All you need to know about Instagram Algorithm

It doesn’t matter whether you do professional social media marketing and buy Instagram Followers for Instagram or use Instagram privately – you can’t get past the Instagram algorithm.

But how does the Instagram algorithm actually work?

And what can you do to make your posts show up in Instagram Feed?

What is the use of Algorithms?

Whether Facebook or Twitter, web or smartphone app – social media captivates billions of people. Email or text a friend to share a photo of the new puppy? Old news. Why not show all your friends and the whole world what’s important to us right now?!

And so we spend a large part of our time on Facebook, Instagram and Co., sharing pictures and videos in our feed, looking at the content of other users, leaving likes and comments and following accounts and hashtags to stay up to date.

The result: tons of photos and videos that end up on Facebook, Instagram and Co. every day. And that’s exactly why an algorithm works in the background on Instagram and every other platform: Instagram uses the algorithm to specify which selected content and posts we see.

How does the Instagram algorithm work?

The algorithm pre-sorts the content for us so that we only see what Instagram considers important to us. The rest don’t even end up in your own feed or on Instagram Live, but somewhere in nirvana.

Anyone who thinks they are not affected is mistaken! Just as you do not see all content, other users do not see your posts either. And that is particularly fatal if you use Instagram for your business or are a budding influencer. But according to which criteria does the Instagram algorithm sort out our posts?

Some people even buy Instagram Followers Canada to entice the Instagram algorithm to work in their favour.

Which signals are important for the Instagram Algorithm?

The more accounts there are on a social media platform, the more content is posted there. The algorithm decides what is displayed at the top of the feed. There is still a lack of clarity as to which criteria apply. Instagram is rather covered here. However, there are three factors that most agree on: interest, engagement, and timeliness. Let’s look at each factor in turn.

1. Interest

You may have noticed that Instagram sometimes shows relatively old posts in your feed. The app no ​​longer sorts content chronologically, but based on the content you’ve liked in the past.

With our user behavior, we finally tell the app a lot more information about our interests and preferences. Whether you like a post, comment on it, call it up several times or follow a specific account particularly closely: Instagram creates a profile based on your behavior and the Instagram algorithm filters out posts accordingly.

2. Interaction

Our commitment and that of other users also plays a major role in the algorithm: Instagram analyzes which photos and videos receive the most comments, likes and views. The more users react to an Instagram post, the better the reach and consequently the relevance for other users.

It is not only important that you generally achieve a lot of interaction, but also who the interaction comes from. Anyone who follows accounts indiscriminately and does not build a real bond will be evaluated differently by the Instagram algorithm. So it’s not just the quantity, but the quality of the relationship. If your followers react regularly to your posts and you are also in close contact with your subscribers and other accounts, the Instagram algorithm evaluates this as positive.

3. Timeliness

Even if there is no purely chronological feed: the time factor still plays an important role. Possibly also because there were more and more complaints about brand new posts not being displayed.

If users open the app and don’t find any recent posts in their feed, Instagram fails its purpose as a source of information.

Whether tips, hashtags, posts or accounts – popularity is not the only factor, but also the current relevance of information.

Which other factors influence the algorithm?

As mentioned before, there is no official explanation as to what really influences the Instagram algorithm. In addition to the three factors mentioned above, there are three other factors: the period of use, the frequency of use and the number of followers.

The number of subscribers

Most people are aware that an account should have as many subscribers as possible in order to appear in other users’ feeds. Because if many accounts are following another, it must really have something to offer and be relevant to numerous people.

Service life and frequency

But how often someone opens the app and how much time they spend on their smartphone can also influence the Instagram algorithm. If you only scroll through your feed a few times a week and only for a few minutes, the Instagram algorithm will also be active for you less often. The more often and the longer you are active on Instagram, the more the algorithm has to sort.

Myths about the Instagram algorithm

Since there is no official definition of the algorithm from Instagram, Facebook and other platforms, there are of course some myths and theories circulating on the internet. However, three of them were officially denied.

The Shadow Ban

This includes the so-called shadow ban, which is intended to ensure that your posts are no longer displayed if you post spam-like often or use bots or a hacked Instagram account likes your posts. It’s not the platform itself that penalizes these practices. Instead, it’s more likely that your followers will turn away from you in annoyance.

IGTV, Stories and Instagram Live

According to Instagram, the assumption that IGTV, stories and live videos please the Instagram algorithm is also not true. It makes sense to use these formats regularly to reach more people and add variety to your own account. But these formats probably don’t play a role for the Instagram algorithm – because it’s not regular content there either.

Verified Profiles

Last but not least, verified profiles and business accounts do not get any special treatment from the algorithm. That gives you a sigh of relief, because not everyone opts for a business account – although that makes a lot of sense in terms of the Instagram analytics that will then be available. And verification is not possible for every account.