If you're a small business owner, entrepreneur, or brand looking to build your presence on Instagram, you've likely heard the horror stories about how difficult it can be to get your content seen. As competition for eyeballs continues to rise, it is more important than ever to understand the 2023 Instagram algorithm and what it deems worthwhile or important. In this guide, we cover the ins and outs of the algorithm's ranking signals and recent changes, as well as other insights that will help boost your visibility on the platform. Read on to make sure your lovingly handcrafted social content gets the attention it deserves!
How Does the Instagram Algorithm Work?
For those wondering how they can gain an edge over their competitors on Instagram in 2023, it all comes down to understanding how the algorithm works. At its heart, Instagram’s algorithm is designed to prioritize content that is deemed most relevant and engaging for a given user based on their past interactions with similar posts. The goal of this system is always to deliver an optimal user experience by surfacing content that users are likely to engage with — which means that posts from accounts users have interacted with in the past receive preferential treatment in terms of ranking.
To achieve this goal, Instagram looks at a number of factors when deciding which posts should appear first in a user’s feed — including but not limited to:
- Relevance (based on past engagement)
- Engagement rate
- Type of post (i.e., video vs photo)
- Time elapsed since posting
- Number of followers
- Number of tags used
- Location tags used
- Hashtags used
- Quality/content of post
Recent Changes To The Algorithm
Instagram has made some significant changes to its algorithm over recent years — most notably introducing an “algorithmic timeline” back in 2016 which reordered posts based on relevance rather than chronology. This change was met with mixed reactions from users; some welcomed being able to see more targeted content while others felt like they were missing out on posts from friends and family members who posted less frequently. Regardless, it marked a major shift in how users interacted with content on the platform and had profound implications for brands looking to maximize their reach and engagement metrics.
In addition to introducing algorithmic timelines, Instagram has also recently updated its rules around branded content — making them easier for influencers and creators alike to tag sponsored posts as such without fear of getting penalized by the platform’s algorithms. This move has been widely celebrated by marketers who rely heavily on influencer campaigns; no longer do they have to worry about having their sponsored posts filtered out or buried due to mislabeling them as regular organic content!
If you want your brand’s content seen by more people in 2023, understanding how the Instagram algorithm works is essential. By taking into account its ranking signals — including relevance based on past engagement, type of post (video vs photo), time elapsed since posting etc.—you can ensure that your lovingly crafted social media updates get all the attention they deserve! Additionally, staying abreast of any recent changes made by Instagram can also help keep your strategy up-to-date so you can get maximum reach and engagement metrics from every post going forward!
