What is the Instagram Algorithm and How is it Affecting My Small Business?
Facing the Algorithm
and Understanding the Realities and
Limitations of Social Media Marketing
The Instagram algorithm is a complex system that determines the order in which posts appear on a user's feed. It analyzes a wide range of factors, such as the user's interests, past engagement with the account, the post's relevance, timeliness, and other engagement metrics, to decide which posts are shown and when. The algorithm aims to show users the content they are most likely to be interested in and engage with, making for a personalized and engaging feed. However, this system tends to limit the reach of business content when not using their Instagram Ads system. It is also constantly changing to favor new forms of sharing and media like Reels, Stories, and IG LIVE. It can feel overwhelming to keep up especially when Instagram has left the complete inner workings of the algorithm mostly a mystery. So small business owners have to think smarter, not harder when it comes to marketing.
So let me break it down to the simple Pros and Cons of the Instagram Algorithm
Pros
Relevant Content: The Instagram algorithm analyzes user behavior to deliver content that is most likely to be of interest to them. This means that small businesses have the opportunity to reach a highly targeted audience, increasing the chances of engagement and audience growth. That’s why what we share, what we write, and how consistent we are needs to be specific to maximizing our content on social media.
Increased Visibility: The algorithm ensures that high-quality and engaging content has a better chance of being seen by users. This benefits small businesses as it levels the playing field, allowing them to compete with larger brands and gain more exposure for their products or services.
3. Diverse Content Discovery: The algorithm provides users with content from accounts they may not be following yet but are likely to find interesting. This means that small businesses have the chance to reach a broader audience organically, helping them grow their following.
Cons
1. Engagement-driven: The algorithm prioritizes content that receives high engagement, such as likes, comments, and shares. While this can create an incentive for small businesses to create compelling and interactive content that encourages their audience to engage, fostering a loyal community of followers. It can also feel like your smaller following can’t compete with larger profiles in the grand scheme of things.
2. Decreased Organic Reach: The algorithm's focus on user preferences means that content from small businesses may not be seen by all of their existing followers. This can result in decreased organic reach, making it harder for small businesses to grow their audience and expand their customer base without resorting to paid advertising.
3. Time-consuming Optimization: To ensure their content gets prioritized by the algorithm, small businesses need to continuously optimize their posts and engagement strategies. This can be time-consuming and may divert resources away from marketing strategies that have a better ROI.
4. No Chronological Order: The algorithm presents content to users based on personalized relevance, which often means that posts are not displayed in chronological order. This can make it challenging for small businesses to maintain a consistent presence in their followers' feeds, potentially causing them to miss out on engagement opportunities.
5. Dependency on Algorithm Changes: Instagram algorithm updates can significantly impact small businesses' audience growth strategies. Sudden changes in the algorithm's behavior can lead to a decline in visibility or an overall decrease in reach, requiring businesses to continuously adapt and invest additional effort to maintain their growth trajectory.
Now that we have a sense of what we are up against we can actually take control and start understanding what we can actually do to use Instagram and other social platforms for our creative businesses. I want to list for you some of the realities and limitations I see in using Social media for marketing your business. They are not all negative or positive but understanding what we are using can help us both strategize and prioritize Instagram in the best way for our business and our giftings.
Instagram Favors New Features
In the last several years, Instagram has launched several new features. They then favor these new features on their platform for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, introducing new features keeps users engaged and interested in the app, preventing them from becoming bored or seeking out alternative platforms. By continuously offering fresh and innovative tools, Instagram ensures that its users will stay active and loyal to the platform. Additionally, introducing new features allows Instagram to stay competitive in the ever-evolving social media landscape. With new features, Instagram can attract new users and maintain its position as a leading platform for visual content sharing. Moreover, rolling out new features enhances the user experience, catering to the changing needs and preferences of its diverse user base. Whether it's live videos, stories, or reels, Instagram understands the importance of adapting to changing trends and satisfying user demands. Ultimately, favoring new features helps Instagram remain relevant, engaging, and accessible to its millions of users around the world.
But what is important for us to know as small creative businesses, is that each time they release a new feature they open up a window in their algorithm for exponential growth. It’s called the early adopter boost and can be incredibly beneficial if your goal is to increase followers and your reach.
Here are the to most popular new features and some helpful tips to use them in your small business social media
Stories:
IG stories allow users to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. Launched in 2016, Instagram Stories quickly gained popularity and has become a staple for users looking to share their daily moments in a more temporary and casual way. Stories are displayed at the top of your follower’s feed and in chronological order, with the most recent posts appearing first. This can be a great way to stay on top of the minds of your followers as a person and small business. But can be incredibly hard to “sell” or market with as the goal is very social and fast content consumption. But when used for its purpose can be an awesome way to encourage your audience to explore and engage with your content.
Instagram Stories have become immensely popular for several reasons. Firstly, they provide an easy and quick way to share moments without cluttering one's permanent or well-curated feed. Stories allow users to express themselves more spontaneously and authentically, which has resonated with many Instagram followers.
Tips for Maximizing Stories
Use it to engage with your followers
Use it to survey your followers and gain helpful market research for future posts, launches, or specials
Use them to show an authentic and familiar side of your life that isn’t so curated
Use them often and throughout the day rather than in one large group so you can continue to appear at the top of their feed over and over
Feel free to push the boundaries of your brand and be yourself as opposed to your more visually appealing Instagram feed
Reels:
Instagram Reels have revolutionized the way we consume and create short-form videos. Acting as an inner platform within the popular social media app, Reels has become a hub for creativity and entertainment. With its internal editing tools, popular music, and a vast library of filters and effects, users can produce captivating content [EVEN YOU]. Whether it's showcasing talents, sharing valuable information, or simply sharing snippets of daily life, Instagram Reels has empowered individuals to express themselves in a dynamic and visually engaging way. But the ability to discover and interact with Reels from both friends and influencers has also blurred the lines of community by making your feed a lot less personalized but it does open up doors for new education and information for you to be growing as a business all the time. As a small business my tips for succeeding in the Reels genre are simple.
Tips for Maximizing Reels
Focus on the end value, not the filming or creativity. If you know you have something valuable to teach or say then focus on that.
Use clips of your everyday life. We don’t all have time to film a dance, choreograph moves to a certain song, or lip sync. So for your small business, it may be more beneficial to go the simple “teach and tips” route for social media.
Quantity or Quality will reap more reward
Instagram is a social platform and wants your followers to stay there
Social media is not a search engine, while you can use hashtags or terms to find relevant content or sources; the goal is to keep everyone on the app not send people to more helpful links or your website. That’s why the way we use it in our strategy has to evolve. Treat your Instagram as a place to connect and get in front of new potential people. Be yourself, share value, and relate to the pain points you see for your ideal customer. But don’t expect it to be a quality place to sell your service.
Instagram is a nurture environment not a selling one
That means you want to focus on organic and authentic ways to nurture the followers you have. Nurturing is a strategy that believes that with time investment, consistency, and value you will organically build trust. Trust is exactly what you need to get them to move off Instagram and onto your website. But trust isn’t built in a day no matter how great your offer is, so when considering the ROI (return on investment) Instagram is rarely going to offer the leaps you may need to meet financial goals, you will likely need to pair the nurturing strategy of Instagram with a more activated strategy like content creation or email marketing. You sould definitely read more about some of my favorite complimentary strategies are HERE.
Scrolling on Instagram is a Mindset
And it’s not a great ready-to-buy mindset typically. Most of us use Instagram to get exposed to new things, check in with people we love or miss, and absorb what people in the world are up to. It puts us in a passive mindset which is why so many of us scroll through it before bed or when we need a second to check out. Psychology tells us that in order to make big money investments we need to be in an active mindset, this may be logically or emotionally motivated but it rarely occurs when our mindset is passive. This is why your Instagram strategy should focus more on nurture, exposure, and connection rather than relying on it heavily as a selling or money-increasing platform. It’s also why free or small-priced items do better on Instagram because these require little-to-know mindset change in order to share. This is also why having that complimentary marketing strategy with your social media content should always be in place so you can intrigue them in their passive mindset but have a way to connect with them later when they are in a much more active and ready-to-buy mindset.
Instagram is only one piece of a profitable marketing strategy
In order for us to be profitable we have to have a strategy that goes beyond nurture. When we rely heavily on Instagram connection we often get discouraged when that ROI isn’t very high. Thats why Instagram and social media like Tik Tok, Facebook, or other forms of online social interaction have to be one piece of a though out profitable strategy. There are so many other ways to move your Instagram followers into paying customers. A few of those marketing strategies can be learned here!
Instagram isn’t for everyone
We all enter seasons of needing rest and needing return. For some who feel overwhelmed with their bookings, they can easily rely on the nurture marketing strategy of social media. And while I always encourage them to have an email list or a secondary way to collect those interested followers for future, sometimes all you need is to love on your Instagram community over time.
But when we are needing to see more returns on our investment Instagram typically stops being the smartest way to do this. It rarely means stopping altogether because that sort of tells your present followers “You aren’t worth my time” but it can mean it’s time to outsource or use social media as simply a secondary place to share your content and marketing strategy. But you may also find that once a new strategy starts to take off and you re-enter a rest marketing season, you can leave your Instagram behind because all of those followers have moved over with you.
After 13 years as a photographer and birth worker I now spend my time sharing knowledge to help your business succeed! I love connecting with birth professionals, photographers, and creative minds to tackle the parts of their business that feel heavy!
