5 tips to help you beat the Instagram algorithm

Instagram is one of the most popular social media sites, but it is also known for having a tricky algorithm. If you’re just a casual poster and aren’t too fussed about the engagement and followers on your account, then that’s absolutely fine. But for those of you looking to grow your account and stay up to date with the algorithm, this post is for you.

Dedication and time

• Instagram’s algorithm isn’t going to immediately benefit you once you start following any tips, it takes time for it to pick up your account’s pattern and popularity.
• You need to give yourself time to find new audiences and engage with them and grow organically.
• It took me 3 years to really start to see strong growth on my Instagram, it does not happen overnight.
• Dedication is needed to keep going, don’t give up. I’ve seen people say they haven’t been seeing results after a few weeks of applying my tips, but it could take months so don’t give up if the change isn’t immediate.

Ultimately you need to be willing to invest time and effort into the platform to see it grow, as you would with anything. It can be frustrating to see others growing at a faster rate than you, but if you keep posting and engaging and adapting your content, it will happen for you too.

Be willing to adapt and change

• Instagram’s algorithm is constantly changing, as is the time of year, the holidays, fashion etc. You must be willing to adapt around this too.
• This platform should be a positive place, but sometimes you may need to be your own worst critic. Look at your feed and see what is and isn’t working and adapt.
• Go to the explore tab in Instagram and see what content is being shared there, take inspiration from these posts.

Instagram is all about staying fresh and relevant. The platform is always changing and you need to adapt to suit it. Don’t stick with one theme for your whole Instagram feed, change it up a bit from time to time. I’ve had the same filter for over a year now, but I’ve changed the content and layout of my photos to stay relevant within Instagram’s algorithm.

Engage with other users

• Do not: load the app, post your photo, leave the app
• Do: Engage for ten/twenty minutes with other accounts before posting your photo, post your photo, share it in engagement pods and to your story, engage for twenty minutes after it’s live.
• Instagram’s algorithm wants you to engage with other users, it wants to see you using the platform as it is meant to be used. If you don’t do this, your posts won’t reach nearly the same audience.

I spend more time engaging on Instagram than I do anything else on my phone. I am constantly following new users, hashtags and finding new photos I love. I find it motivates me too to see so many amazing posts. But this also shows your community that you are a user that gives back into Instagram and it gives people a reason to engage back with you.

Post regularly to Instagram

• Posting more often shows you are an active Instagram account.
• Regular posting also gives you more of a chance to feature in the top posts for a hashtag or on the explore page.
• And finally, it gives you all the more opportunities for new accounts to discover you.

This is similar to my dedication point, but posting regularly will benefit you in the long run. It will not only show you as an active member of the community but will also mean your photos are right there whenever your followers load up the app.

Use analytics

• To really be able to adapt your content you will need to use analytics to see what is performing well.
• You can view your top-performing posts over set timeframes and use this to understand what style of photos performs the best on your Instagram.
• Analytics will also tell you the best times and days to post for your audience.

If you want to be able to receive this information via analytics, set your Instagram up as a creator account and you’ll have access to a wide range of really helpful stats. I regularly use this to look back on my content and to create posts I think my audience will enjoy.