According to Instagram, The Instagram Explore page is made up of users’ photos, videos, stories based on “the people you follow or the posts you like”. When you get on the Explore page, you’re standing out and GOING VIRAL…and the best way to do this is starting with a proper strategy
Convinced? Let’s look at how to make it occur.
1. Update when your followers are looking
That is our very first tip since it’s the easiest win. Instagram algorithm prioritizes timeliness (a.k.a. recency), which means in case your publish is brand new that’ll be shown to more of your fans. And earning high engagement with your own fans is step one towards getting a spot on the Explore page.
Pro tip: In case your followers are online while you aren’t, an Instagram scheduler is really your best bet.
2. Learn from high-performing posts that you see on the Explore page
When you are already following accounts that are related to your industry and your followers, your own Explore page needs to have loads of insights for you as to what the algorithm is noticing. And what your prospective audience likes.
Because, though Instagram is not showing like counts anymore, you could still get a sense of what’s working for other brands just by seeing what the algorithm promotes. In other words: if a post shows up on your Explore page that has absolutely nothing to do with your interests, you could probably bet that it has killer engagement.
So go ahead and do some low-key recon—or high-key social listening—to break down aesthetics, themes, codecs, and value propositions of the posts that you want you’d posted.
3. Pay attention to analytics
Look at what you are doing that’s already resonating with your audience. You might find that they like your boomerangs more than your carousels, or that they like your jokes more than your inspirational quotes.
If you could get your own audience tapping hearts and leaving comments consistently, their engagement will assist propel you to the Explore page.
4. Post visually compelling Stories that are representative of your brand
Not everyone is seeing Stories on Explore yet, however, we could only imagine it’ll roll out quickly. You are going to wish to optimize your Stories for discovery. But how?
According to Tech Crunch’s interview with Will Ruben, a Product Lead for Discovery at Instagram, the Instagram algorithm has some particular preferences in terms of bumping Stories up onto the Explore page.
A user’s potential “interest” (a.k.a., Stories just like ones from accounts which are already followed) is the most important ranking signal. However, the algorithm prioritizes the following, as well:
- Videos (they tend to get more attention because they auto-play in Explore, however, a great picture will do better than a mediocre video)
- Highly visual Stories (that do not have too much text)
- Stories which are similar to/representative of your account’s usual content
Meanwhile, what are some tactics that’ll make a story less likely to get featured on Explore?
- Reposts from other users
Noted.
5. Try long-form video, a.k.a. IGTV
Let’s take a look at the facts:
- IGTV has its own dedicated space in Explore. (Its button is pinned to the top!)
- IGTV was derided as having a lackluster first year because of lacking of buy-in from content creators.
- I don’t know about your IGTV channel, however, mine is full of… um, the good word for it’s ‘clickbait.’
Instagram is pushing IGTV hard, however, so far long-form video has not been as prevalent as Stories. It sounds like a chance for a creative brand to enjoy a push from the full force of the algorithm, sure?
Experiment with an IGTV strategy to capitalize on this under-served channel.
6. Make your shoppable posts stand out
The Shopping channel is the same with IGTV in that Instagram is promoting it hard in the Explore page. Of course, it’s a lot more prevalent than IGTV because what B2C brand in their right mind is not utilizing shoppable posts?
With this type of market saturation, your product posts should be flawless and enticing to make it onto the Explore page. Learn our full information to Instagram Shopping.
7. Buy an advert on Explore
As of June 2019, brands could purchase Explore page adverts. These adverts don’t show up in the feed, however, after a person clicks on a video or picture, in order to be less intrusive to people.
And lest you suppose that is the straightforward approach out, it’s not. So as to get ROI on an advert on the Discover web page, it’s going to need to be as compelling because the posts that encompass it. Tall order, proper?