How do you appear at the top of your followers’ Instagram feed?

Instagram feed

Well, the Instagram feed… What a mystery! You may know that feeling…

With your smartphone in hand, you take lots of pictures throughout the day. And, of course, you post everything on Instagram. #lovelytime

Let’s face it, it’s a lot of work and you spend a lot of time on it. Between selecting shots, editing and commenting on them, you keep posting. You hope to gain valuable subscribers and get a warm place at the top of their news feed. You are successful and inspired. The posts fly by all day long.

Yet… the results are slow to show! It drives you a little crazy! You don’t understand this frustrating stagnation. Very quickly, you lose your motivation along with your subscribers. ?

In order not to get to that point, you have to try to understand how to be in that famous Instagram feed.

In 2020, the observation is without appeal: you can post as much as you want, this does not guarantee that you will appear, even if only very briefly, in this feed of users who follow you.

Would you like to know why? Simply because of Instagram’s algorithm. It is no longer based on a chronological order for the display of publications, but on the relevance of the content for the users.

That’s why today I’m sharing with you 5 essential tips for publishing posts that appeal to your followers, get them to interact, and rise to the top of their news feed.

But before we get to that part, you should first know how this new algorithm works to understand all the subtleties, and gain performance on this social network. Follow the guide.


How does the algorithm for your Instagram feed work?

I’m sure many of you have asked yourselves this question. With its regular updates and constant changes to its interface, it can be quite confusing at times!

In the beginning, Instagram worked very simply, with a chronological posting mode. First come, first served. This is no longer the case. To explain in a few words the reason for this change, Instagram found a flaw in the system… and a nice one!

With a chronological display, users could potentially miss several posts that might interest them, and which would quickly get drowned out by the continuous stream of incoming messages.

For this reason, the social network has decided to completely change the way posts are displayed on your news feed, with a more complex mechanism. The objective is clear: to give priority to posts considered relevant and interesting to each user. In other words, it’s a news feed made to measure for you, and only you!

To do this, Instagram analyses in detail your activities on the network and your level of engagement according to the content offered.

Do you interact with a lot of a friend’s posts? Then Instagram will make sure you’re happy by displaying her latest posts first. And so much the worse if the news of another of your followers, with whom you interact less or not at all, is relegated to the background.

But what information does Instagram’s algorithm deem important in order to organise the order in which posts appear in your news feed? Here’s a short and effective summary.

That's how Instagram feed works


1) Instagram feed and level of engagement for each post

Yes, you have to offer quality content to get to the top of the page. But not only that!

No matter how much time you spend polishing a post, it’s pointless if your followers don’t interact behind it. And as you can imagine, Instagram won’t miss a beat when they do.

Let’s take the example of a photo you just posted on this beautiful Wednesday at 2pm. Instagram will first show it to a small percentage of your followers. If they respond positively to your post with likes, shares or other comments, and in a fairly quick manner, then that’s a good start. Next, Instagram will analyse the overall performance against your previous posts, which you also published on a Wednesday, around 2pm!

The more engagement your photo gets (likes, shares, comments), the easier it will be to get it to the top of your followers’ news feed, and the longer it will stay on top. That’s a great circle of success, isn’t it?

On the other hand, if your publication doesn’t work with users, it’s downhill from there. Ouch, that hurts. ?


2) The level of relationship with the follower

As you can see, Instagram focuses a lot on how subscribers react, and whether they are ready to engage with your posts.

For the social network, these are clues that indicate very clearly your level of relationship with users. Instagram’s new algorithm therefore shows followers the posts of people they like, those they interact with often.

The result? If you want to appear higher in the post streams, you need to cultivate your relationship with your followers.

Hug your followers


3) The time you publish

I can hear you already! Sure, the new algorithm is no longer chronological… but that doesn’t mean you can post anytime.

Once you’ve established a relationship with your subscribers, you need to focus on when you’re going to post content. In other words, when most users are online. We’ll see in the next section how to get this kind of information.


4) Profile search

When someone searches for your profile, Instagram considers that this action reflects a certain interest in the content you offer. The social network then concludes that your posts are relevant to this user. It will not hesitate to highlight them in its news feed.

By having a perfect understanding of these 4 factors, you are well on your way to making your posts grow. Now that you have an insight into how Instagram’s algorithm works, it’s time to use this information to make your content irresistible, and project yourself to the top of your followers’ news feeds!


5 essential tips to get your posts to the top of your followers’ Instagram feed


1) Publish neat and interesting content

Stop reading for a moment to look at your own Instagram feed.

Now look at the first posts that appear and analyse what they have in common. You’ll soon realise that these posts are certainly visually polished, with harmonious colours and carefully crafted contrasts.

This will make the photo stand out among the others, and thus interrupt a user’s frantic scrolling. This is what you want! An image that is both beautiful and has an interesting message for your subscribers.

Interesting


2) Post to your Instagram feed when your followers are online

I mentioned this in the previous section, but it is a particularly important criterion that deserves some additional detail. By posting your content at specific times, you are more likely to be seen and appear at the top of your followers’ news feed.

But what are the ideal times to post? With a professional Instagram account, you can easily access this data in the application’s options and find out when your users are most active.

Even better: by using Swello, the integrated Quality Grade tool shows you the best times to post according to the day of publication.

Enough to make a real difference in your publishing strategy. ?

Are you busy at that time of the day? No problem, you can simply schedule your posts to go out. And there you have it!


3) Post stories

I’m not telling you anything new: “stories” on Instagram have become extremely popular. And I can only recommend that you focus your efforts on them. You might be very surprised at the impact on your account’s traffic!

This is especially true if you’ve been rather disappointed with the number of views and the engagement rate you’ve been getting for your posts so far.

Surprisingly, Instagram’s algorithm does not apply to “stories”. This means that they remain permanently at the top of your screen and are very easily visible.

This is a quick and easy way to be seen and get maximum interaction. For example, by organising polls, replying to messages, etc. And it might just make people want to click on your profile.


4) Yes, hashtags work

Using hashtags is still an effective strategy to get your posts to the top of the list.

Be careful, I’m not talking about adding 25 hashtags in a row to each of your posts! Such a strategy risks making your posts look like aggressive spam.

It’s all about being smart in your choice and proposing hashtags that are relevant to the content and popular with users. According to several studies, an average of 9 hashtags for a publication leads to a higher engagement rate.

Similarly, don’t hesitate to add location, to further advance your content and be visible to as many people as possible.


5) Run Instagram giveaways

This is a pretty quick and clever way to get your followers to react and get lots of likes and comments, in a short space of time. You can be sure, Instagram will see the quick engagement rate of your post and will not hesitate to highlight it in the news feed.

It’s also a good way to interact with your followers, responding to their posts and other requests. As I said earlier, it’s about nurturing your relationships and showing the human side of your brand. So above all, pamper your users!

Run Instagram giveaways

With quality, relevant posts that get your followers to interact, you have all the tools you need to develop your community and create a strong social bond. This will take you to the top of your followers’ newsfeed, and keep you there for a long time.