
Turns out, Instagram takes “new year, new me” pretty seriously. Before the Instagram algorithm 2021 updates, the app used to be all about still imagery. Now it’s a hub for video content in ~all~ the forms.
As we edge further into 2022, the platform is overflowing with video content. Reels are everywhere — Feed, Stories, Explore — and Instagram Video even has a full screen player now, enhancing the viewing experience for users.
TL;DR? There’s been an Instagram algorithm change to hugely favor video.
To keep up with the Instagram algorithm 2022 updates and best practices, marketers must understand exactly how the algorithm works — and exactly how video fits into the picture.
First off, what is Instagram’s algorithm?
The app that used to be all about sharing edited photos is now putting video first in an effort to keep up with competitors (*cough* TikTok). The Instagram algorithm is constantly changing, but its mission remains the same— it’s designed to deliver users content tailored to their interests.
So, how does Instagram algorithm work? According to Instagram, the following four components impact how a post is ranked within the feed:
- Information about the post: signals about the post itself, including how popular it is among users, when it was posted, content format/video length, and tagged locations.
- Information about the poster: information about the person who posted the content helps the algorithm decide how interesting the content might be to a user.
- User activity: signals like what posts the user has engaged with help the algorithm learn what content they will find interesting.
- Interactions: the user’s past interactions with the poster shows the algorithm how interested the user is in seeing posts from that creator.
These components are used to make predictions about how a user will interact with a post. While Instagram acknowledges 12 predictions, the five that impact the Feed algorithm the strongest are:
- Spends a few seconds on the post
- Comments
- Likes
- Saves
- Clicks over to the profile
The more likely a user is to take one of the actions above, the higher the post will appear in their feed.
What are IG’s primary ranking factors?
The predictions above are made based on data points called ranking signals. The primary ranking signals can be organized into the following categories:
Relationship
The algorithm assesses a person’s interactions with other users to determine what kind of content they will like the most. If a user tends to like and comment on a certain creator’s content often, Instagram will push that creator’s content in their feed.
Instagram assesses your relationship with other users using criteria like:
- Whether or not they follow you/you follow them
- How often they search for your account by name
- How often you message each other or tag each other in posts
- Whether or not they leave comments on your content
- Whether or not they save your content
Relationships for brands won’t always be two sides, and Instagram knows this. The key to algorithm-approved relationships for brands is to cultivate an audience that engages with your content on a regular basis. Also, note that engaging with your followers will clue the algorithm in on the quality of your relationships and give you a nice little boost in organic reach.
Interest
Instagram is like a good dad– mention you like yellow mangos once, and you’ll be toting a 10-pound bag home from your next family dinner. With Instagram, though, you don’t even have to say what kind of content you find interesting. The algorithm predicts your interests based on your behaviors. If you are always engaging with funny cat videos, you might find Pot Roast the cat ranking high in your feed.
The algorithm is really smart at using interests and behaviors to understand what your content is all about. This means if you want your target audience to actually see your content, it needs to be extremely relevant to their interests.
Timeliness
The newer the post, the higher it will rank in a user’s newsfeed. This is why posting during your audience’s most active times is so important. Your content will rank higher when it’s freshly posted. Post when your users are online for peak engagement. By racking up the likes, comments, and saves, you signal the algorithm to push your content out to new users.
Frequency of use
This metric refers to how often a user opens the app. Some of your followers will pop onto their feeds 20 times a day, while others might open the app once a day. Followers who spend more time refreshing their feeds see more posts. Users who barely visit Instagram will likely find a backlog of content. Because they see much less content, the algorithm has more sway in what they consume.
Following
Users who follow more accounts probably won’t see every post that hits their feed. On the other hand, users who follow a small number of creators will probably end up seeing most of their content.
Session time
This works similarly to frequency of use. The more time a user spends on Instagram, the more content they’ll see, and vice versa.
How does the Instagram algorithm work for Stories?
The algorithm ranks Stories pretty similarly to Feed posts. Users will see Stories from the accounts they engage with the most at the start of their Stories Feed. The more Story views you get, the better your future Stories will be ranked within the Feed.
Speaking of the Stories feed— a good chunk of Instagram users click through all their Stories. These views count as engagement to the Instagram Story algorithm and will give your future Stories a boost in ranking (hence, why posting to Stories on the reg is so important).
What about my Instagram Explore page?
The Instagram Feed algorithm and the Explore page algorithm are both designed to provide users with content tailored to their interests using data from prior interactions. The difference? The Explore Page is filled with recommended content from new accounts, rather than accounts the user already follows. It’s designed to help people discover new people and ideas.
First, the algorithm defines a set of posts to rank based on signals like what posts you’ve liked, saves, and commented on. If you’ve recently liked a bunch of pics from a specific account, the algorithm will fill your Explore feed with more of that user’s content, plus a mix of content that the creator’s audience also enjoys. That content will be ranked according to how interesting the user will find each post. These assumptions are based on what actions the algorithm thinks you might take with the post. Saves, likes, and shares are the most important actions the algorithm predicts.
Here are the most important signals for ranking on the Explore Page (in rough order of importance, according to Instagram):
- Information about the post: This category of signals is all about how popular a post is based on how many people are engaging (and how quickly). These signals matter significantly more in Explore than they do in Feed or Stories.
- Your history of interacting with the person who posted: In most cases, users will have never heard of the creators in their Explore feed. In the case that they have interacted with them, Instagram will assume those posts interest you and rank them higher.
- Your activity: What posts the user has liked, saved, or commented on in the past as well as how users tend to interact with Explore posts.
- Information about the person who posts: Signals like how often people interacted with the creator in recent weeks.
Instagram won’t promote any potentially offensive, sensitive, or controversial posts in Explore. Their reasoning– when you see offensive content posted by a user in your Feed, you choose to see that content by following that person (and you can unfollow at any time). In Explore, Instagram is the one recommending brand new content. They don’t want to chance recommending offensive content to users.
How does the algorithm work for Reels?
If you want to grow your audience on Instagram, Reels are a must. Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently released a statement announcing video as one of the platform’s main priorities going forward. That means the algorithm now has a sweet spot for video content.
Reels are designed to entertain. The Reels tab is similar to Explore in that most of the content shown to users is from accounts they don’t follow. The Instagram Reels algorithm uses a similar process to that of the Explore page– they source Reels that users will like, then order them based on how interesting they will be to users.
According to Mosseri, Reels are “specifically focused on what might entertain you. We survey people and ask whether they find a particular reel entertaining or funny, and learn from the feedback to get better at working out what will entertain people, with an eye towards smaller creators.”
The most important predictions for Reels are how likely a user is to:
- Watch a Reel all the way through
- Like a Reel
- Say a Reel was entertaining or funny
- Visit the audio page (this indicates the Reel inspired users to create their own version)
And here are the most important signals for Reels (again, roughly in order of importance):
- Your activity: Signals like what Reels the user has liked, commented on, and engaged with in recent history help the algorithm decide what content might be relevant to them.
- Your history of interacting with the person who posted: While most Reels will be from accounts the user is unfamiliar with, how much (if at all) the user has interacted with that account in the past shows the algorithm how interested the user may be in that account’s new content.
- Information about the Reel: Next up is the actual video content, audio track, video quality/resolution, and its popularity.
- Information about the person who posted: Lastly, the algorithm uses popularity to source content from a diverse array of creators in an effort to give everyone a chance to find their audience. Basically, getting clear on your niche and creating relevant content invites the algorithm to help your Reels find your target audience.
Instagram’s tips for creating high-ranking Reels? Make sure they’re entertaining, inspirational, or experimental and utilize the platform’s creative editing tools.
If you post Reels that are poor quality, blurry, or recycled from other social media platforms (hello, TikTok watermark), your Reels will be deprioritized on the Explore Page and the Reels tab. This will put a major dent in your reach and overall performance. The algorithm also avoids recommending political posts and posts made by political figures, government officials, and the like.
5 tips to make sure the algorithm ranks your content
To make sure your content gets ranked, appeal to the algorithm using the tips below:
1. Post consistently, Stories included
Consistency is key to growth on Instagram. We’ve heard it a million times, and now we’ve hearing it straight from the mouth of the boss. According to Mosseri, the ideal posting schedule for building a following on Instagram is 2 feed posts per week and 2 Stories per day.
Now, we aren’t suggesting you slow down if you are already posting more than this. The average business posts 1.56 posts to their feed every day. But if you are only posting one Feed post a week, kicking that cadence up a notch wouldn’t hurt. And if you aren’t posting Stories on the daily, you should definitely consider showing up for your audience. Remember, Story views and engagement will give your content a little algorithmic boost. Plus, Stories are an intimate content format that helps creators connect with their followers. This makes the Stories feed valuable real estate for anyone trying to sell on Instagram.
2. Know that Instagram is favoring Reels
Because Instagram is prioritizing video, posting video content is a great way to expand your reach (and get on the Explore page). Reels are featured on Explore twice as much as regular content, making them a strong vehicle for growth.
3. Post carousels
Remember how the Instagram algorithm uses engagement to rank Feed posts? Well, research shows that carousel posts make up 17.3% of Feed posts and 20% more engagement than the average engagement rate for all post types. Post carousels on the reg to get more engagement so the algorithm will push your content to more users.
4. Build relationships
Taking the time to engage and spark conversation in your comments will pay off in droves. It will show your audience you care about them. Plus, the more comments you get, the better your post will rank. Building strong relationships by engaging with followers in the comments and in your DMs will increase your number of loyal followers that show up to support your content whenever you post.
Taking the time to engage with content posted by your target audience is also important. The algorithm uses your relationship with the user to dictate where your post will rank in their Feed. If you engage with their content, Instagram will remember those interactions the next time you press “post”.
5. Refine your hashtags
Hashtags are a free way to get more eyes on your content. They show the algorithm (and Insta users) what your post is all about. Note that Instagram doesn’t actually show every post with a hashtag under that hashtag. They still prioritize the posts people will find most interesting, even in hashtag feeds. That means that if your content isn’t relevant to the hashtag you use, it won’t get shown to users browsing that hashtag.
The recommendations for how many hashtags to use per post are constantly shifting, but here’s one tip that will never change– research your niche, look at what hashtags are working, what hashtags your target audience follows, and what hashtags your competitors are using to create a hyper-specific, effective hashtags strategy.
A recent study showed 30 hashtags to be the optimal number for peak engagement and 20 to be best for maximum reach, but this study excluded Videos, Reels, and Stories. Your best bet is to start by figuring out what hashtags work in your niche, then see if you can hit these numbers. Taking note of how many hashtags your competitors use and testing that number also wouldn’t hurt.
The dark side of the algorithm — what is shadow banning?
Shadowbanning is a broad term creators use to describe when their content is essentially silenced by Instagram. Because the term is so broad, it encompasses when content is taken down for violating community guidelines when no guidelines were violated, as well as when people with huge followings experience sudden drop offs in engagement.
Is shadow banning real?
According to Instagram, shadowbanning and the reach cap are both fake news. Adam Mosseri attributes the rise in shadowbanning accusations to creators not understanding why Instagram takes down certain content, what is and isn’t recommendable, and how Instagram works in a broader sense.
He admits that Instagram hasn’t always done enough to share this information with Instagram users, and also explains that the platform manages millions of reports a day. Even a small percentage of mistakes affect thousands of creators. Additionally, he explains that because most users see less than half their Feed, they won’t see all your content.
To quell shadowbanning concerns, Instagram is working to be more transparent about their processes, make fewer mistakes, and quickly fix the mistakes that do fall through the cracks.
While this is Instagram’s official stance, some believe that the accounts experiencing the effects of shadowbanning are falling victim to Facebook’s remove, reduce, and inform strategy. This basically means Facebook reduces the visibility of content that hasn’t violated any guidelines but could still be considered “problematic”. Since Facebook is Instagram’s parent company, this policy (active since 2016) affects Instagram as well. Basically, Instagram moderators flag iffy content while reviewing violations, then the algorithm uses those flags to suppress the reach of potentially problematic content.
What you can do about shadowbanning
Avoid having your content taken down or suppressed by strictly adhering to the Instagram Community Guidelines. If a post is taken down by mistake, contact Instagram to contest the violation.
Even though Instagram cleared the air on shadowbanning, it’s always a good idea to host your videos in multiple places (like Vimeo, or embedded on a website you own) instead of leaving them at the mercy of the IG algorithm.
Here are some other tips to help bring your Instagram account back into the light (aka, the algorithm’s favor):
- Take a 48 hour Instagram break
- Stop using any bots or automated services and delete them for good
- Don’t use banned hashtags
- Follow the community guidelines
How to know if you’re shadowbanned
There’s no magic formula to finding out if you’re shadowbanned, but this Instagram shadowban test might give you an idea. Create a post using a smaller hashtag. Make sure the hashtag is relevant to your post and that your content is not controversial. Next, ask five people to check if they see your post under that hashtag. If they don’t, you might be shadowbanned.
Wrapping up
The Instagram algorithm is a lot to take in. At the end of the day, it’s all about getting relevant content in front of an interested audience. If you want to be successful on Instagram in 2022 (and who doesn’t?) remember the basics:
- Post at least 2 Stories a day and 2 Feed posts a week
- Engage with your commenters
- Post when your audience is online
- Use relevant hashtags
- Post Reels
- Post carousels
- Follow the Instagram Guidelines like your life depends on it
Additional resources
Being well-read in the art of social media is a must for today's marketers. Here's a few more guides to add to your virtual to-be-read pile:
- How to make Instagram Reels that stand out (for beginners)
- An entire year’s worth of content ideas for social media
- How to set up Instagram Shopping
- How to make Instagram Stories with unskippable polls
- How to monetize Instagram