- Are you experiencing a drop in Instagram impressions,
engagement, and new followers? If so, I'm sure you're wondering if it's still a smart
place to invest your time and marketing efforts. The answer is a huge yes. Despite its ever-changing features and all powerful algorithms, Instagram is still one of the largest social
media platforms worldwide with over 1 billion, with
a B, active monthly users and Gen Z and Millennial consumers make up a vast majority
of Instagrammers at 76%. Given that the world's
population is around 8 billion, this is a huge segment of the planet that can be reached with
Instagram marketing. I'm Tory, a marketing manager at HubSpot. And in this video, I'm gonna break down Instagram's priorities for 2023, how this works with the
latest algorithm updates, and what this means for
your Instagram strategy. I'll also show you new content types you should use to increase
your organic reach, and I'll highlight popular
but outdated strategies you should completely steer clear of. While Instagram's priorities in early 2022 were focused on video messaging
and creator monetization, the platform recently announced a complete shift in their direction, which focuses on content amplification and making new connections. In other words, Instagram is pivoting from its previous model to one that favors connection, creativity, and discovery with engagement being priority number one. Let's start with a stat to
put things into perspective. Every single day, there are
around 95 million photos and videos being shared
all across Instagram. It has never before been
as challenging to stand out and grab the attention of your followers. Yet the market has also never
before been this diverse. You'll often hear of the algorithm referred to as a singular concept that controls and oversees what people can and cannot see on the app, but Instagram actually uses
a variety of algorithms, classifiers, and processes, each with its own purpose. What these are and how they work isn't really important to the casual user. However, when building
a marketing strategy, you've got to understand the formula so you can tailor your strategy to hack what the algorithm is prioritizing so you can reach more users and build a community
of engaged followers. Instagram's algorithms exist
to make the user experience better and easier. They make sure you see
relevant content on your feed instead of the equivalent of spam. Otherwise, there's just
way too much out there. For brands and creators, this means that you can connect and engage with a niche audience in a much more personalized
and intimate way. Each part of the app, Feed, Explore, and Reels for example, uses its own algorithm
tailored to how people use it. For example, people tend to look for their closest friends and stories but they wanna discover something
entirely new in Explore. Instagram ranks things differently in different parts of the app based on how people use these features. So with any ranking algorithm, how it all works can be
broken down into parts. Let's start with Feed and Stories. The way the algorithm
works in your home feed is that it gathers all of the information about a single post, then uses this data as signals to score or rank the post. So the post with the highest
score ranks toward the top and informs the order of
posts on that particular feed. There are many signals
which affect the performance of Instagram posts organically. Here are the top three:
account information. This includes signals like how
many people have interacted with a particular profile in the past few weeks, how often that account posts, and if users frequently liked or commented on their content. Post information, these are
signals about post content, stuff like how popular a post is, when it was posted, it's location, if it's a carousel or a video, and if a video, how long it is. User activity and interaction history, this helps Instagram
understand a person's activity and the types of posts they're engaging in and includes signals such as how often a
person scrolls on the app, so it can pick and choose
what to prioritize. From there, the algorithm
makes a set of predictions based on the likelihood
of five main interactions when deciding how to rank a
post on someone's home feed. These include time spent on posts, comments, likes, shares, and taps on profile. The more likely someone is
to take any of these actions, the more heavily Instagram
will weigh that action, and the higher the post
will actually rank. This all takes us to
the importance of timing when scheduling posts. Instagram's native analytics provide data on when your followers are active provide data on when
your followers are active Simply open the app, go to your profile, tap Professional dashboard, tap See all next to account insights, tap Total followers, and then scroll down to Most Active Times. You'll wanna post at times when your followers are the most active. This way, if they're
scrolling through their feed, new posts are more likely
to show up for them and early engagement can determine the success of a post. Okay, so let's move on
to the Explore page. If the home feed is based on engagement
with current followers, the Explore feed is where
you can find new followers and is key to your growth. Content on the Explore page comes from accounts you
don't already follow since its purpose is to help
you discover new things. Therefore, the algorithm
for the Explore page delivers content that it thinks
you'll be most interested in based on these top factors: post timing and popularity, posts that are fresh and
see a ton of engagement, these signals matter much more in Explore than they do in feed or stories; Niching and engagement, content topics and types
you regularly engage with including likes, comments,
saves and shares; connections and community, Instagram accounts you follow and the types of posts that see engagement from those accounts you follow. Your own Explore feed is
a great place to start to learn what content these users actually engage with the most. Delve into posts,
categories, and niche finds to identify and approach
and craft your own strategy. Questions you might be asking
during this audit may include: what tone seems to resonate
most with your target audience? For example, is it playful, educational, sophisticated, or inspirational? Is there a visual style
that performs best? What type of content
earns the most engagement? Is it Reels, carousels,
static posts, live video? What type of captions
prompt the most resources? By getting to know your audience and continually sharing engaging content with strong captions, relevant
keywords and niche hashtags, you are optimizing your posts
for Explore page potential. Similar to the Explore page, the majority of what you see on Reels is from accounts you
don't actually follow. So Instagram prioritizes Reels based on the algorithms predictions of a user's interest and engagement, and then uses a set of signals
to help rank that content. This makes them a great
place for getting seen by a much larger audience. With Reels, the focus is on entertainment. The most important predictions
the algorithm will make here is how likely you are to watch
a Reel all the way through, like it, comment on it, and go to the audio page which is a proxy for whether
or not you might be inspired to make your own reel. Much like Feed posts, Instagram prioritizes Reels based on what it believes a viewer will be most likely to interact with, and then uses these signals
to help rank that content. Reels should be original,
entertaining or inspiring combined with content
your audience finds useful such as tips, DIYs, or
tutorials within your niche. This encourages saves for your posts and the more saves your post receive, the more signals the algorithm receives to show your post to even more people. It could even appear on the Explore page, which as we know, can translate into more followers and more growth. Now engagement rates can
drop due to many reasons so it's best to find
out what caused the drop and come up with a strategy. The first step is to do an
audit of your Instagram account in content to make sure you're not using outdated
strategies that no longer work. Instead, replace them with these: followers, do not fall victim to the follow-for-follow culture that is common among small influencers. Small accounts often
try to build followers through this approach. It creates a base of followers that rarely interacts
with your actual content which is devastating for your engagement. Also, check for spam followers and remove these accounts asap. Think quality over quantity, engagement over followers. Your content will perform much better. You'll receive more authentic engagement and you'll have the
algorithm on your side. Hashtags: do a complete audit
of the hashtags you use. Not all hashtags are created equal and not all hashtags work. With the new Instagram layout, fewer users explore by hashtags and many successful brands
don't tag their posts at all. For budding small businesses, hashtags are still highly recommended, but not in excess. Use one to five. Only use niche specific hashtags, mostly in the range of 30K to 300K posts. Also, be sure to make
sure you are not using any banned hashtags. This could put your
account at extreme risk of being completely blocked. Also, also, don't use
the same set of hashtags for every single post. As the algorithm develops, spamming a relevant hashtag will not get your posts seen. Now that you understand that the algorithm is not something to be feared but instead a power to be harnessed and used for complete good, I'm going to share five posting strategies you must pay attention to if you wanna optimize
your Instagram profile to increase your organic reach. Number one, perfect your timing. A five post a week, two Reels a week, one story a day system is more in line with what top brands are doing in 2023 with the algorithm
shift toward image posts and the decline of stories. Remember to reference
Instagram's native analytics to time your posts when your followers are most active to get higher engagement, which is a critical element to getting your posts onto
the Instagram Explore page. Number two, use both
carousel photos and Reels. These are the posts that
have the most organic reach that Instagram is pushing
on the Explore page, Reel feed and Home feed. For carousels, the algorithm
emphasizes viewer retention so you want viewers to swipe
all the way through to the end. Three to five slides are recommended. No more, no less. If you have less, you're not
going to get the engagement. And if you have more, the odds of you getting the user to swipe all the way through your
long carousel are very slim. Pro tip, use a hook on the first slide to lead in and encourage swipes. For Reels, feature people in your Reels. Feature trending music. Post reels to both the
Reels tab and the feed. Again, the algorithm
emphasizes your retention so keep Reels short and fun, three to 15 seconds, as short Reels tend to loop and will count as multiple views. You should also avoid posting
Reels that are low resolution, too blurry, have already
been shared elsewhere, or are visibly recycled from another app. These type of Reels will be deprioritized, meaning they'll be less likely
to appear across the app. Number three, include
onscreen text and captions. You need a hook. You need text. You need captions to
capture someone's attention and draw them in. Add a hook in your videos
before you add text. Post questions in your captions so your followers can answer
them in the comments section. Videos with captions
tend to perform better on every engagement metric, impressions, views, and likes. Plus, it makes your
content way more accessible to all kinds of social media users. Number four, create calls to action. Every Instagram post needs one
and you need one in your bio. Adding CTAs to some of your
stories is also essential. Use question stickers, emoji sliders, and polls to boost engagement. Use stories to share
posts that tag your brand. Reshare those Reels and
posts to your story. Reels and posts are best for
expanding to new audiences but stories are great for engaging with your core group of existing followers and driving interactions. Number five, collaborate
with other accounts. Build relationships through
targeted interactions and replying to your community to create affinity in the algorithm. Respond to all comments and
DMs to boost engagement. Don't just like the message
or send an emoji back. Use the Collab Post feature
to co-author content with other creators and
brands in your niche. The post will show up on
both of your profiles. You'll share views, likes, comments, all the good stuff. Optimizing your Instagram posts is crucial to unlocking the
potential behind the algorithms to get your post seen by more
people and drive engagement. And HubSpot has partnered
with the experts I mentioned to create a comprehensive
report that includes everything from general data on account performance to specific tips to help you
achieve your Instagram goals. You can download from the
link down of the description. And while you're down there, make sure to like and subscribe if you like what you heard
and you want to hear more. Until next time! - I can't find this client info. - Have you heard of HubSpot? HubSpot is a CRM platform so it shares its data
across every application. Every team can stay aligned, no out sync spreadsheets
or dueling databases. HubSpot, grow better.
