Instagram has managed to turn itself into a respectable hub for influencers as well as content creators, with many members of these professions using Instagram as their primary mode of communicating with their various followers and patrons. A powerful tool that Instagram has to offer is that of content recommendations, and most users will have seen such content on their timelines. Recommended content is based on user interests, and it can be useful for creators because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up giving them access to a much wider audience.
The social media platform has just published a guide that is meant to help content creators increase their chances of having their content get recommended to potential viewers. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that adhering to Instagram’s strict content guidelines should be of paramount importance. Any violence, use of regulated substances or sexual suggestion would make content ineligible since it would go against Instagram’s content policies once all has been said and is now out of the way.
There are also three best practices that Instagram has highlighted which can give up and coming content creators a real boost. The first best practice is to focus on the creation of original content. Content aggregator accounts might be able to take advantage of YouTube’s algorithm, but it seems that Instagram is more interested in creators who are working on original productions.
Another tip that Instagram has given in this report is that creators should incorporate reels into their content strategies moving forward. The Meta subsidiary was instrumental in the genericizing of Snap’s formerly unique feature of Stories, and the company clearly wants to double down on this popular feature. Content creators adopting the feature will bring more eyes to it, so any creator that wants to get a free shoutout should look into that.
Finally, Instagram has recommended that all creators try to optimize their content for search. This includes adding the right keywords, drafting captions that are vivid and descriptive and perhaps most importantly adding all the relevant hashtags. In spite of the fact that this is the case, creators should avoid using excessive hashtags since this can have a harmful impact on their stature in the eyes of Instagram’s algorithm, and they might find their rankings slipping as a result.
According to a recent tweet put out by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, recommendations will be a big part of Instagram’s short term strategy. In the words of Mosseri, Instagram will be doubling down on recommendations and might even start showing more of them to users.
This gives content creators the chance to obtain a new avenue for gaining more followers than might have been the case otherwise. Instagram is clearly trying to compete with its age old rival YouTube as well as the new competitor that it has found in TikTok. Making recommendations can increase usage time per user, and it can also allow users to start treating Instagram as more of a content hub for entertainment and education rather than just being a simple social media platform for sharing images.
How Instagram recommendations work
We look at a number of signals to personalise recommendations, such as how many and how quickly other people are liking, commenting, sharing and saving a post; a person's interaction history with the person who posted; other posts a person has liked or commented on. We also give people a lot of different controls over what they see on Instagram, including the ability to tell us if they're not interested in something or have a different comfort level with more sensitive content. This all works together to power our recommendation system and help us get your content or account in front of the people who are most likely to join your community or become your next biggest fans.
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