Have you ever wondered how the Instagram algorithm works and how you can get your recruitment firm’s content in front of more users?
You’re in luck. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has shared insights into how content is ranked across the app, including the main Feed, Reels and Explore.
As explained by Mosseri, "We want to do a better job of explaining how Instagram works. There are a lot of misconceptions out there, and we recognize that we can do more to help people understand what we do. Today, we’re sharing the first in a series of posts that will shed more light on how Instagram’s technology works and how it impacts the experiences that people have across the app."
Here’s a roundup of the key points that he discussed in the blog.
One of the misconceptions that Instagram wants to clear up is that there is not one all-encompassing algorithm that oversees the content that users see on the platform - with each section of the app instead having its own separate algorithm which influences what appears.
There are thousands of signals that its systems use to influence the order of content that users see. However, there are four key signals for the Feed and Stories. These are:
Using these, the algorithms will predict how likely a user is to interact with a post and the higher the likelihood, the higher the post will rank.
For feed posts, Instagram looks at how likely a user is to:
Instagram’s Explore feed works differently as it shows users content from accounts that they do not already follow. This is focused on showing users content that they may like, based on who they follow and their engagement history.
Mosseri explains how these signals are used to find relevant content from accounts that a user isn’t following:
“Let’s say you’ve recently liked a number of photos from San Francisco’s dumpling chef Cathay Bi (@dumplingclubsf). We then look at who else likes Cathay’s photos, and then what other accounts those people are interested in. Maybe people who like Cathay are also into the SF dim sum spot @dragonbeaux. In that case, the next time you open Explore, we might show you a photo or video from @dragonbeaux. In practice, this means that if you’re interested in dumplings you might see posts about related topics, like gyoza and dim sum, without us necessarily understanding what each post is about.”
After identifying relevant content to showcase to users it will then rank these posts in the Explore feed based on how likely a user is likely to do something with the post. The most important actions that Instagram uses to inform these prediction include likes, saves and shares.
The key signals for Explore are:
The Reels algorithm is "specifically focused on what might entertain you." The four key elements for its algorithm are:
It is vital that marketers understand the signals underpinning each of the algorithms that influence what content users see across Instagram’s platform. This will enable you to maximise the visibility and engagement of your firm’s posts on a consistent basis.
Originally posted July 2018, updated June 2021