Creating Instagram Content that Survives Algorithm Changes
Social media marketing isn’t an optional part of your business no matter how you may wish it was! Instagram has been one of the best ways for small businesses to share with their audience for years, allowing them to reach new people, further their goals, and curate the image of their businesses on social media. Easy, right? ;) With Instagram’s constantly evolving algorithm, finding & reaching your audience has become extra challenging. In this blog, we’ll talk about some of my go-to strategies for creating content that can withstand whatever updates to the platform Instagram throws at us.
Understand the Algorithm
The first step to creating content that can withstand changes in the Instagram algorithm is to understand how (and why) it works. Instagram’s main goal is to make money, so showing users content they are more likely to engage with is a better strategy for Instagram. We’ve seen a super-push for video start to calm down in recent months, so an all-Reels strategy is no longer the golden ticket for more reach that it once was (and that’s a good thing). Diversifying your content (posting a mix of Reels, Carousels, static posts, and Stories) naturally increases your reach by giving Instagram and your audience a variety of ways to engage with your content. An old fashioned “don’t put all your eggs in once basket” strategy is the way to go when living alongside the Instagram algorithm.
Focus on Quality Content Over Quantity of Posts
Throw away content gets thrown away and ignored. Users notice when a business is phoning in their social media marketing and it can have a devastating effect on your business’s public image. While posting frequently is a great strategy for account growth, it’s essential to prioritize creating quality content that serves your audience even if it’s only once a week. Instead of churning out low-quality content because you feel like you have to post every day, take the time to create posts that are visually appealing, educational, and interesting to your audience.
Engage with Your Audience
You gotta give a little to get a lot when it comes to social media engagement. If you’re neglecting the “social” part of social media marketing, that might explain why your content isn’t getting much reach. Engagement is a crucial factor in Instagram's algorithm and can cripple your account if you’re ignoring it. Responding to comments and direct messages builds community, trust, and can organically increase reach & engagement on your posts. If you want to go the extra mile, do something I like to call “proactive engagement” where I seek out accounts in my community and industry, strike up conversations in comments & DMs, and generally support good content by liking and sharing. A rising tide raised all boats!
Monitor Your Metrics
While I wouldn’t recommend obsessing over your vanity metrics, monitoring your Instagram data can provide valuable insight into how your content is performing and being received by your audience. You can see how many of your followers vs non-followers saw your post and learn about how your audience consumes content. Everyone’s audience is different (and everyone struggles with engagement, even big brands and celebrities). By analyzing metrics such as your engagement and reach, we can identify which types of content are working so that we can pivot or recreate successful content. Monitoring your analytics helps identify trends and patterns in your content's performance and help you plan for the future with the data in mind.
Creating social media content that doesn’t rely on trends and can withstand changes in the Instagram algorithm definitely requires knowledge, strategy, and effort. Social media marketing is not for the faint of heart! When you understand the algorithm, you can learn what changes are worth focusing on and which you can ignore. To create a sustainable social media strategy that can adapt to changes in the algorithm, do these things: create quality and consistent content, learn about your Instagram data so you can know what’s working for you, and never ever ghost your audience. The more you know your audience, the more you can create content that resonates with them, stops their scroll, and increases your visibility within the Instagram algorithm.
