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As a social media marketer, it's important to stay on top of how the Instagram algorithm works so you can make better, more strategic decisions about your content. The more the algorithm favours you, the more people see your posts.
In this post, we'll cover how Instagram ranks content, how that has changed over the years, and the practical things you can do to make the algorithm work for you.
There is not one Instagram algorithm, there are many
Since Instagram removed the chronological feed, many marketers have speculated about how "the algorithm" really works, and plenty of myths have spread about actions that supposedly get you punished or blocked.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri set the record straight: there is no single Instagram algorithm. Each part of the app has its own ranking system, running in parallel:
- Feed
- Stories
- Reels
- Explore
Each surface ranks content differently because people use it differently: Stories are for friends you're close to, Explore is for discovering new content, and Reels is for entertainment. Your Reels can perform well with one audience and hashtag set while your feed posts perform with another. There is no universal rule that applies to every content format, and relevancy to your audience is what wins on every surface.
From chronological to relevance
Back in 2016, the Instagram feed simply showed posts in chronological order. Timing your post well was most of the strategy.
Instagram changed this after finding that users missed around half of their friends' posts. The feed moved to relevancy sorting: posts are shown based on how likely you are to care about them, not just when they were published.
Today, your feed is not really about who you follow, it's about how you behave. The friends you interact with most, the types of posts you engage with or save, and the Stories you watch all feed the ranking. Instagram uses every action you take to get smarter about what it shows you.
Instagram has also leaned heavily into short video after seeing the success of TikTok and YouTube, with Mosseri famously saying Instagram is "no longer a photo-sharing app". That's why Reels get so much reach compared to static posts.
How to make the algorithm work for you
1. Be engaged
Active and engaged followers are the key to a successful Instagram strategy. The main way to get engagement is to give it: leave genuine comments, respond to Stories, share posts and send DMs, while avoiding these 8 Instagram sins.
Most importantly, create content that prompts engagement. Ask questions in your captions, and use polls or question stickers in your Stories. The more engagement-worthy your content, the more likely people are to respond.
⭐️ Pro Tip: According to Instagram, the most important forms of engagement are comments, likes and reshares. The more of this type of engagement you get, the higher your posts rank.
2. Be consistent
The more consistent your posting, the more Instagram treats you as a quality account, which helps both engagement and feed ranking.
The key is quality content, posted routinely. If you post several times a day and then go quiet for a week, you'll notice a significant drop in reach. Consistency doesn't mean posting constantly, it means sticking to a plan you can sustain, like three posts a week, every week.
3. Be mindful of timing
Relevance ranking didn't kill timing: Instagram still wants to serve recent posts, so publishing when your followers are active gives the algorithm a running start on collecting that early engagement.
Think about when your audience is online: waking up, on a lunch break, or before bed. We analyzed 1.2 million posts to find the best time to post on Instagram, which is a good starting point before you tune to your own audience.
⭐️ Pro Tip: Check the insights on your Instagram business account to see when your audience is most active, then trial different posting times and compare the results.
Rise above the algorithm
Now that you understand how the Instagram algorithm works, make these three things a priority:
- Make time to engage with your followers daily.
- Create quality content and post it consistently, across both feed posts and Stories.
- Use audience insights to post at the times your followers are online.
And if your own feed is full of recommendations you don't want, here is how to turn off suggested posts on Instagram.
