Are you new to social media, or Instagram in particular and want to know how it works? Are you looking to market your IT service or business or brand on social media and need to know the basics behind it before you get going?
Instagram is one of the biggest app names in history, and will probably stay like this for a long time. With over a billion active monthly users, and new features coming out all the time, it is no surprise that the platform has become a popular marketing platform for businesses and brands.
Instagram started out as a photo-sharing app for people to share their photos with their followers, but these days it is so much more than this. It is a place where you can connect with people over a multitude of features through engagement as well as through videos and photos. If you are new to Instagram and want to know how it works before you get started, here is what you need to know.
What is it all about?
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms with over a billion active monthly users. It used to be a simple photo-sharing app, but now it is so much more than that. Today it is all about followers. Instagram followers help you build your brand identity, and while some say they are useless, a massive following is actually very important. Gaining new followers is not an easy task, that is why growth services like Growthoid are often used. What they do is get you real quality followers and save you time. There is also one more thing you need to know – if you are looking to find success on the platform, you need to think about the algorithm, what it is, and how it works.
The Instagram algorithm optimises the way users see the content. It shows them things that they are more likely to be interested in based on user engagement and popularity. This means that the algorithm doesn’t show you content on your feed in chronological order. For a lot of people, this has been a big disappointment as it means their content isn’t seen by a lot of people, but for others who know how to work the algorithm, this is fantastic.
What is of interest?
When it comes to your personal Instagram page and what you are interested in, typically, the algorithm will show you content based on what other content you are engaging with the most. This means that you will be shown content that you are more than likely to enjoy.
By engaging with certain types of content you enjoy, the algorithm picks this up and will push more of this kind of content to you so that you will be able to see more of this type. It will typically be the more popular aspect of that content but there is no doubt that it will be something that interests you.
This means that you need to be posting content that is of interest to your niche and target audience. By doing this, your content is more likely to be pushed to them by the algorithm.
What are the relationships?
Engagement is the biggest aspect of social media and its algorithms, especially when it comes to Instagram. As mentioned in an earlier point, the Instagram algorithm works based on engagement. The more engagement you receive, the more likely the algorithm is to notice you. It’s a vicious cycle though because you need the algorithm to push your content in order to receive engagement, but you need engagement in order for the algorithm to notice you.
This may seem like a difficult thing to overcome, however, if you need to up your engagement, you should try engaging yourself. As an app, Instagram offers a lot to their users including various different ways in which they can communicate with their followers and audience such as liking and sharing content related to theirs, replying to comments on their own content, and even responding to direct messages. Engagement is how you get real Instagram followers, and it is a great way to get your name out there without the help of the algorithm. This is also a great way for your account to get noticed by the algorithm.
Timing is everything when trying to get noticed by the Instagram algorithm. Instagram is a massive platform with billions of users, most of whom post regularly. This means there is a lot of content on the platform and it’s easy for your content to get drowned out by all of the others.
What is timeliness?
Posting at the right time of day is the best way for your content to be noticed by your target audience. Typically, you want to try and post in the morning before people go to work and school, or in the evening when people are going to bed. This is the time when most people are on their phones scrolling through social media. It also means that people are more likely to see your posts than if you post them in the middle of the day.