The Instagram Algorithm
There are many pieces to the Instagram algorithm, but one of the most influential factors is Relationship.
All this means is that Instagram prioritizes showing you posts from people you are close to, and it determines your relationships with people based on your interactions with them.
For example, the longer you stay on someone’s post, and the more consistently you Like and comment on that specific person’s posts, that person’s posts will be closer to the top of your feed.
Enter Instagram Stories and Live Streams
Instagram Stories
By using Instagram Stories, you are giving people more ways to engage with your content.
The more ways you give people to engage with your posts, the more possible the engagement you are going to get on your posts.
The more people engage with your posts, and the longer they engage, the more the Instagram algorithm will prioritize showing your posts to them in the future.
Consider the ways that someone can interact with a regular Instagram post:
- Like
- Comment
- View
- Share
- Save
Now consider the ways that someone can engage with an Instagram Story:
- Partake in polls
- Answer questions
- Ask questions
- Tap on stickers
Instagram Stories give people four more ways to engage with you.
This is important because someone might not want to leave an original comment, but they might answer a question that’s already in front of them.
Outside of engagement, Instagram Stories also make it easier to discover you.
Especially when you consider the fact that 500 million people now watch and use Instagram Stories every day.
Property of Quora.
Maybe someone missed a post you uploaded a couple of hours ago, but they saw an Instagram Story you posted.
Plus, if you use your Instagram Stories as a “what you missed” from the past few days/weeks, people who missed your posts but see your Story might go back and check out the original post.
Instagram Live Streams
Like Instagram Stories, Live Streams give people even more ways to engage with you.
Plus, when you host a live stream, your followers also get a notification that says “[Your Username] has started a live video. Watch it before it ends!”
Someone who missed your post might see this notification and tune in to your live stream.
Plus, you can also invite any followers who are online to join your stream.
Don’t worry if you don’t have enough followers to watch your stream. Seedx.us (a Social Media Marketing Agency Los Angeles) is a platform where you can get real Instagram followers in no time with a 100% guarantee. Visit them to place your order.
If these followers join your stream, you get the added potential benefit of their followers discovering you, engaging with your stream, and maybe even following you.
Similarly, you can also DM friends and followers who are online that you’re live streaming.
And make sure to actually engage with your stream viewers!
Your replies aren’t going to influence the overall engagement rate of your stream as much as engagement from your viewers, but it doesn’t hurt.
Aside from affecting your engagement rate, engaging with your viewers will make them more likely to continue engaging.
Conclusion
The Instagram algorithm prioritizes showing you posts from people who you have engaged with in the past.
Instagram Stories and Live Streams give people more ways to see and engage with your content.
The more ways that people can discover and engage with your content, the more likely that your posts will continue to show up people’s feeds.
If people continue to see your posts close to the top of their feed, they’re more likely to continue engaging… It’s a beautiful cycle!
This article has been written with the help of Sam Elsley, an editor at www.socialpros.co – a blog aimed at simplifying social media marketing practices for small businesses and everyday people. You can check out his latest article here.