Written by Brittany Prats
Edited by Allison Herrera
Have you been feeling like you just can’t win with Instagram? One day your post gets 100 likes, & the next day it only gets ten likes. Trust us, babe…we’ve all been there. Instagram has been acting like that petty ex boyfriend who one day is super nice & then is a complete jerk the next. It’s heartbreaking, really.
But hey, what can you do? It’s just the algorithm, right? It’ll get back to normal eventually, right? WRONG! There’s a plethora of strategical tactics you can practice.
We know we’re your favorite social media experts 😜, so you can bet your bottom dollar we have a few solutions for making your Instagram experience a little more bearable. Let’s dive right in!
Instagram Reels
No, no, no. You don’t have to dance on TikTok to gain likes & followers. Find some trending sounds, make it relate to your brand, & watch magic unfold, baby! Take it from us. Our reels perform fantastic on our feed, but that’s because we make them relevant & entertaining. As you’ve probably heard, Instagram is headed towards a more video focused platform. So, it only makes sense that IG’s algorithm favors reels more than other creative content.
Clean up your following
Let’s be honest – you probably bought a few followers back in the day. Well, while you thought it was harmless fun, it is actually seriously damaging your engagement. Ghost followers & spam accounts make your account look less trustworthy. In turn, Instagram’s AI flags your account by burying your content in terms of not allowing the algorithm to reveal your content to real people. Bought followers aren’t creating genuine connections on IG, so the algorithm puts a hard stop in that potential. Just go through your followers list & clean it up a bit – trust us, it’ll do wonders for your engagement.
Experiment with Carousels
Carousels have been around for a while on the ol’ gram, but they’ve never been prioritized quite like they are today. Instagram’s algorithm prefers carousels because they can show them to your followers multiple times without having to show them the exact same post – that is, until the viewer engages with the post itself. This also gives you the opportunity of showing off more products or giving a little more info. Play around a little & see if your engagement increases.
Post when your audience is actually active
We’ve said this a million times, but don’t post at 4:00 A.M. & expect fantastic engagement. You need to post when your specific brand’s audience is online most. That means no more following articles that say post at 6:00 P.M. on Thursdays as Bible. Every brand differs, which also includes a variety of audiences on each account. For example, an account targeting students will have a different “most active audience time” rather than an account aimed at attracting middle aged, working class men. Whether it’s lunchtime, right before bed, or first thing in the morning – every account differs. This is where data & statistics come into play – it’s why analyzing & taking notes of when your audience is posting, liking, & commenting is important.
Remember, there’s only one concept that’s worth considering when playing around with Instagram’s algorithm: it’s constantly changing (sometimes on a day-to-day basis). Instagram is constantly bringing in new updates & features, some we love & some we hate. We know what you’re thinking…how in the hell can you keep up. Well, that’s where we come in. Just give us a call at (504) 788-2UGM, we know all the tips & tricks to give you the results you’ve been looking for!
