Instagram for the first time explained about their ‘algorithm’ in a blog update on June 8, 2021. This article shed light on how they analyses activity and rank content. The article has been analysed in detail and explained in a series of articles on Sukaone as follows
This blog update also laid waste to the tips floating on social circles. It lay emphasis on content and it being informative and captivating. So this article will try to debunk the few myths which are madly followed especially by Indian Instagrammers.
Why there are no tips for Instagram
Tips are like shortcuts which promise instant fame on Instagram. But just imagine if such tips and shortcuts ever existed, then people will not focus on creating quality content and just follow the tips and then everyone will be famous and everyones post will be viral.
In fact it is the exact opposite. No social media network or search engine can afford to compromise on content. Google suffered at the hands of SEO experts and Digital marketeers between 2000 and 2010. People especially in the Indian sub-continent manipulated page-rank to artificially boost websites with crappy or thin content. That resulted in the roll out of Panda Algorithm update which put all these master manipulators out of business.
Read more about this story here.
All throughout the blog update, Instagram stressed on the quality of content only and how people react with it. In an earlier article also we have pointed out the significance of putting effort in content.
Top five myths peddled by Instagrammers
Myth No 1 – Number of Followers have to be large, but number of following has to be kept less. You cannot follow too many people.
Firstly following someone only to unfollow later is considered rude. The person who has been unfollowed will not feel kind of such behaviour.
Secondly, if you do not follow too many people, Instagram will never be able to understand your preferences and will send you random content. To add to this Instagram will also not know whom to send your content too.
Lastly in the blog article Instagram never makes a mention of such a rule or algorithm. Instead it asks people to keep their followers tight and small and more responsive. The faster your followers will like your post, the more chance it is that they will reach out to a wider audience.
Our tip – Follow the correct set of audience. For eg, if you are home baker, follow other home bakers all over the world. Like and comment on their work and encourage them. You will get back enough love for a lifetime of happiness.
Myth No 2 – Posting at 9 am in morning and 9 pm in evening will get you maximum likes.
Some one says 10 am and some other say 11 am. One even suggested to me 3 am because he has international followers.
In the blog article, Instagram again does not mention any signals on the timing of your post. What it does insist on is that it counts on what people do once they land on your post. Do they like it, comment on it, share it on their stories or save it. Do they read the caption and all that. Here Instagram specifies the fact that the post or content has to be informative or entertaining. It also measures what people do with your post. If your content is not up to the mark they will just ignore it or mute you.
Our tip – Choose the time of the day when you are relaxed and your creative best. Go through the check list of best practices while posting. Mark the location, tag the people, fill your post with interesting caption explaining what the post is all about.
Myth No 3 – Do at least one post per day
There are quite a few people who insist on this tip. We observe one such account. What we have noticed is that since a year and half that the account is active the number of likes has been steady at 25 per post. There is also no noticeable change in number of followers and comments. This account has interesting and well researched content. But just because there are too many posts, the followers are just reading the post and moving on. Another problem with the account is that all the text comes in the poster and there is nothing to read in the caption space.
You need sufficient time to research content for your post. You need new ideas for presenting content. If the target is one post per day, you will be focused more on meeting this target rather than creating meaningful content.
Our tip – Be consistent with posting so that Instagram shows your posts to your followers on a regular basis. Be creative and innovative and post something of value to your followers.
Myth No 4 – I have 20 likes on my post and 900 views on my reels. I am getting famous.
Till the end of 2021, Instagram treats reels as only for the purpose of entertainment. Number of views on reels is based on an algorithm totally different than that of posts which are shown on feed. If your reels are being shown to others, that is only because of the entertainment value. It still presents a challenge to brands and business owners, but that is the way it is and we can do nothing about it.
Myth No 5 – I can do anything and get away with it.
In the same article Instagram has warned content creators on mis-information and sharing posts with strangers on direct messenger. Spamming people and asking for likes is going to get your account in trouble and Instagram is getting strict by the day. Instagram in their own words explains this,
"Most of these rules are focused on keeping people safe. If you post something that goes against our Community Guidelines and we find it, we take it down. If this happens repeatedly, we may prevent you from sharing, and eventually we might suspend your account."
False information posts often have catchy text in all caps with exclamation points. If shocking claims in the headline sound unbelievable, they might be.
Here is the place where you can read about Community Guidelines more in detail.
Summary
There is no denying that well researched and informative content will always captivate users. But there is no shortcut to hard work & research. Interesting content with original photography will go a long way in getting those followers you so much desire.
PS
Here is another crisp and well researched article. This one also debunks many myths, one among them that there should be large number of hashtags on each post. Remember posting too much content in one post is as good as spamming.
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