The Truth About the Algorithm (Hint: It's NOT About The Algorithm!)

We often get questions about the algorithm. Businesses want to know how to “beat” or “hack” or “trick” the algorithm.

You want to know the truth?

Forget about the algorithm already!

Truth bomb: The Instagram Algorithm isn't as complicated as it seems.

Here’s the truth: anything you do that is good for your community will be good for the algorithm. If you focus on creating content that engages and interests your followers (a.k.a. your community), the algorithm will take care of itself.

(Psst...what is the algorithm)?

The algorithm is essentially a social media platform’s way of determining what content is deemed important enough to get into your followers’ feeds. The more engagement you get on a post, the more it’ll show up into people’s feeds.

In essence:

Good, meaningful content = audience responds = your social media platform recognizes that it must be meaningful content = your post gets featured into the algorithm.

Vanity metrics -- likes and follows -- will not directly result in sales for your company. But you know what will help your business and brand awareness? A loyal following of fans who are invested in your success and care about you.

So, rather than worrying about beating the algorithm, ask yourself: how can I create content that connects to my community?

You need to determine how they are already responding to your posts.

That’s where insights and page stats come in handy.

Define the goals you want to set for your page. Do you want people to share your posts? Or do you want them to comment on your posts? Or maybe you want them to be inspired to click through to check out your profile or website.

You can find all those stats in your page insights. You can even rank your posts based on how they did based on one of those metrics.

Example:

Let’s say your main goal is to inspire people enough that they stop the scroll and take the time to comment on your post.

• Take a look at which posts received the most meaningful comments. Do those posts have anything in common?

• Try creating more posts with similar themes and see how your audience responds.

• Pay attention to your audience’s interests and pivot your posts accordingly.

When you shift your content creation to meet the demands of your audience, you will gain connection with them.

And when you connect with your audience, you will gain traction and start to see your reach grow. That, my friends, will be thanks to the algorithm.

Let’s review:

Good, meaningful content = audience responds = your social media platform recognizes that it must be meaningful content = your post gets featured into the algorithm.

But, remember: even if your posts don’t get huge views, ask yourself: is there someone who I helped today? Or inspired? Or laughed with? Then, you’ve done your most important job: connecting with others in meaningful ways.