The ever-changing Instagram algorithm is making it increasingly difficult for brands to reach their audience through organic content. In the past year alone, Instagram has removed the visibility of likes and also introduced Instagram Reels and Instagram Guides! The constant app and algorithm updates makes it easy for brands to get lost and left behind in the forgotten era of pretty pictures and hashtags. Although there are many aspects to Instagram’s algorithm, the main factors are that it decides the order of posts based on relationship, interest and timeliness. But how does that work and how can the new Instagram algorithm be beat? Read our top tips below to find out how by keeping up with the latest trends, tailoring your content and creating a community, you can beat the Instagram algorithm.
Keeping up with the latest trends sounds easy, right? But keeping up with the latest trends for each social media platform can be deemed difficult and time consuming, however it is worth it! Following the footsteps of the massively popular TikTok, Instagram Reels has become one of Instagram’s best and biggest trends. Instagram reels allows brands and creators to make engaging 15 – 30 second videos with audio. Although some brands still shy away from creating Instagram reels, they are excellent for organic engagement and are amazing at reaching new audiences. If video creation isn’t for you, how about adding your products to Instagram Shops or creating an informative guide for your followers on Instagram Guides? Whatever your industry and audience, Instagram now has something suited for you. Make sure you are utilising these free formats for content sharing to increase your reach and engagement.
Reaching your target audience organically is becoming increasingly difficult. Although the number of likes your posts receive is still important, the priority now is saves and shares. But how do you get your audience to save and share your Instagram posts? Many brands have been doing this by simply asking their followers to save and share their posts… This could work but isn’t best practice and could annoy some followers. Instead, create engaging and exciting content that your audience WANT to share and save. Great examples of content that works well to save and share are posts such as quotes, informative infographics, news and behind the scenes. This is because they all provide the followers with something useful, rather than just a nice-looking photo! Tailoring your content to exactly what your audience wants will increase shares and saves, and therefore your engagement. You’ll be growing organically in no time!
Say goodbye to the days of hashtags being the number one method to increase post likes and engagement. Hashtags are still a great short term method to increase likes, but they’re oversaturated and no longer provide the great engagement that they used to. So what is the best way to increase your engagement? Simply engage with your audience! Audience engagement is key to having a successful, organic Instagram. Customers are an essential part of a brand and for brands to be successful they need to form a community with their followers. Excellent examples of brands creating a community are gym wear brands, Gymshark and Shreddy. Both of these brands thrive off the community they have created with their followers and the engagement they have with them. The more you engage with your followers by liking, commenting and sharing their posts, the more they will engage back with your content. Instagram really pushes accounts and posts that receive high engagement and this is an excellent way to grow your following and beat the Instagram algorithm!
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