for us.
In 2021, and with the number of new features that Instagram has, the application has 3 algorithms (Feed, Explore, Reels) that have their own mechanisms to offer you the best experience in each tab.
2- Why is an algorithm important on Instagram?
Why is Instagram interested in having an algorithm? If he shows you the content that he thinks will interest you the most, you will spend more time inside the app.
Why are you interested in Instagram having an algorithm? By sorting your followers’ content based on your past actions, you’ll be able to see content you’ve previously interacted with.
In the end, Instagram understands that classifying the content does you a favor, but here the conspiracy theory of manipulating your life as more or less of a type of content teaches you comes into play .
Example: if the Instagram algorithm shows you more content from one political party or followers than another, there will be more chances that you will vote for that political party.
If you think that some content is not of interest to you, you can always delete or silence a contact or tell Instagram that this content is not interesting.
I give you some advice: eliminate contacts who publish content that is not of interest to you . Your Instagram experience will be much more rewarding.
3- How the Feed and Stories algorithm works
What do you like to see on the Instagram timeline and stories? I’m sure that closer content, from your friends, family, coworkers… from people you know, in short.
Both in the feed and in the Instagram Stories you always see posts from people you follow, except for clear ads. But how do you rank some higher than others?
Instagram takes into account multiple signals, the most important (and in order of importance) are:
1- Information about the publication
Instagram reviews EVERYTHING about the post: how many likes it has, when it was posted, what type of content it is (video, carousel, image…), where it is located…
2- Information about the person who published
So they can know how interesting that person is to you based on how many times other users have interacted with that account in the last few weeks.
3- Your activity
Here they review what kind of posts you like and engage with the most. Do you give more likes to videos, carousels or images? It will try to offer you more content than you like.
4- Your interactions with others
They review how interested you are in the publications of an account due to your previous actions, that is, if you have given them likes, comments, seen their Stories…
All this information makes the Instagram algorithm make its own predictions to show you the content it thinks will interest you the most. This way you would spend more time inside the app and they could show you more ads.
Instagram will show you in the feed and the Stories the publications in which there are more possibilities than:
- Spend time looking at the post.
- Give a like.
- you keep it
- Tap their profile photo.
The more likely you are to do one of these actions, the higher up you’ll see the post.
The algorithm also works in reverse mode and reduces the reach to certain posts for the following reasons:
- Avoid showing too many posts from the same user.
- Share the contents of the feed in the stories. Instagram wants original content.
- Content that does not comply with Instagram rules.
- Erroneous information such as political or health issues.
4- How the Explore algorithm works
The explore tab was designed to help us discover new content and accounts, unlike the feed and Stories where we see content from users we follow.
It is a tab that I encourage you to see every day because you can discover very interesting content and according to your tastes.
And how does Instagram know what I might like?
Very easy, review the contents that you have saved, commented or liked in the past . This gives you an idea of what might interest you.
For example, you have liked several photos of the athlete Rafa Nadal. Instagram see who else has liked and check which accounts they follow. These accounts will be the ones that will be offered to you in the Explore tab.
That is, it recommends accounts that the people you follow follow and, of course, they are not always correct, but you are there to help the Instagram algorithm.
If you don’t find a piece of Explore content interesting, click on the 3 dots in the post and click I’m not interested. Spend some time every day rejecting the content that doesn’t interest you from the Explore tab and you will see how, little by little, it will hit more and better with your tastes.
And how does Instagram classify the posts in the explore tab? Based on their predictions that you will like, save or share the photo/video/reel.
Also review these actions, ordered by order of importance:
1- Information about the publication.
How popular that content is: how many likes it has, how quickly it got them, number of comments, shares and saves… these signals matter more in Explore than in feed/stories.
2- Your interactions with the account that published it.
If you have interacted with that account before (even if you don’t follow it) it can give Instagram clues that you might be interested in that post.
3- Your activity
Which posts you’ve liked, saved or commented on and how you’ve interacted with the Explore tab content in the past.
4- Information about the person who published it.
How many times people have interacted with that account in the last few weeks. This helps us find the most attractive content.
Is it clearer to you why you see what you see in the Explore tab? Instagram makes predictions of what it thinks will give you the most likes, saves, or shares.
But it also makes invisible content that it excludes from its Community Standards, such as tobacco or vaping content.
5- How the video Reels algorithm works
Video Reels came into our lives in the summer of 2020 to compete with TikTok in our leisure and entertainment time. It has not succeeded, but they are widely used to have more visibility.
As in the explore tab, the content you see in the Reels is usually from accounts you don’t follow, with the aim of entertaining you and meeting new interesting users for you.
But why does it show you some video Reels and not others?
Well, Instagram takes into account the closest probability that you will do one (or more) of these actions:
- Watch the Reel to the end.
- Give a like.
- Say it was entertaining or funny in some Instagram poll.
- Go to the audio page because it inspires you to create your own Reel.
Where do you draw these conclusions? After analyzing several signals and items of the Reel that I will tell you in order of importance:
1- Your activity
They analyze which Reels you have liked, commented on and interacted with recently. So they can be what kind of Reels can be interesting for you.
2- Your interactions with the account that published it
Maybe you don’t know that account, but if you have interacted with her before, Instagram Reels will take it into account to show you more or less.
3- Information about the Reel
How popular is it, what type of content is seen in the video, what audio track does it use…
4- Information about the person who published it
Instagram creates a profile of us and knows if we are more or less interesting to teach other accounts, based on the interactions we have had in recent weeks. Hence, either you grow little or you grow a lot. Either he loves you or he forgets you.
In the Reels you will not see content that does not respect its Community Standards, as I told you in the explore tab, and neither will you see low-quality content, with watermarks or political issues.
6- How the Instagram search engine algorithm works
And we still have to know another Instagram algorithm, that of the search engine. How does Instagram decide the order of results when doing a search?
Search is designed to help you find content of interest based on your search for people, hashtags, or locations.
It’s different than the Feed, Stories, Video Reels, and Explore tab algorithm because your search helps you know what you’re looking for and it shows when the results aren’t helpful.
How does Instagram order the results in the search engine? Based on what’s most relevant to you, whether it’s a close friend or a creator you like. It does so according to these signs in order of importance:
1- Your text in the search
The text you type into the search bar is by far the most important signal to your search. The algorithm tries to match what you type with relevant usernames, bios, headlines, hashtags, and places.
2- Your activity
The algorithm knows the accounts you follow, the posts you’ve seen, and how you’ve interacted with the accounts before. They usually show the accounts and hashtags that you follow or visit most frequently.
3- Information about search results
When there are many potentially equal results, they also take popularity into account. And how is popularity measured? Based on the number of clicks, likes, interactions, and follows for a particular account, hashtag, or place.
How can you help to appear in the search engine?
Do you want to appear in the search results? For sure yes. Here are some tips to help the Instagram algorithm appear first:
- Use a profile name related to the content of your posts.
- Use your name if you’re known by an alias so they can find you quickly.
- Include keywords in your bio about who you are and what your profile is about. If your account is location-specific, such as a business with a physical location, write your location in the timeline to make it easier for people in that area to find you.
- Use relevant keywords and hashtags in the description, not in the comments. Instagram itself recommends that we put the hashtags in the description.
It is important to work on all this because Instagram is expanding the tests of content results in the search engine. Thus, when someone searches for a keyword, the search engine will offer them results of photos and videos as well, just like the Google search engine does.
7- How you can change what you see on Instagram
The Instagram algorithm works constantly to show you the content that it thinks will interest you the most, but you can help it hit more and better.
There are a few things you can do to influence the content you see:
- Interact with the accounts that interest you the most: likes, comments, shares…
- Choose Best Friends for your stories. So Instagram will know who you are closest to.
- Silence the accounts that are not interesting or, directly, stop following them.
- Mark the publications that do not interest you so that they do not show you more similar ones.
I also recommend that you talk in private messages with the accounts that interest you the most. Instagram takes into account how close you are to the user.
8- Other factors that the Instagram algorithm takes into account
8.1. Interest
Instagram predicts the interest that content may have for you based on your actions in the past (likes, comments, messages, followers…).
The photos and videos of topics with which you interact the most will come out first.
For example, I see that in recent months more posts related to healthy food have come out because I follow and comment on more accounts of the style.
# Tip to arouse more interest on Instagram
If you want to arouse more interest in your Instagram followers, you need to know them. As it is normal that you do not know all your followers, what you can do is ask directly.
Use the poll, quiz or question stickers to find out what your followers want to see .
In addition, it analyzes the statistics to check which contents have been liked the most.
8.2. recent
Instagram’s policy is to reward recent posts more than old ones.
Although it is true that you can see old publications, it will be because they have other factors that make them appear earlier, such as your great interest in this type of content.
# Tip to be the most recent on Instagram
If being a recent post scores to go first, you need to know what hours and days your audience is online . For them, inspect the Instagram statistics in the application itself or in the Facebook Creator Studio where a more detailed analysis of the hours and days with the most traffic is given.
You’ll also need to post frequently so your content is constantly fresh.
I recommend posting every 24 hours for new accounts and every 48 hours when you already have quality content on your Instagram account.
8.3. Relationship
Instagram knows the relationship you have with other users (read what you write, yes). For this reason, it first shows you the posts of people with whom you have the most relationship : who you talk to in a private message, who you like or who you leave comments on their posts.
# Tip to have more relationships on Instagram
If you want to relate more with your followers, you must create a two-way interaction.
On the one hand, participate in the conversations of other users: comments, messages or responses to stories.
And you should also cause them to engage with you by asking questions in your profile content and using question or poll stickers on Instagram Stories.
8.4. input frequency
I am not referring to how often you post on Instagram, as that would be within the recent factor in point 2.
Here we talk about how often you open Instagram . The app takes into account if you are an active user or not. You can not give likes or comments, but if you enter the application you are already considered an active user.
Who would you reward more: customers who go to your store every day or customers who go once a month? Well, the Instagram algorithm is the same.
# Tip to have more frequency of input on Instagram
I think we can both say this at the same time: regularly entering the Instagram application .
Take a tour and look at the accounts that interest you the most. Surely you have several users who bring you a lot of value.
8.5. Use time
The Instagram algorithm on this is pretty consistent. If you spend more time in the app, you’ll be better treated than someone who logs in very little.
Like any business, Instagram treats its most active and recurring customers best.
It is important to get new clients but more important to treat correctly those who trust you every day. Do not forget the customers of a lifetime, Instagram is not forgotten either.
8.6. Competence
If your followers follow a lot of Instagram accounts, you have less chance of appearing in their feed.
This is a factor that does not depend on you, but on your followers and the accounts they follow.
Sometimes you may think that Instagram doesn’t show your photos , but they are. If they swipe down, even at the end, your content will appear too.
You can always tell them to only follow you. You’d be surprised what a fan can do for you.
8.7. Closeness
This factor has not been confirmed by Instagram but I have verified it in the 10 years that I have been using the application.
They appear to you and you will appear more to Instagram users who are closer , both on the timeline and in the stories.
Therefore, when you travel you usually have less chance of likes.
Have you verified that in the stories people who live near you usually appear first even if you do not interact on Instagram?
9- How to use the Instagram stories algorithm
The Instagram Stories algorithm first shows you stories from:
- accounts whose content you like
- accounts you talk to by private message
- accounts near your location
- accounts of people you know in real life
Above all, I have been able to verify, with the accounts that you speak by private message.
Do the test. Start talking in private message with accounts you weren’t talking to and you’ll see how their stories will start to appear in the first place.
Therefore, the importance of being an active account and also having a conversation in private.
10- How to beat the Instagram algorithm
If you want to beat the Instagram algorithm, follow these tips:
- Publish content that is given to be shared .
- Interact with other accounts : likes, comments, messages…
- Post at the times your followers are online.
- Create Video Reels that now have a lot of reach.
- Add the location to your images and stories.
- Write hashtags related to the content.
- Ask your audience what they need and offer it to them.
- Dedicate daily use time to the application .
- Tell your followers to turn on notifications.
With these tips you will have everything to overcome and defeat the Instagram algorithm that we know today.
11- Frequently asked questions about the Instagram algorithm
There are many doubts that arise about the changes in the new Instagram algorithm.
Next, I answer the most frequent questions that you ask me on Instagram and in the comments below (I encourage you to read on because you can find more answers to your questions):
When does the new Instagram algorithm come out?
Instagram has confirmed that there is no new Instagram algorithm that comes out on a specific date as happens in Google.
Updates on Instagram are made every second . At all times, the Instagram algorithm learns from your interactions and adapts to it.
Is there, then, a new Instagram algorithm? Yes and no.
It can be said that, every second, there is a new Instagram algorithm because it is learning and changing especially for you. It always offers you what it thinks you will like the most so that you participate and do not leave the application.
How to switch to the new Instagram algorithm? You ask me many. Don’t worry, Instagram is doing it all the time.
But there is no official release on a specific date with all the changes at once and for all users.
Does the shadowban of the Instagram algorithm exist?
Instagram has confirmed that there is no so-called shadowban (hiding the contents) in the timeline.
The clarification is important because there is a shadowban in the recent hashtags.
You can check it by looking if your content appears in the recent hashtags that you have used. If Instagram isn’t showing your photos, for some reason I explain here , they’re hiding you from hashtags.
But it is true that they do not hide your content on the timeline. You may think that they don’t show your photos but if your followers scroll down, to infinity, they will get all the posts of the people they follow.
Does the Instagram algorithm favor if you share many stories?
No. According to Instagram, the use of stories, direct or stickers does not help to appear higher on the timeline than your followers.
I was able to verify this some month that I did not share fixed publications but I did share stories. It did not increase the interaction.
Does having a company account have less scope than a personal one?
No. Even I have ever thought about it. If Facebook pages have less reach than a personal profile for you to pay for advertising, why would Instagram be any different?
Well, it seems that, for the moment, company accounts are not penalized with less reach so that you pay for Instagram Ads.
For now. Facebook pages were also very beautiful until they stopped being so.
Will chronological order return to Instagram?
If you miss the chronological Instagram feed, forget about it. He died.
They do not even consider a double version in which you can choose whether to see the most recent or the most outstanding (as Twitter does have).
They want us to see what they think will interest us the most. Although with me they don’t get it right. That is that I mislead them well, right?
Do photos appear more in the feed than videos?
No. It is true that it may seem so because what we see are almost all photos (if not everything) but it is because we publish much more content in images than in video.
Also, since we interact more with photos than with videos, the new algorithm understands that we like photos more.
12- Conclusion on the Instagram algorithm
Instagram’s algorithm is similar to Google’s: we want to control it but it doesn’t give up so easily.
The best advice I can give you is: Do things right.
And when I say good, I don’t mean buying followers, leaving meaningless comments just for interacting, or spending 10 hours a day on Instagram so they understand that you’re participating.
Post fixed content 2-4 times a week, daily stories, comment on the content you liked, save the ones that interest you, create video Reels, share the ones that interest your followers, write successful hashtags and, if you want to give it a good push at your fingertips, promote your publications.
These are the best practices that you can do to control the new Instagram algorithm and control all future changes that come.
Don’t obsess or be impatient. You can’t run 50km if you just started. Everything has its time, the Instagram algorithm too.
