This weekend I wasn’t feeling the love on Instagram. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Here’s a crash course on Instagram posting for those of you who are bloggers or want to improve your Instagram game and how to beat the latest Instagram algorithm…
Instagram 101
Instagram and Facebook both think they know what you want to see. So they control it. Back in the olden days, both of these social media platforms were in order chronologically. And that made sense! You post something, then someone else posts something and they were displayed in that order on your feed. But then Instagram (which is owned by Facebook) decided that instead it would show posts in the order of what is popular or what their algorithm thinks you like. So when you like one person’s photo you might see 5 of their other posts in a row. As a small business (like mine) they might hide your photos because they want you to pay (advertise) so that people would be guaranteed to see your pics.
So that brings us to today…
Instagram’s latest update is only sharing your photos to less than 10% off your followers. Then it “watches” how quickly your photos are liked or commented on and if it seems popular then it bumps it up on the feed. What does this mean to you? You gotta play the game. So here are some ways to improve your Instagram stats. Fair warning! Theses are rumored tips as no one truly knows exactly how the algorithm is working besides Instagram/Facebook.
How to beat the latest Instagram algorithm change
- Post at the time of your highest engagement.
- Respond to all of your comments within 60 minutes of posting. (And use more than 4 words!)
- Don’t edit your caption. (A huge problem for a typo queen like me.)
- USE INSTAGRAM STORIES. It’s the first thing people see and usually before your photo pops up in their feed.
- Switch up your hashtags… every… single… time.
- Only put hashtags in your caption. (No longer in the comments.)
- FOLLOW hashtags. It’s a new feature and the rumor is they might favor you if you follow the hashtag you’re using.
Another thing I’m going to start doing is switching up my photos with styles I don’t normally post. Maybe I got lucky but I posted this shot and my engagement shot up to where it was in the past. Oh, how I miss those days!
This sweater is under $60 and comes in all the colors below! Just click on them to shop.
These slides are splurge but two of these below are not!
This red lipstick is my favorite one. (It’s #13!)
But let’s get back to fashion and today’s outfit…
With my Instagram doing poorly it put me in such a bad mood. And there’s one trick I swear by when I’m in a bad mood… red lipstick. Seriously, try it. It will instantly brighten your face and you just might get a compliment or two. This color is my go-to color and I was thrilled that it matched this sweater. It’s a great under $60 score and comes in a ton of other colors too!
Hopefully you all will benefit from these Instagram tricks and if you enjoy this style of post I’ll continue doing more. Oh, and try a bright red lipstick. I promise it always does the trick!
xo