Instagram finally reveals the secret of its mysterious algorithm

Instagram has released a blog post explaining its mysterious algorithms and how you can influence what shows up on your feed. This is particularly useful information for creatives who are engaged with the platform's creative community as it will help them to support the creators they're inspired by and engaged with. 

Written to 'shed more light' on Instagram's process and clear up any misconceptions, the blog explains how content is ranked on the different areas of the platform (Reels, Stories and so on) and crucially, the steps you can take to cultivate what you see. Apparently, this will be the first in a series of blogs from Instagram, which seems to feel it has some explaining to do. 

If you'd like more Insta tips and tricks, see our how to change the font in your Instagram bio post. Or if you're still not sold on social media, explore what the different social media platforms could do for you.

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri penned the blog, which goes into detail about how the multiple Instagram algorithms rank the content shown on the various feeds within the platform. You can read about how those algorithms work on the blog, but key parts for creatives to be aware of are things like making sure your images are high-resolution and who you've previously interacted with (as our post explains, interaction is key to boosting your Instagram engagement).

Especially vital for creatives sharing and viewing content on the platform is how you can influence what shows up first on your own feed. As well as liking and interacting with content, taking the following steps will help you support other artists and designers, and see the most of what inspires you.

• Pick your Close Friends. By selecting your close friends in Stories, you can see the content that interests you the most. Note: they don't have to be your actual friends – you can choose the content creators you want to see.
• Mute people you’re not interested in. You can mute without unfollowing. 
• Mark recommended posts as "Not Interested". Tell Instagram if you don't like certain posts and it will remember for your feed in the future.

We welcome Instagram's move to demystify its process – transparency is key when it comes to users getting the most out of a platform, and we hope future blogs include more tips and tricks for working with the algorithms. Want more social media tips? Try our ultimate guide to social media and find out the current TikTok trends you need to be aware of.

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