Everyone knows Instagram has its own ranking systems, and cracking the algorithm seems to have become an obsession for many gurus on social media. You might have heard about secret formulas and supposedly foolproof strategies that will make your content viral. The fact is, everyone seems to have inside information about what makes content rank on Instagram.
However, instead of relying on speculation, why not hear straight from the source? In a recent series of videos, the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, broke down how the Instagram ranking systems work and what they look for when spreading content on the platform.
Instagram Rankings Explained
Instagram has 3 billion users. That’s almost half of the world’s entire population. Getting a fraction of their attention is gold. But how to get to that point is the key.
Back in the day, content was shown on Instagram in chronological order, but as the platform evolved, it switched to an algorithm-driven, engagement-based feed.
According to Adam Mosseri, if Instagram didn’t rank content, everyone’s feed would be overrun by those who post more frequently. Therefore, a ranking system was needed.
Everyone thinks that’s one algorithm for everything, but in fact, Instagram has many different algorithm systems. One for Stories, one for Reels, one for Explore, and so on. They also use different algorithms to rank content from accounts you follow and those you don’t.
At the end of the day, you score points in all of them, and based on that, Instagram predicts what sort of content you’d be more likely to engage with.
The Instagram content principles
There are many content principles that guide Instagram rankings, and Adam shared four of them with his audience.
Originality
It was broadly advertised that original content will be prioritised on the platform. So, if your business creates original content that resonates with your audience, they are more likely to reach more people.
Recency
Similar to SEO, when you have a trending topic everyone is talking about and create content around it, you have a better chance of getting your content spread to a broader audience because Instagram knows this topic might interest many people.
That’s a huge opportunity to increase your follower base and boost your brand awareness. Obviously, a social media strategy cannot solely rely on creating trending content, but it’s good to have that option on the table.
Also, it’s important to be aware that a large share of what a person consumes on Instagram each day is content published in the last 24 hours. However, that doesn’t mean you need to publish content every day. You just need a better social media strategy to make smart use of these opportunities.
Breaking Content
According to Mosseri, Instagram is not only a platform for big creators. You can have a public account, and Instagram will test your content with a portion of people who don’t follow you to see if they engage with your content. That way, you can still grow organically on Instagram.
Model Size
That’s the only pillar mentioned by Mosseri that is not content-related but system-related. Meta invests heavily in technology and AI models to consistently improve their recommendations based on what it learns about each Instagram user.
What does that mean for your business?
We often hear from businesses that they know they should be posting on their social media accounts, but they either don’t have time, don’t know where to start, or aren’t seeing the results they expected. The reality is that social media marketing isn’t just about posting for the sake of it.
It requires planning, a clear strategy, and perhaps most importantly, it needs data analysis. Why did that post not perform well? Why did that reel get more views than the others? Which metrics should I be looking at?
There’s more on Instagram than just vanity metrics. Don’t get me wrong, these numbers are important, but they don’t tell the whole story. Different metrics reveal different things about how people interact with your content, and understanding what to analyse is essential to make better decisions about your business.
That’s where having a digital marketing partner like 42 Digital can make a difference. What you see on your social media is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot more happening behind the scenes, and understanding that data can be far more valuable for your business than simply looking at the numbers on your app.