Decoding the Insta Algorithm to Build Your Instagram Business Following
All hail the holy algorithm, the queen we hate to love and love to hate.
The relationship between social algorithm and content creator is tenuous at best. Instagram in specific can be a harsh mistress if your content doesn’t meet her exacting standards (and sometimes even if it does).
You work hard to produce Instagram business content that is relevant, timely, and devilishly clever to boot. You wear your pink on Wednesdays, sit at the right lunch table, and are ever careful not to outshine or usurp your Queen Bee (the algorithm).
And yet, she still won’t let your audience find your content.
“She’s fabulous but evil.”
How does she do it? And more importantly, why?
Despite feeling personally victimized, the reason your content isn’t getting in front of your audience may have less to do with you than you think.
The factors that affect how your content ranks on Instagram are numerous and specific. They determine where your content appears on a user’s feed and whether or not your content shows up in the Explore tab.
Like Facebook, the more a user interacts with your posts, Reels, and Stories, the more likely you are to appear at the top of their feed, and vice versa. Creating credible, interesting content garners engagement and builds your reputation as an expert. Instagram notices that reputation and shows your posts to users the algorithm thinks might find them valuable.
The thing about online content platforms is that they cater to the audience, not the poster. It’s all about user experience and what the system deems relevant and useful for a would-be audience member.
One helpful hint when creating content is this: create for the followers you have, not the followers you want.
While that may sound counterintuitive, hear me out.
You’ve worked hard to build the following you have, and while you want to keep that momentum, gaining new followers is fruitless if the ones you have feel neglected and leave. Nurture the ones you have now. They came to you for a reason; they find value in your content. Don that sexy Santa suit and work it for the audience already in the room.
But, our queen isn’t without a heart.
The algorithm does consider the poster, in a way, when determining which users should see their content. It wants to connect intentional users with valuable content so that both parties can benefit. The cruel part is the poster has little to no control over this. Whether a user is a good fit for your content is determined by their pattern of behavior on the app - what kind of posts they typically interact with, how frequently they use the app, and how much time they spend on Instagram as a whole.
Sometimes, you may have perfectly curated content that goes unseen solely based on a user’s habits, not your content quality, which is another reason to keep your existing audience in mind when conceptualizing. They may be the only ones who see your posts.
A solid online presence is like good customer service. You provide value, people tell other people about you, and you gain momentum organically.
Consider The Social Bungalow your partner in content crime. My courses include meticulous guidance on how to craft binge worthy content that will engage, delight, and ultimately, convert. Check out my series of programs to get started and together we can ditch the Burn Book and build a healthy Instagram business relationship with our Queen Bee.
