Can you remember the world before Instagram, Facebook and other social networks? After a long effort, you may not be able to, or it is very fuzzy memories that come back to your memory.
Those fuzzy years are behind us; Today, it is possible to see how social media is at the center of most digital marketing strategies.
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Why Have Social Networks Like Instagram Become So Relevant?
Social networks have become the ideal medium for companies to approach their audiences, get to know them and make them fall in love. Large, medium and small companies have adopted platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and even TikTok as their favorite means of communication.
The study Trends 2022 Social Networking Hootsuite has revealed the three main objectives that seek to conquer brands in social networks :
- Brand recognition
- Customer acquisition
- Conversion generation
Each social network has its code, audience and functionalities, which is why each one can help to achieve different objectives. In this case, we will focus on Instagram.
Instagram The Social Network That Grows The Most
In 2022, and for several consecutive years, Instagram is positioned as the most important social network among professionals in the marketing area. Among all the social media platforms, Instagram is the one that takes the most effort, resources, and budget.
The reason? It has more than 600 million active users, of which 60% connect every day. While Facebook stagnates in growth, Instagram continues to rise, not in vain 90% of the 100 most influential brands in the world are present in this social network.
Instagram: Contents And Formats With Greater Organic Reach
If Instagram has been able to do something well, it is to create different types of content, which manage to connect with diverse audiences. The formats within this social network are constantly evolving and generally set the trend in terms of uses and interaction of people with content on and off the platform.
Instagram Stories, The King of Vertical Content
This brief format, which lasts only 24 hours, has been adopted by all content creators as a fast, interactive and different way to connect with people. It is used as a kind of diary, in which immediacy dictates the pattern to keep up with the information.
Instagram has incorporated stickers into the stories, a new and fun way to interact with the content.
Instagram Reel, The Next Level of Video Format
Faced with the growing popularity of TikTok, Instagram decided to cope with a similar format. It became one of the most consumed by audiences in a short time, thanks to its versatility. Today, it is one of the biggest bets on Instagram, so they continue to improve it and incorporate new functionalities, and of course, giving it greater relevance in terms of organic reach.
Instagram Live, The Social Interaction of The Pandemic
During the pandemic, it was one of the most viewed content by users. It helped people feel connected and maintain the human contact and social interaction that was sorely missed during confinement. Aware of the success that live broadcasts achieved, Instagram has reinforced the tool with complementary functions, which seek to maintain this format as one of the favourites in 2022.
Instagram Carousel, Swipe and Engage.
This format takes the crown for snagging, especially compared to still photos. Swiping to discover more content has given more participation to the user and has become a window of greater exposure for the brands that use it.
Instagram Shopping, The Product catalog You’ve Been Waiting For
Instagram as a showcase or product display window was already established in the social network. 60% of people who use Instagram assure that they discover new products through this social network. However, Instagram decided to make it official and provide tools that make it more attractive through Instagram Shopping, a place within the platform where users can easily explore products.
Instagram Guides, Recommendations In One Place
Understanding that Instagram is an inexhaustible source of content, the social network created a way to group and organize all the resources that have been published in a profile on a particular topic. In this way, content generators can create albums of publications with their recommendations so that their followers can find the information much more accessible. Each guide provides the ability to add an introduction and descriptions.
Augmented Reality Filters, Virtual Experiences Within Instagram
Filters are another of the preferred ways to generate content and interaction on Instagram. The filters are limitless, and their uses bring endless fun to users. They have also functioned as a way for audiences to experience the brands virtually or interact with products or services through Augmented Reality.
Organic Reach On Instagram: 3 Keys To Keep In Mind
Much has been said about declining organic vs. the paid reach on social media. For this reason, it can be tempting to think that organic posts are not worth targeting. However, there is nothing further from the truth.
Organic Posts Build Trust.
Organic publications allow you to be present, generating trust and establishing lasting relationships with followers. Additionally, they are a real challenge to creativity because only through differentiating publications is it possible to stand out, generate interaction, and, therefore, greater organic reach.
Reach Is Not The Only Metric You Should Analyze
Measuring is the first step to assess whether the actions taken are working.
Within its Instagram Insights section, Instagram provides important metrics to understand the performance of the posts made on the profile. In this section, it is possible to find a large amount of information and data that are of great relevance, depending on the business objective that has been set.
However, two metrics are essential to evaluate: impact and reach.
- The impact (also known as impressions) is the number of times a content was viewed, and this indicator does not measure people, only views. The same user can see the same publication more than once.
- Scope: refers to the number of unique users who viewed content.
Both can be divided into organic or paid. If the publication invested a budget in promoting it, the platform discriminates how many impacts or to reach come from the paid source and how many come from the organic source.
Interactions Also Influence Reach
Other metrics that are also relevant to better understand the reach of a post on Instagram are interactions, for example:
- Likes
- Comments
- Saved
- Profile visits
- Shared
The interaction and extent are complementary. The more interaction a post has, the greater its reach.
Instagram Algorithm And How It Affects Organic Reach
Much has been said about the Instagram algorithm. However, many questions remain about how it works.
The first thing is to establish that, according to Instagram, there is no algorithm. Instead, it is a series of algorithms, each with a specific purpose of classification and processing, to personalize the user experience in the best way. In that sense, each part of the platform uses its algorithm to adapt to people’s use and classify the content according to that information.
Story And Feed Algorithm
There are three elements that Instagram and the algorithm of this section take into account to show the content, and therefore, achieve a greater organic reach:
- Publication popularity and information: this section considers the publication’s performance in terms of interaction (likes, comments, saves). Data such as time, date, place of publication and duration are also considered.
- Information about the author of the publication: Instagram wants to show you content from people interested in you. That is why it considers the number of times users have interacted with that person in recent weeks.
- Your activity and interaction history: Instagram also receives signals about what might interest you based on what you like and your interactions.
That information allows Instagram to predict what content is of interest to you and show it to you more frequently in your feed and stories.
Explora and Reels Sections
The Explore and Reels sections are designed to discover new content from people who are not on their follower list. Therefore, although they are handled with different algorithms, the criteria are very similar.
For Reels, the focus is on the content that Instagram considers can entertain you and takes into account the popularity and information of the publication, its author, and the activity and user interaction history.
7 Ideas To Improve Organic Reach on Instagram in 2022
Now that you know the theory, let’s move on to practice and define some actions that can help you achieve a greater organic reach on Instagram.
Instagram Is Your Best Source of Information.
Knowing the audience you want to reach is the key to creating more relevant, assertive content, and therefore, greater organic reach. But how can you know for sure what your consumers like?
Instagram is itself an inexhaustible source of information. Using social listening tools will help you better understand audiences and know what type of content they are interacting with, who they are, their interests, and where they are located. With this information, you can plan content to help you better connect with audiences.
Give Priority To The Content That Generates More Interaction.
We have already seen that the scope and the interactions are complementary. We also learned about the different formats that the platform allows and how each one performs.
Using formats like the carousel will help to have a greater organic reach. Carousels make people stay longer in the post, and they are also more likely to generate some interaction. These two indicators are taken into account by Instagram when classifying the content it shows in the feed.
Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment With The New Instagram Forms.
Instagram adapts its platform to give more visibility to the new formats. This is currently happening with the Reels, which have special access in the lower menu of the application. Using these formats will increase the chances of appearing to new people who are not your followers yet.
Courage and Creativity
Focus on adding value to the user and, in addition, doing it in a very creative way. Those should be the premises when creating content to generate greater organic reach.
It is essential to give people reasons to see and interact with the publications. To provide it with value, you can do it by entertaining, giving knowledge or motivating.
Constancy
Organic reach and trust are not built in a day, and it is essential to maintain a constant rate of publications. Although Instagram has not declared that this is a factor that they analyze when classifying content, it is true that it is the only way to be present for your followers and gain relevance in your audience.
Don’t Forget The Hashtags.
Hashtags or tags should not be used randomly. On the contrary, its use must respond to an investigation and strategy to select those that best fit and describe the topic you will discuss and give it greater relevance.
Well-used hashtags are a way to broaden your post’s reach and tell people and the algorithm what the content is about.
Timely Content = Relevant Content
It is always said that you have to be at the right time and in the right place. Knowing the best times to post will help your content appear when people are online; That way, you can be there when people need you, and your posts will be timely and relevant.
A digital marketing strategy must include Instagram within its actionable, And an Instagram content strategy should consist of organic posts. Combining and integrating the paid process with the organic system will improve your brand.
And remember, the best way to increase organic reach on Instagram is to truly connect with your audience to win their hearts and trust.
Also Read: Instagram Hashtags 2021: Why They Have The Most Significant Reach
