Let's have a look at how the Instagram feed is structured
and how the algorithm works.
Like previously mentioned, the homepage can be divided into the
story, feed and profile section.
It is important to know that Instagram awards posts with high engagement,
and will show them to more people.
Likes comments, video views, saved posts, shared posts, and every
other type of interaction counts.
Instagram says: "The order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the
likelihood you'll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person
posting and the timeliness of the post."
Let's stop for a moment and analyze this sentence.
The sentence can be divided into three main parts, namely
interest, relationship and time.
Let's start with the first part: Interest.
Instagram gathers and stores a lot of information and about
you and your behavior online.
It knows exactly what you liked, and what you most likely want to see on Instagram.
They also know what hashtags you're following.
Most hashtags are linked to specific interests like art
food, or style for instance.
Instagram gives you recommendations according to your behavior.
The more you interact with someone, the higher your
fictional relationship rank goes.
Interactions are for example, direct messages, likes, profile
visits, story views, et cetera.
Relationship ranks are dynamic and will vary from time to time.
Instagram will show you more content you like and engage with.
For example, if you engage a lot with your girlfriend's content, you're most likely
to be shown her recent Instagram activity, like for example, new posts and stories.
However, there's also a random element to it, since it can be expected from
Instagram to continuously show you new content to see whether you like it or not.
The timing of your post matters a great deal.
The faster your post gets a lot of engagement, the better.
Instagram will then show your post to more people, and the bigger your
chances are to rank among the top posts of a specific category or hashtag.
The three elements, relationship, interests, and time are
tightly linked to each other.
You first build a loyal follower base by posting relevant and interesting content.
You then build a relationship with your loyal followers and entertain
them, followed by hopefully gaining new followers, depending on how
well your posts perform and how relevant and interesting your profile
and content is for those people.
It is also worth mentioning that posts with faces and people in them typically
have a 40% higher engagement rate.
In the next video, we'll cover how to choose the right username
for your business account.