Are you interested in learning more about the Instagram algorithm and how it determines what material to offer each individual user – and how you can utilize this information to your advantage?

You’re in luck – as part of its Creator Week celebrations this week, Instagram is sharing further insight into its internal processes through a series of explainers, the first of which focuses on the famed feed algorithm and how it truly determines how content is shown in the app.

“We aim to improve our explanations of how Instagram works. There are several misunderstandings about what we do, and we acknowledge that we can do more to educate people about what we do. Today, we’re providing the first in a series of blogs that will provide further insight into how Instagram’s technology works and how it affects the user experience throughout the app.”

The essay discusses a variety of critical features that may help you get a better grasp of the app and enhance your strategy. Here are some of the most salient aspects.

There is no such thing as an all-inclusive Instagram algorithm

Instagram emphasizes that its operations are not defined by a single algorithm, implying that the concept of ‘the algorithm’ as such is rather erroneous.

“Instagram does not use a single algorithm to determine what users see and do not see on the app. We use a number of algorithms, classifiers, and procedures, each of which serves a distinct function. We want to maximize your time, and we feel that personalizing your experience via technology is the greatest way to do it.”

Instagram, like Facebook, says that it created an algorithm because the volume of material grew too much for individual users to handle.

Which is why its feed and Stories algorithms are mostly concerned with friends, but Explore and Reels are concerned with uncovering more relevant subjects based on trends, hobbies, and so on.

Signals of importance

According to Instagram, its algorithms all make use of important signals, which change depending on the aspect.

Instagram claims that its algorithms may draw from “thousands” of signals, but the primary indications across Feed and Stories, in order of significance, are as follows:

Information about the post – These include indicators of a post’s popularity – consider how many people have liked it – as well as more basic details about the content itself, such as when it was uploaded, how long it is if it is a video, and what location, if any, was associated with it.

Information about the poster – This helps us determine how intriguing the poster may be to you, and includes indications such as the number of times that individual has been contacted in the last several weeks.

Your endeavors – This helps us determine your potential interests and contains indications such as the number of posts you’ve liked.

Your interaction history with someone – This tells us how interested you are in viewing postings from a certain individual on a general basis. Consider if you remark on each other’s postings.

These are the algorithmic identifiers, similar to those used by Facebook’s News Feed, with the critical aspects being the kind of postings you interact with and your connection to the author of each.

If you connect with video more often, you’re more likely to see it; if a post has a lot of interaction, you’re more likely to see it; tapping Like on a particular post is a strong sign of interest, and so on.

It’s worth noting that these aspects apply to both the main feed and your Stories, which means that if you want to increase reach on both surfaces, these are the critical factors to concentrate on.

Additionally, Instagram adds that the feed ranking will be determined by a user’s interaction history:

“In Feed, the five most important interactions we track are your proclivity to spend a few seconds on a post, comment on it, like it, save it, and tap on the profile pic. The more likely you are to take action, and the more severely we weight that action, the higher up the post you will see it.”

Again, it boils down to motivating action – how can you increase your content’s attractiveness to elicit these kinds of responses? This will assist in ensuring that more of your articles are prioritized for each user.

Investigate on the Instagram algorithm

The discovery tab on Instagram is a bit different, with the Explore algorithm focusing on recommending more material based on who you follow and your interaction history.

We use signals such as the posts you’ve liked, bookmarked, and commented on in the past to determine which photographs and videos you may be interested in.

Thus, the algorithm will want to highlight material to clusters of individuals – if you’re consistently interacting with a profile that publishes fishing information, it’s probable that other people who interact with the same are also looking at other fishing accounts that you would be interested in.

This is where hashtags may aid in discovery by bringing your account to the attention of users looking for certain subjects. If they then interact with your postings, this improves the likelihood that your content will be seen by their connections, and so on.

As with Feed and Stories, Instagram prioritizes posts in the Explore section depending on the likelihood that each user will interact with them.

“Once we’ve identified a set of photographs and videos we believe you’ll like, we rank them according to our assessment of your interest in each, similar to how we rate Feed and Stories. The most accurate technique to determine your level of interest in anything is to anticipate your likelihood of acting on the post. The most significant activities that Explore predicts are likes, saves, and shares.”

Recently, saves have become a more significant aspect, with some claiming that saves have a greater weight in algorithm distribution, which may or may not be true. However, since Instagram is now particularly highlighting this factor, it’s worth thinking how you might incentivise saves of your posts, since this might help boost your Explore visibility.

It’s also worth noting that, while the Explore feed is ranked based on personal engagement elements (the types of posts a user has engaged with, their relationship with the account, etc. ), the popularity of a post as determined by broader engagement signals is a much larger factor in Explore, and will result in content receiving more exposure in the Explore feed.

Reels in Order

Instagram’s most recent algorithm-defined addition is the TikTok-inspired Reels, for which the algorithm is said to be “particularly focused on what could delight you.”

“We poll individuals to determine if they find a certain reel entertaining or humorous, and use the input to improve our ability to predict what will delight others, with an emphasis on smaller producers. The most critical predictions we make are how likely you are to watch a reel through to the end, like it, think it was entertaining or humorous, and visit the audio page (a proxy for whether or not you might be inspired to make your own reel.) “

TikTok has almost achieved the most entertaining form of the short video algorithm, with its system including the precise signals necessary to provide you with an endless stream of material that you can’t stop scrolling through, depending on trends, creators, and the substance of each clip.

Instagram is now catching up, and anecdotally, it seems to be doing so, with its Reels display including comparable components to create a more sticky, compelling offer for users who tap into the Reels feed.

According to Instagram, the four primary aspects of concentration in its algorithm for Reels are as follows:

Your activity – We analyze the films you’ve recently liked, commented on, and interacted with. These signals assist us in determining which material may be of interest to you.

Your interaction history with the poster – As with Explore, it’s possible that the video was created by someone you’ve never heard of, but if you’ve engaged with them, we can gauge your level of interest in what they provided.

The reel’s information – These are indications concerning the video’s content, such as the audio track, video comprehension based on pixels and full frames, and popularity.

Information about the poster – We use popularity to help us discover interesting material from a diverse range of individuals and to offer everyone an equal opportunity to reach their audience.

Thus, popularity of content and creators is a more important element for Reels, but it’s also worth mentioning that Instagram algorithm will limit the reach of Reels that have a TikTok watermark or something similar, which the company claims is intended to enhance the user experience (i.e. people criticized Reels as simply being a re-hashed feed of TikTok clips, so it now looks to stop such re-sharing).

These are some useful tips for understanding how Instagram’s different algorithms function and how it displays particular material to viewers – as well as what each creator should concentrate on to increase their reach.

Essentially, it boils down to audience comprehension – doubling down on what works and eliminating what doesn’t – in order to optimize these critical components and increase engagement, first with your following and later with broader audiences.

Furthermore, it’s important to protect your Instagram account from hackers, as a result, it’s advisable to activate the 2-factor authentication got Google Authenticator or Authy App.

DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. Which helps me support the channel to make quality content and recommend products for you.

Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy

Meet Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy, an SEO specialist with a passion for helping businesses improve their online visibility and reach.  From Technical, on-page, off-page, and Local SEO optimization to link building and beyond, I have expertise in all areas of SEO and I’m dedicated to providing actionable advice and results-driven strategies to help businesses achieve their goals. WhatsApp or call me on +94 775 696 867