How to Use Instagram Insights to Beat the Instagram Algorithm
How to Use Instagram Insights to Beat the Instagram Algorithm
Instagram’s algorithm tells us that getting a lot of engagement quickly on your posts is how you rank closer to the top of your followers’ feeds, as well as how you rank as a Top Post for your hashtag.
With that in mind, you want to be creating posts that get a lot of Views, Likes, Comments and Shares.
Of course, there’s no one way to make that happen. If there was one way to make a viral post, then everyone in the world would be famous.
Fortunately, there is a tool you can use to at least help guide you in the right direction.
That tool is called Instagram Insights.
What is Instagram Insights
Right from Instagram:
“Instagram Insights help you learn more about your followers and the people interacting with your business on Instagram. For example, you’ll find insights such as gender, age range and location. You can also see which posts and stories your audience sees and engages with the most. Insights and metrics about your account include paid activity as well. Reach, accounts reached, impressions, and impressions by day reflect both paid and organic activity.”
Put more plainly, Instagram Insights is a free, built-in analytics tools offered to business owners on Instagram that provides information about the performance of your Instagram page, posts, and followers.
(propery of AgilityPR)
Even though Instagram Insights was created for business owners, it can be just as useful to non-business owners just looking to measure the performance of their Instagram page.
How to set up Instagram Insights
All you have to do to access Instagram Insights is switch from a personal Instagram profile to a Business profile.
Here’s how to do that according to Instagram:
1. Go to your profile and tap 
(top right corner)
2. Tap 
Settings
3. Tap Account.
4. Tap Switch to Business Profile
5. We recommend that you connect your Business Profile to a Facebook Page that is associated with your business. This will make it easier to use all of the features available for businesses. At this time, only one Facebook Page can be connected to your business profile.
6. Add details such as your business or profile’s category and contact information.
7. Tap Done.
(Property of Constant Contact)
Once you have a Business profile, access your Insights through the in the top right corner of your Instagram page and tap “Insights”.
How can I use Instagram Insights to beat the Instagram algorithm?
As explained at the beginning, Instagram’s algorithm really likes posts that get a lot of engagement quickly.
Instagram Insights can help you create posts that fit these two requirements in the following ways:
1) It will tell you what posts are getting the most engagement
2) It will tell you when your followers are online and most active
Which posts are producing the most engagement
Insights can tell you not just what posts are getting the most general engagement (all kinds of engagement combined), but it can also tell you which posts are performing the best on a engagement-type basis.
For example, Insights can tell you what posts produced the most comments in the last year. You can sub in “comments” for Likes, shares, views, or over 10 other kinds of engagement.
To find this information, go to the “Content” tab in Insights, scroll down to “Posts”, then tap “See all”.
However, two types of engagement you should focus on are comments and shares. This is because these types of engagement are reported to carry the most weight in the eyes of Instagram.
So if you notice that a certain kind of post produces the most comments and/or shares, you want to double down and create more of that kind of post.
The more you understand what kinds of posts produce the most engagement, specifically comments and shares, the better you can create those kinds of posts
The better you can create those kinds of posts, the more likely that the Instagram algorithm will prioritize your posts in your followers feeds, search results, and Explore pages.
When your audience is online and active
Another factor that the Instagram algorithm takes into consideration is how recently a post was uploaded.
Instagram will show you a post that was uploaded yesterday sooner than it will a post uploaded three days ago.
This is why it’s so important to understand when your audience is online.
If your followers are online at 6PM every day but you are uploading at 10AM, you are allowing eight hours between when you upload your post and when your followers are online.
As a result, your post gets pushed down the feed by all the other, more recent posts.
To fix this, use Instagram Insights to see when your followers are online.
Under the “Audience” tab in Instagram Insights, scroll down to the very bottom. Here you can what days of the week, as well as which hours during each day, your followers are online and active.
Take note of when the majority of your followers are online, both days of the week and specific times, and make sure you are uploading posts on those days and at those times.
For example, if your Insights tell you that the majority of your followers are online Wednesdays and Thursdays at 11AM and 5PM, make sure you are uploading posts on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 11AM and 5PM.
Conclusion
With a free tool like Instagram Insights, you can not only see what kinds of posts are producing the most engagement, but you can also see when your followers are online and most active.
The better you can create engaging content and post it when your followers are actually online, the more likely that the Instagram algorithm will prioritize showing your posts on your followers feeds, search results, and Explore pages.
Interested in learning 18 more ways to beat the Instagram algorithm? Read this guide.
Author bio:
Sam is Editor at www.socialpros.co – a blog aimed at simplifying social media marketing practices for small businesses and everyday people. He’s likely bouncing to some Kaytranada as you’re reading this.
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