With 83% of users discovering new brands, products, and services on Instagram, the popular social media app has become a content funnel you can’t ignore. But between frequent changes to the interface and the notoriously fickle algorithm, it’s also one of the most complicated platforms to master.

Lucky for you, I’m here to help – and spill all the tea on optimizing Instagram for your business. 

Understanding the algorithm

Once upon a time, there was no Instagram algorithm. Posts appeared in your feed in chronological order and that was that. But in 2016, Instagram switched to the all-seeing, all-powerful algorithm. We know it’s there, pulling strings beneath the surface to curate our individual feeds, but few know how it actually works. 

The short answer is relevance. The more you interact with an account, the more of that account you’ll see. According to Instagram, before the algorithm was introduced, users were missing about 50% of posts from their friends. Now, users are seeing 90% of posts from their friends. 

But what does that mean for businesses? If Instagram is prioritizing posts from the profiles people engage with most – aka their closest friends and favorite brands – then content generated by your business is at an inherent disadvantage.

 The solution? Stop thinking about your follows and followers as a lead generation pipeline, and start interacting with them like you would your friends. 

Engagement’s hierarchy of needs

In social media land, interaction is called engagement – and the general rule is this: the more you engage with the app, the more the app promotes your content. 

But not all engagement is created equal. Spry has compiled this excellent pyramid explaining the various levels of engagement.

From least to most valuable, they are:

• Seeing. If someone looks at your post but takes no action, Instagram counts this as an impression. However, impressions constitute little engagement and are therefore not very helpful.

• Liking. We often measure the success of a post in likes, but as far as Instagram is concerned, this isn’t indicative of high-level engagement. Instagram knows we’re all guilty of mindless liking and weighs the value accordingly.

• Commenting. If a user is motivated to leave a comment, that constitutes real, thoughtful engagement. Craft posts that invite comments and you should see an uptick in your account activity. 

• Messaging. Any direct communication resulting from a post shows Instagram that content has real value. The more DMs you can solicit, the better your engagement.  

• Sharing. At the top of the pyramid is the rarest, most valuable type of engagement: post sharing. If someone saves your post to a collection or passes it along to a friend, that not only indicates your content is valuable, it shows Instagram your followers trust you – and nothing creates meaningful engagement better than trust.

Creating the right content

So, you understand engagement. Now how do you stop the scroll and get users to like, comment, or share your content? Once again, it’s time to ditch the business brain and think like a real social media user. 

Instagram is a photo (and video) sharing application, and that’s what users are there to see. According to Hootsuite, engagement is highest for photo posts (1.03%), followed by carousel posts (0.86%), and finally video posts (0.75%).

But regardless of content type, there are some general rules of thumb you should follow to maximize engagement. Here are seven quick tips for optimizing your visual content: 

1. Avoid posting stuff that’s textually dense or visually unappealing and focus instead on producing content that’s aesthetically pleasing, interesting, or visually stimulating. 

2. When creating photo content, pay attention to composition. Simple techniques like the rule of thirds can help even the most amateur iPhone photographer look like a social media pro.  

3. If you want to stand out from the crowd, don’t shy away from bold, eye-catching colors.

4. Make products pop by photographing against a white or neutral background.

5. Use text sparingly. No one wants to read a bunch of words on a post and in a caption.

6. Create a unique, identifiable aesthetic. Whether you apply the same filter to all your photos, use frames, or adopt a specific grid layout, a cohesive design will help followers recognize your content and remember your brand.  

7. Keep your content – and captions – relatable. If you wouldn’t like it in your own feed, don’t expect your followers to like it in theirs! 

Timing is everything

Once you start crafting great content, the last thing you want is for it to go to waste. A strategic plan for post distribution is essential, but before you make a schedule (or sign up for a scheduling service), remember – not all post times are created equal. 

Certain days of the week are better than others for different businesses. If you’re in B2B sales, your followers are probably on social media during their morning commute, or while they take their lunch break. If you’re sharing a new music video, you definitely want to maximize views by posting it on “New Music Fridays.” Sundays are typically a terrible day for engagement – but if you’re an interior designer, it’s a great time to target millennial homeowners scrolling their feeds in search of home makeover inspo. 

To pick the right post time, you need to understand your industry, your audience, and how Instagram activity varies by time/day – but luckily, you don’t have to figure this out by trial and error. Sprout Social has done the heavy lifting for you! 

For industry-specific recommendations, check out Sprout’s comprehensive guide to optimal post times.

Still overwhelmed by Instagram?

We’re here to help! Schedule your complimentary social media consultation with QCC today and we’ll advise you on best practices, share strategy, and brainstorm creative content solutions for your business.