Everything You Need to Know About the Instagram Algorithm in 2018

It’s been quite the month for Instagram, and we’re not unhappy about it. The platform has launched new feature after new feature as well as unveil a bit more information about the inner workings of the algorithm.

Let’s give it a go, shall we?

We're going to shed light on how the Instagram algorithm works, because up until now this has remained quite a mystery. First and foremost, last month IG announced that it was moving to a more chronological feed, which excited fans all over the world. But is it chronological? Not exactly.

Before you freak out: if the IG algorithm was in fact chronological, Instagram states that you’d likely miss 75% of content. With so many users active on the platform, the chronological feed no longer makes sense. You’d have to endlessly scroll in order to see a majority of posts. Ain't nobody got time for that.

While they've released information earlier this year about how the algorithm actually works, in recent weeks, insiders at Instagram finally gave us more detail.

While the feed is moving back to a partial chronological feed in terms of showing you recent content, there are other factors involved. According to the wizards at Instagram themselves, there are three major ranking factors that determine what shows up on a user’s feed.

1. Interest

Earlier this year, Instagram revealed that interest plays a huge part in what you see in your Instagram feed. 

“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.”

Instagram knows your interests based on content that you interact with frequently. If you engage with fashion or sports related posts on a regular basis, you can bet that the IG algorithm will customize your feed accordingly. Instagram has mentioned that it aims to provide a custom, personalized feed for each user. Sounds good to us! 

Tip: Don’t fall victim to being salesy or overly promotional in your social posts. Create great content that feeds your target audiences interests, and your content will stand out in the algorithm. Have questions about content creation? Contact us! 

2. Timeliness

Back in March, Instagram stated:

 “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.”

Instagram is going to prioritize posts that are recent versus showing you posts from a few days ago or a week ago. However, the frequency at which you login can impact this. If you haven’t logged in for a while, Instagram may show you older posts that rank high in your “interest” factor. 

Tip: For businesses looking to showcase their brands on social media, post consistently (at least 3 times per week) so that your posts suit the timeliness factor that IG looks for. Need help creating a consistent social media schedule? Our team is ready when you are! 

3. Relationship 

This one is fun. In this month’s latest series of updates and news, Instagram states that:

“No matter how many accounts you follow, you should see your best friend’s latest posts.”

Instagram is going to show you content from the people that you most frequently interact with, direct message, and search for. Have you ever Instagram stalked someone and then all of a sudden their stories and posts pop up first? ;) 

All jokes aside, Instagram is paying attention to the users that you engage with the most on the platform, and then will prioritize their posts first so that your feed is full of the people who matter most to you. Additionally, IG has stated that the new algo will allow users to see “90% of posts from friends and family.” Two thumbs up, Instagram.

Tip: This makes it even more important for brands to get personal on their feeds. Your brand content is being served to to the people who engage with you most. How can you connect with them on a personal level? Don’t waste precious impressions. This is where writing great captions and sharing great stories come into play! Need help conjuring captions? Our team of copywriters can help!

There are three other sub factors that go into what you see on your Instagram feed.

1. How often you login [aka: frequency]

If you login to the app frequently throughout the day, the algorithm will prioritize content more chronologically, serving you the best and most recent posts since your last visit. If you login less often [i.e: once per day or less], IG will show you posts based on your interests vs prioritizing them by recency. 

2. How many people you follow on Instagram

If you follow a ton of people on Instagram, this will impact your feed because Instagram has a larger “catalog” to sort through. The less people you follow, the smaller the catalog. If you follow too many people and want to shorten your catalog, it might be time to go buck wild on an unfollowing

3. How much time you spend on Instagram

If you’re someone who’s constantly scrolling or tapping through stories, you’re going to be served more content as IG selects more posts from it’s catalog. If you only spend a few minutes in the app each day, your posts are going to only see the highlights that Instagram chooses based on all the aforementioned factors.

Now let’s talk about some additional hot topics that Instagram also spoke up about.

Is the shadowban real?

We’ve personally experienced what we believed to be a shadow ban from time to time. You may have experienced it too. When posts get great engagement and then all of a sudden, zilch. This has happened to us a couple of times over the years and after researching it, we were 98% certain the shadowban was real. We’d even search for our post under one of the hashtags used in our collection (from an account that didn’t follow our “shadowbanned”account), and our post was nowhere to be found.

HOWEVER! Instagram recently stated that “it doesn’t hide people’s content for posting too many hashtags or taking other actions.”

Phew. We can’t say for sure if the shadowban was real in the past, but we’re going to trust IG when it says this will not happen in the future. 

If I convert my personal account into a business account, will it hurt my engagement and reach?

Instagram came out to say that, “Instagram doesn’t give extra feed presence to personal accounts or business accounts, so switching won’t help your reach.” 

We take this with an itty bitty grain of salt because we know that the algorithm is prioritizing posts from friends and family over branded content (Facebook also announced this last year). However, if you show interest in a brand/business’ content, then you should be served their posts based on that factor mentioned above. Additionally, if a brand posts consistently, their content should frequently reach their followers who frequently engage with them.

We’re thrilled that Instagram has become more transparent about how the algorithm works! We hope this makes sense and gives you more confidence in the platform. Instagram is our favorite social network currently and we’ve witnessed it to great things for business. If you have questions about how IG can benefit your brand, give us a shout!