The “Instagram Ranking Explained” Explainer for Creators (+Advice)

Most people’s understanding of algorithms is hand-wavy at best. Different experts will give you different answers, but the truth is only the people who build the algorithms truly understand them. That’s why this update from Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, about how ranking (a.k.a. The Algorithm™) works on the platform is such a big deal.

Thanks to the platform’s transparency, we’ve pulled a few key points and looked into how creators on the platform might benefit.

Key points about the Instagram algorithm

Did you know there’s no singular “algorithm” powering the app? Different parts of Instagram have different standards of how most people use it, so they all have different algorithms. As the article says, “People tend to look for their closest friends in Stories, use Explore to discover new content and creators, and be entertained in Reels.”

The platform has also added additional features within features (Close Friends in Stories, the different Favorites & Following feeds) to allow users to personalize their experience further.

This elementary introduction to the inner workings of the app is extended as the article shares more about how the algorithms of four of Instagram’s main features work.

Feed

First of all, the article reveals that in-feed content (the stuff you see once you open the Instagram app) is ranked, in rough order of importance, by:

Your activity. (What type of content do you regularly engage with? Do you comment on more posts? Are you a liker and leaver?)
Information about the post.
How popular it is and the location/time of post. (How many likes does the post have? When was it posted? Where was it posted from?)
Information about the poster.
Your interaction history with the poster. (Have you engaged with this person’s content before?)
Your preferred format. (Do you like more photos in carousels than videos? You’ll be served more of those)

Additionally, to clarify why even with all this, you may see content from people you don’t follow, the article also mentions that “With Feed, we consider recent posts shared by the people you follow [and engage with], as well as posts from accounts you don’t already follow that we think you might be interested in.”

Essentially what you see is not about who you follow, but what Instagram believes you will engage with based on your activity.

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Interacting with your followers is a great way to ensure they see your posts in your scroll

Stories

Have you ever wondered why specific Stories are so far behind no amount of right-tapping will let you see them? Well, Instagram Stories’ ranking might have the answer, they are prioritized by:

Viewing history. (Do you always open certain people’s Stories without fail?)
Engagement history. (Have you liked a Story or sent a DM through it to the poster in the past?)
Closeness. (Are you likely friends, family, or otherwise close with the poster?)

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Tag your audience if they show up in your Stories to signal closeness and encourage them to engage with your Story with visual cues like GIFs …read more

Source:: Buffer Blog