When Charli xcx turned a simple aesthetic experiment into a cultural “Brat Summer” takeover on Instagram, she had the algorithm to thank. With 500 million Instagram users vying for attention daily, unlocking the method to the madness is key for anyone who wants to expand their reach and grow their personal brand—here’s how.
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The Instagram algorithm is a complex, ever-evolving system designed to personalize each user’s feed based on their interests, interactions, and relationships. No more chronological feeds—instead, the platform uses a sophisticated set of AI-powered ranking systems to curate content tailored to individual preferences.
In fact, Instagram officially abandoned the singular term “the algorithm” in 2025. The platform now uses multiple distinct AI ranking systems: one for your Feed, another for Stories, and separate ones for Reels and Explore. Each operates differently, but they share a common goal: show each user what they’re most likely to enjoy.
Cracking the IG algorithm is key to making sure you’re seen amid the sea of posts flooding the platform, reaching an audience that could potentially cast you in your next show, and landing that influencer brand deal.
How does the Instagram algorithm work?
While no one but the people behind the platform understands every specific of how the algorithm works, Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed in January 2025 that three signals matter most across all parts of the app:
- Watch time: This is now the No. 1 ranking factor. How long and how often someone watches your content tells the algorithm it’s worth showing to a wider audience. For Reels especially, Instagram tracks not just total seconds watched but also completion rate, rewatch behavior, and whether viewers replay your content.
- DM shares (sends per reach): Shares via direct message are now weighted three to five times higher than likes. Instagram interprets a DM share as the strongest possible endorsement—someone valued your content enough to personally recommend it to someone else.
- Likes per reach: While likes have been somewhat devalued over the years, they still count, particularly for reaching your existing followers.
Beyond those three top signals, several other elements shape visibility across the platform:
- Relevancy: Instagram promotes content it believes users will find relevant and engaging. Factors such as past interactions, search history, and content preferences inform the algorithm’s decisions.
- Relationships: The algorithm prioritizes content from accounts that users have strong connections with, including friends, family, and accounts they regularly interact with.
- Timeliness: Although the platform no longer adheres to a strictly chronological feed, recency still plays a role. Fresh content is favored, especially from accounts users frequently engage with.
- Content type: Different content formats—photos, carousels, videos, Stories, and Reels—receive varying levels of visibility based on user preferences and engagement trends.
How does the Instagram Reels algorithm work?
With the explosive rise of short-form video content, Instagram introduced Reels as a direct competitor to TikTok.
As of April 2024, Instagram announced a new approach to ranking recommendations designed to give all creators an equal chance of breaking through. Every Reel is first shown to a small audience likely to enjoy it, regardless of whether they follow the account that posted it. As that audience engages, top-performing Reels are shown to an increasingly wider one.
The Reels algorithm has its own nuances to keep in mind when making Reels:
- Watch time and completion rate: Instagram measures both how long viewers watch and what percentage of your Reel they complete. Rewatch behavior (whether someone replays your content) is also a strong positive signal.
- DM shares: Shares via direct message are the top engagement signal for reaching new audiences via Reels.
- Trending audio and effects: Incorporating viral audio tracks and effects can increase discoverability, since the algorithm tends to boost trending sounds.
- Originality: Instagram significantly increased its prioritization of original content in 2025. Accounts that repost without adding value have seen notable drops in reach, while original creators have benefited from increased distribution.
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To maximize your impact and reach the widest audience, keep these IG algorithm tips in mind.
1. Diversify your content.
Populate your feed with a mix of content types, including photos, carousels, text-centric posts, and more. This variety keeps your audience engaged. Carousels, in particular, are among the top-performing formats in the Feed: When a follower doesn’t swipe through to the end, Instagram treats the unseen slides as new content and may show the carousel to that same person again later, giving your post multiple chances to earn engagement.
2. Create content people want to share.
DM shares are now the single most powerful engagement signal for reaching new audiences. Think about what makes your followers want to send something to a friend, whether that means relatable moments, genuinely useful advice, or a laugh-out-loud clip. Explicitly encourage sharing by including language like “send this to someone who...” in your captions. You can track how your content is performing on this front via the Sends metric in Instagram Insights.
3. Prioritize Reels, but be strategic about length.
Reels remain Instagram’s favored format, prominently featured on the Explore page. Videos naturally capture more attention than static images. In January 2025, Instagram expanded Reels to up to three minutes (previously 90 seconds), but shorter is generally better for reach: 15 to 30 seconds is the sweet spot for broad discovery, while 30 to 60 seconds works well for tutorials and storytelling. No matter the length, focus on hooking viewers in the first three seconds, and consider creating how-to videos, behind-the-scenes glimpses, or brief user-generated content (UGC) ads to keep your feed dynamic.
4. Engage your audience with Stories.
Use Stories to foster interaction by incorporating stickers, polls, emojis, and question boxes. Despite—or perhaps because of—their fleeting nature (just 24 hours before disappearing), Stories are highly engaging. Note that posting more than five to seven Stories in rapid succession can cause view counts to drop after the fifth, so aim for quality over quantity.
5. Genuinely interact with other users.
Instagram encourages smart, efficient engagement, so focus on building relationships by promptly responding to comments and direct messages. Authenticity resonates particularly well with Gen Z, so ensure your interactions are sincere and represent the real you.
6. Use keywords and hashtags strategically.
As of December 2025, Instagram caps hashtags at five per post, which is a significant reduction from the previous 30. Instagram’s own guidance recommends using three to five highly relevant hashtags, which helps the algorithm categorize your content and match it with the right audience. Rather than chasing volume, opt for specific, niche hashtags that reflect your content.
Beyond hashtags, incorporate relevant keywords naturally into your captions, bio, and alt text: Instagram’s AI can now read and categorize your posts, so keyword-rich copy improves discoverability even without hashtags.
7. Embrace longer captions.
Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters in captions, so take the opportunity to be creative and informative (and somewhat long-winded) by sharing personal stories and relatable content.
8. Become a crowd favorite.
Encourage your followers to interact with your content by liking, sharing, saving, and commenting. They can also mark your account as a favorite, which places your posts in a prioritized feed of up to 50 accounts, significantly boosting your content’s visibility and engagement.
9. Optimize for intent.
Before creating any sort of content, the most important question to ask yourself is why. Will you be providing value to your audience with this picture or video? If you’re not educating or entertaining them, why would someone stop scrolling and watch? This principle matters more than ever now that Instagram’s algorithm is built around topic clarity and niche consistency, since your most recent posts shape how the AI categorizes your account.
10. Use analytics and experiment with new features.
All great creators check their insights, which reveal the optimal times to post, the most effective content types, and detailed audience demographics. Check for a common thread in your most shareable, savable, and engaging posts.
It’s also important to stay current with Instagram’s evolving features, such as Trial Reels (which show your content to non-followers before you commit to posting widely) and the Your Algorithm tool (which lets users customize their own Reels recommendations), which are worth incorporating into your strategy.
