New Instagram algorithm

[beta1042]

I saw this floating around facebook, figured it'd be helpful to those of you using Instagram as a way to build a fanbase. Disclaimer: I didn't write this- I don't know how accurate all of this is, but it seemed like helpful info.

1. Hashtags in the first comment no longer work. Now you have to put them directly in the description of your post. *But it's important to add that some of my friends still do this and hashtags work just fine for them, but not for others. Weird stuff.

2. The fewer hashtags the better. Right now magical number of hashtags is 5. Rumor is that instagram algorithm sees using too many hashtags as spammy behavior and pushes your post down, or even shadowbans you.

3. Mix the hashtags. Using the same hashtags in consecutive posts is also spammy in the eyes of the instagram algorithm. So try coming up with 3 sets of 5 different hashtags that you mix.

4. Check if your hashtags are banned. Using banned hashtags can get you shadowbanned, so check all of your tags before using them. If you can only see Top posts when searching for that hashtag, and not the recent ones it is banned.

5. Your posts now only reach 10% of your following when first posted. If enough people from that 10% engage with your post, algorithm will show it to more and more people.

6. Those that don't like your posts often are less likely to see it. Algorithm tries to show us content it knows we will like. So if your followers never like your stuff they are far less likely to even see it now.

7. Comments with less than 4 words don't count as engagement. So, generic comments and emojis won't do any longer. Insta want's us to actually hold meaningful conversations.

8. Reply in the first 60 minutes to a comment if you don't want to loose engagement. If you are unresponsive algorithm pushes your post down.

9. Use all of instagram's tools. Algorithm will love you if you utilize all of the tools insta has to offer. So try posting posts, carousel posts, videos, instagram stories and live videos.

10. Post stories 5-7 times a day. You can post less or more, but this has been said to be the best number of stories. This way you don't seem too pushy to your followers, but they still see your name frequently.

11. If people often reply to your stories instagram will prioritize your posts and stories on their feeds. It's all about real engagement now.

12. Remember to use the location feature as well. Some people don't browse through hashtags but check location posts.

13. The more time people spend on your post, the more worthy it seems to the algorithm. You can find a way to cheat with this Make carousel posts, tutorials with some text, long videos, ask questions in the caption, write looong captions etc.

14. Be as active as you can. The new algorithm favors active accounts.

15. Avoid shadowban, don't go liking hundreds of photos in minutes and don't follow/unfollow lots of people at once.

16. Even if you are shadowbanned your posts can still end up on explore page.

17. Don't edit your post in the first 24h or hashtags will stop working and your engagement will go down. It's better to just repost if you made a mistake.

18. If more popular accounts like your post it will receive more engagement either due to it being on explore page of their followers or due to algorithm favoring your posts liked by big accounts.

[Zugaikotsu]

thanks for sharing betaa!

[ericsalinas149]

I went from getting 50-60 likes a post to barely getting 20 likes this past week. Stupid algorithms.

[UrMom]

Lmao! I didn't know Instagram had an algorithm, actually I didn't even know there was an 'explore' page. Lol! Thought it was just a site to post crap, follow people you like, and occasionally get suggestions for stuff that's similar to your interests. Also despite only ever posting comic WIPs and cat pictures, with the same hashtags, things haven't changed on my end. I still get the same amount of likes, and random follows from art/comic/animal peeps, maybe the site is buggy?
Also I didn't know making a separate comment for hashtags was a thing? It doesn't make much sense since even on Twitter your OP is more likely to get attention if you just put the tags in the post itself. Maybe Instagram was different?

Sorry, the fact that I'm so disinterested that I was completely ignorant to this stuff is whats funny to me.

[Pandastrophic]

This is a bit old... this was getting shared around a few weeks ago on instagram but since then it's been argued that it's not 100% true. I'm honestly not sure whether it's completely true or false bc the IG algorithm is such a mess at this point, so... I wouldn't live by those rules...

[jpnakashima]

I did notice a slight shift in Insta's algorithm, as my timeline became ''linear'' once again. I'm actually happy to not see 4 days old posts pushed to the top of my line.