Top Tips for Beating the Instagram Algorithm Changes

Top Tips for Beating the Instagram Algorithm Changes

There is a LOT of suggestions out there for how to beat the new Instagram algorithm, but let’s be real: there’s ALWAYS a new Instagram algorithm. As frustrating as it can be for businesses and social media managers who rely on the platform for brand awareness and leads, it’s actually just the big FB’s (Facebook) way of making the platform more beneficial to the USER.

Even so, if you want to continue growing your brand’s accounts, whether personal or business, you need to know how to maximize the ROI of your time, money, etc on creating good content without having it fall on deaf ears.

After reading various articles published online throughout the month of January, I noticed two things:

1. The advice is pretty similar across the board (good thing…or at least everyone seems to be drinking the same Kool-Aid)
2. There was a definitive lack of statistics to support these recommendations (bad thing)

The Instagram Challenge

These two discoveries led to the development of my two-week Instagram algorithm test. Here’s how it worked:

The Goal

Determine if the recommendations actually worked, or were just guesses.

The Methodology

Deploy the most consistent tips provided by all the “experts” across five accounts that included a destination management company, event planner, DCM Communications official Instagram, my personal account, and that of my beloved pup Sully the chocolate lab. As I usually do with all social media management clients, I tracked the progress with statistical reporting week-over-week and tweaked the strategy if any significant data trends show themselves.

The Results

 

 

Again, those top tips are:

1. Whether the changes in your statistics are significant depends entirely on your Instagram goals. D you want more followers, more engagement, more leads or all of the above?
2. Be consistent in the quality of your pics AND the content, but don’t be afraid to try something new. It could end up working out better for you in the long run.
3. ENGAGE!! Seriously, this is the biggest point. No matter what you’re doing, if you’re not engaging with the audience you’ve developed at whatever size it is, then Instagram is going to smack your wrist with that algorithm ruler.
4. Use as many hashtags as Instagram allows. They work, just remember you’re a real person and real people don’t think of the same thing every single day. (Translation: mix ’em up folks)
5. Don’t rely on a single marketing platform to build your entire business. This ties back to point 2 above. When you’ve got more than one road (i.e. marketing channel) leading to your house (i.e. your website/business), you’re not as worried about trying a new tactic. Yes it may fail, but it also may succeed and put you in a better position than before. Isn’t that worth the “risk?” After all, as the saying goes: If you always do what you’ve always done , you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget: I can help you navigate this whole social media thing with a custom strategy and/or management.