Knowing how the algorithm works will really help you tailor an Instagram content strategy that will get your ag business more meaningful results, without paying a cent in ad spend.
Why?
Because the algorithm plays a big part in dictating the level of exposure and engagement of your content.
So, how does the Instagram algorithm work?
Instagram looks at your yesterday to determine what content to present you today.
In other words it looks at your past behaviour (not only accounts you follow but how you interact with them too!) to create a unique feed for everyone.
Let’s sit in Instagram’s shoes for a moment and uncover the core factors that determine what you see in your Instagram feed:
1) Interest: How much Instagram predicts you’ll care about a post, with higher ranking for what matters to you, determined by past behaviour on similar content and potentially machine vision analysing the actual content of the post.
2) Recency: How recently the post was shared, with prioritisation for timely posts over weeks-old ones.
3) Relationship: How close you are to the person who shared it, with higher ranking for people you’ve interacted with a lot in the past on Instagram, such as by commenting on their posts or being tagged together in photos (that’s why you always see your friends feeds pop up first!)
Beyond those core factors, three additional signals that influence rankings are:
◦ Frequency: How often you open Instagram, as it will try to show you the most relevant post since your last visit.
◦ Following: If you follow a lot of people, Instagram will be picking from a wider breadth of authors so you might see less of any specific person.
◦ Usage: How long you spend on Instagram determines if you’re just seeing the best posts during short sessions, or it’s digging deeper into its catalog if you spend more total time browsing.
The algorithm relies on machine learning, which means that any new behavioural patterns or trends will be factored into how the algorithm works. It is a real-time machine.
So, how do you take all this and work with the algorithm so you get in front of the right people with your content?
It’s simple. Come up with a content strategy that gives the Instagram algorithm exactly what it wants.
One way to do this is to POST CONSISTENT, ENGAGING AND RELEVANT CONTENT.
Yes it takes a strategy. Yes it takes WORK.
But do this well and you’re well ahead of the majority of your competition who are all vying for your customers’ attention on Instagram!!
Got questions about your ag business and Instagram? Leave a comment.
