Many artists and labels are blinded by the idea that a higher number of views always equals successful content. A high number of followers is often used to measure success. However, this is not always the case. In this first part of a two-part blog series, you'll find everything you need to know about the power and influence of engagement.
A clear example for this case are the 'pre-roll' ads you see on YouTube. You may have hundreds of thousands of views on this ad. Despite the fact that it sounds great, this number says very little. You don't know if the recipient of the ad has paid attention to your advertisement. In many cases, the pre-roll plays in the background while the 'viewer' quickly clicks to another tab to do or check something else until the ad ends. The same goes for social media. You want your followers to pay attention to your content and engage with it.
The algorithm of Instagram
Algorithm is a very broad concept that everyone, consciously or unconsciously, has to deal with on a daily basis. It is the number of steps that are taken to reach a certain goal. It is often used in technology. An algorithm has four different functions: prioritising > classifying > associating > filtering. Google puts the most relevant search results on top (prioritising), advertisements look at who is the target group (classifying), dating apps recommend a suitable partner based on certain characteristics (associating) and Siri filters out background noise for speech recognition (filtering). These are all examples that are made possible with algorithms.
In order to make the best use of Instagram's algorithm, it is important to know what the algorithm looks for. It determines what ranking a post gets in someone's feed. Instagram wants to keep people using the app for as long as possible. To keep people interested, posts are ranked by relevance instead of chronological order. But how does Instagram determine what is relevant to the user? To do this, Instagram continuously monitors the users' behaviours. This involves looking at which accounts the user is most 'engaged' with, how often the user uses Instagram and how many accounts they are
following. Timing also plays a role: a post from a few days ago no longer appears in the user's feed. Below you will find three tips from Nadja Desmet, founder of Socialemediaburo, to make the algorithm happy :
1. Keep a content calendar
By posting consistently, the algorithm will see your account as high quality and as a result, you will rank higher in the algorithm. A content calendar is a useful tool to maintain this consistency.
2. Post videos
People scroll through photos quickly. As soon as something moves, like a video, it will grab someone's attention and hold it for longer. Something is happening, and they want to know what is happening. This way people will take a longer look at your post. Instagram sees this as a positive form of engagement, so this will also positively boost your place in the algorithm.
3. Use Instagram's tools.
Instagram has many tools available, such as the question sticker for stories. When an account uses such different tools a lot, this account reaches a higher place in the algorithm.
Behind the scenes content creation
Other factors
In addition to Desmet's tips, Instagram also came up with some insights a while back, about factors that play a role in determining your place within the algorithm:
Interests
Instagram looks at what content you find interesting. Instagram does not only look at likes, but at the complete usage of the user. It looks at what type of posts or stories you view most often/longer, what you search for and what kind of hashtags you follow.
Relationship to a person
Instagram looks at which accounts you have above average interaction with. The more interactions you have, the more Instagram thinks you are closer to that person and the more content from that person is visible on your feed.
Relevance
The more current a post is, the more relevant it is. Newly posted posts will therefore end up at the top of the feed.
What not to do
Maybe you know it already and maybe you are in such a group yourself. Groups in which a number of people agree to respond to and like each other's content. In the short term, this will promote engagement, but in the long term it does not seem to be such a good method. Instagram will recognise these patterns in time, with all the negative consequences this entails. By using these groups, Instagram will place you lower in its algorithm. The same applies when an account buys followers or likes. These are often 'ghost followers' and will therefore not contribute to the engagement of your account. When an account has a large number of followers but the number of likes and comments remain relatively low, potential partners and followers will see that something is off and they will experience the account as less trustworthy.
Now that you know how the algorithm can work in your favour, it's time to get to work! In part two of this blog series, we will go deeper into the power and influence of good engagement with examples from the industry and a bit of theory about 'the magic of proximity'. This will give you more insights on how to build a strong fan base.
And do not forget to follow Gigstarter on Instagram: Follow now
Related blogs from Gigstarter:
