How does the Instagram Algorithm work in 2023? (no rumours, just facts)

 how does the Instagram algorithm work? How do you get your posts seen by more eyeballs? 

And most importantly, how do we know what is rumors and what is gossip and what is actually true. 

Full disclosure. There have been times when I've talked about this stuff. And I've been ridiculed for over simplifying it. Friend. What if it's allowed to be simple? What if it is simple? What if we boil this down to a couple tactics and we stop with all the hacks and we stop with, you know, panicking over algorithm changes and we just let it be simple. 

I used to work with this old PR guy. He had like this gruff voice and he chained smoked in his apartment  and he taught me this word that I just love. And it's anecdata 

and like, my fiance will tell you ever since I learned this word, I will use it all the time. So it's a combination of anecdotal evidence and anecdotal data. So what we see on the internet all the time someone will do something. It will work like they'll post a reel. They'll use that trending audio. It will work. It will get a million views. And then they'll be like, well, this is the theorem. This is how it works. Now this is the formula when really that could have been just one time. One time that worked, that is anecdotal evidence. It is not necessarily going to work for everyone. 

Now should you repeat things that work? Yeah, totally. Why not? Let's try. Let's experiment. That's how we play around here. But I do want to tell you what we know to be true, or at least what Instagram has told us is true. About the algorithm. So you can let that inform your choices as well. 

Going back in history, a little bit reels aren't that old. And when TikTok started to pop off, Instagram started really, really focusing on reels. So for a lot of creators, it felt like the only way to get seen was to make reels, which can be really frustrating for people who are really good at graphics and photos, or just didn't want to be on camera now. That's not true anymore. 

It's 2023,  adam Mosseri. Has come out on instagram he's the head of instagram Quote unquote i don't know what that means but he usually does the public facing stuff telling us on instagram about like updates and whatnot you can follow him on instagram i actually i uh, recommend it because he's always breaking news and he's a really good source because it's coming right from the top 



so Adam came out and he said, listen, here's the quote. I think we were over-focused on video and 20, 22 and pushed ranking too far and basically showed too many videos and not enough photos. So that's pretty clear.  As of 2023, that we're going to shift away from focusing so much on video. 

And give more presence to photos and carousels and graphics, right. Which is great. And we've noticed inside my business. Now this is the epitome of anecdotal evidence, but I've seen that shift happen. Our reels do great, but photos and carousels, they're getting more of a chance than they were last year, which is awesome because that is such easy content for small business owners, busy business owners, service providers to create like it takes three seconds to make a Canva graphic. 

Traffic and whip up a caption. Once you have a bit of a formula for it versus a video where I don't know, I'm going to feel like I have to brush my hair, have to have good lighting, then edit it. Then add text, blah, blah, blah. It takes a little bit longer. So graphics, photos, way faster, which means it's easier for us to create way more content to get in front of way more. 

Eyeballs. 

When we talk about the Instagram algorithm, essentially, we're talking about a piece of code that decides what posts you see when you open up your phone. Now if Instagram pulled back the curtain and told us every single detail that was involved in that algorithm, that piece of code, then we would be able to hack the platform and  you'd only see posts from Nike and big businesses that give you exactly what the algorithm wants because they have that insider information. 

So that's why they're elusive with information, but here's what we know. Instagram likes it. When people touch your posts, I often say the best way to quote unquote hack the algorithm is to just get people, to touch your posts, get them to share it, get them to comment, get them to swipe, get them to like, get them to save. 

Build stuff into your posts to get people, to take action, as opposed to passively reading it and scrolling on. Sure. Someone might enjoy it, but if they don't touch it, the algorithm doesn't know just how much they enjoyed it. The algorithms whole point is to give you consumer more of what you want to see. 

So what we do know of the algorithm and what they have revealed to us is your going to see more content from the people that you already interact with. That's why I always say how powerful DM-ing your leads is. Like, if you're in a conversation with someone like a sales conversation, and you're using Instagram for that, instead of say email or something, then the algorithm is then going to put your face in front of them all the time. 

As long as they're following you. And you're DM-ing with them, you guys are going to see. See each other's content. That's why the people whose stories you watch, like if you always watch your best friend's story, you're also probably going to see your best friend's post because the algorithm is like, okay, one plus one equals two. 

This person likes that person's content. Let's show them more of it. 

Instagram also said this sort of cryptic thing about comments. They said that they wanted to promote content, that encouraged conversations. So HootSweet in their analysis of that statement was like, okay, so we can guess who tweets, like our really popular content planning software. I've used it a few times at school. 

Uh, but HootSweet says, okay, well that means comments. Right? And I think that sounds about right. Yeah. Or maybe if you share a post to dams and then there's like a conversation under it, like they see every action that's happening at a computer is analyzing all of those actions. So whatever that means to you, content that inspires conversation. 

And what I take from that also is respond to your comments, respond to your comments. If you have one comment and you respond to it, you have now doubled. Your number of comments. I know I should've gone into math. 

Like, I hate to be so pedestrian about it. But as soon as you respond to your comments, you now have more comments. Plus someone returns to your page to read your comment. Maybe that means you also get another video view and all the algorithm is seeing as, oh, look, conversation is happening over here. 

 Adam Maseri also said that they want to see more original content. So what that means to me is instead of using a trending audio to make an original video with my face, talking at the camera or whatever, so something where I'm not stealing, I'm not resharing. I'm just creating it originally. 

On my own. 

See where the nuance comes in. And this is also why a content strategy that balances all these different things is so important. Like the content strategy we teach in magic marketing machine. I'm not going to say, do all trending audios because those might give you a bump and I'm not going to say do all original audios, because those might give you a bump. 

I'm going to say let's create a strategy where you do a little bit of everything consistently, make it sustainable, make it fast, make it clear. And that's everything that. Goes into the content strategy that we teach in the program and a content strategy that I use for my clients. A little bit of everything. So we're not depending on rumors and we're not depending on hacks, right. Maybe I'll throw in like a hack every now and then for funsies, but a content strategy just feels so much more secure to me. 

I also want to answer a question. I had asked all the time, which is which type of Instagram account should you have. Particularly as a business slash as a personal brand

 📍 Really quickly before I answer that question.  If you're enjoying the show and if you've taken anything away from it that you're going to go apply to your business, to get more visibility on social media and Instagram, or get more clients coming through the door.  Then I would really appreciate a positive review or a five-star rating. It really helps me get this show out to more business owners so we can all grow and thrive and make more money and get more clients and live in a cabin in the woods. 

there were three different types of accounts you can have. You can have a personal account, a business account, or a creator account. 

Now the reason people ask me, this is because back in the day there was a, I don't know if at this point it was a rumor I'm throwing back to like 2017. But that business has got smaller reach then personal accounts. Listen, there is no evidence that that is true. There is no evidence that you are going to get less reach. If you have a business account versus a personal account, look, I have a business account and that means I get access to insights. I can look back at my analytics and see which posts performed best, which ones got shares, which ones got saved. 

Which ones. Generated profile views.  

I can link you to my website. I can look more legitimate because it's a business account instead of a personal account. So I haven't had a personal account in so long and obviously none of my clients do so I don't even remember all of the differences, but those insights are worth it. And I know insights can be overwhelming, but. 

It's worth it to have the business account. If you ever want to run ads or anything, you're going to need a business account anyway. 

And because I try and look things up before I make bold statements like that tech crunch is, which is pretty reputable. Also reported this, the quote is Instagram. Doesn't give extra feed presence to personal accounts or business accounts. So switching won't help your reach. 

That rumor has kept so many people from having business accounts and honestly, bad gas travels, fast in a small town. Just ask me. I live in the middle of nowhere. 

At the end of the day, here's the mindset shift and the strategic shift. You need to get more eyeballs on your content. The mindset shift is make all of your content. For your audience. Self-serving content is not going to generate as much. 

Comments and conversation as content that is for your audience, what do they want to see? What do they want to interact with? What questions do they have that they want to read the answers to make it for your audience and strategically add what we in magic marketing machine call engagement, attractors to your posts. 

Add things to your posts that make people. I touch them every time you go to publish a post, ask yourself, what did I build into this to make it easy for someone to touch it? Are they going to share it?  📍 Save it. 

Comment on it. Like it, whatever. 

That's all for today. Go make content. And if you don't mind dropping me a review on your way out, that would also be awesome. We'll see you in the next episode.