Pure Gallus Social
Strategy Vault - Quick Win
🕐 Quick Win
Understanding the Instagram Algorithm
The algorithm isn't out to get you. It's a system - and once you understand how it works, you can make it work for you. Here's everything you actually need to know.
🕐 30 mins or less
5 sections
Strategy
Growth & Reach
Instagram doesn't run on a single algorithm. It uses several different AI systems - one for each part of the app. Each surface ranks content in its own way, because people use each area differently.
Feed
Mix of followed accounts and recommendations. Ranked on your interaction history and post popularity.
Top signal
Who you interact with most
Reels
Entertainment-first. How long you watch, whether you rewatch, and whether you share to DMs.
Top signal
Sends via DM (shares)
Stories
Only from people you follow. Ranked on how often you watch and engage with each account.
Top signal
Viewing + reply history
Explore
Almost entirely from accounts you don't follow. Heavily relies on your past behaviour to predict what you'll like.
Top signal
Video completion rate
Big Shift
Instagram is now a recommendation-first platform. It no longer primarily shows you content from people you follow. It's increasingly driven by your interests - which means your content can reach people who have never heard of you, as long as you give the algorithm the right signals.
Adam Mosseri (Head of Instagram) breaks reach into two distinct categories. Understanding the difference changes how you think about content performance.
👥
Type 01
Connected Reach
Content shown to people who already follow you. This is your warm audience. Strong engagement here is the launchpad that unlocks wider distribution.
🌍
Type 02
Unconnected Reach
Content shown to people who don't follow you yet. This is where growth happens. The algorithm only unlocks this when connected reach performs well first.
The Chain
Your existing followers are the gatekeepers to new audiences. If your content doesn't land with people who already follow you, Instagram won't push it further. Nail connected reach first - unconnected reach follows.
Not all engagement signals are weighted equally. These are the ones Instagram cares about most across both Feed and Reels - ranked by impact.
1
📤 Sends (Shares via DM)
When someone shares your content to a friend via DM, Instagram reads this as a genuine connection signal. This is the most heavily weighted action for Reels distribution.
2
⏱️ Watch Time / Completion
How long people watch your Reel - and whether they watch to the end. High completion signals quality content. A short, loopable Reel has a big advantage here.
3
❤️ Likes
Instagram looks at likes per reach - not just the raw number. A post with 50 likes from 200 viewers outperforms one with 100 likes from 2,000 viewers.
4
🔖 Saves
Saving requires more intent than liking. It tells the algorithm the content was useful or valuable enough to return to. Especially powerful for carousels.
5
💬 Comments
Comments signal a strong reaction - whether agreement, disagreement, or conversation. Asking genuine questions in your captions that prompt replies is a smart move.
Check Your Insights
Go to your Insights and look at sends per reach and likes per reach on your recent Reels - not just raw numbers. These are the metrics that predict whether the algorithm will push your content wider.
Instagram is transparent about what it boosts and what it buries. Here's a clear breakdown of what helps vs what hurts your distribution.
✓ Algorithm loves this
Original content made for Instagram (not recycled from TikTok)
Strong hooks that hold attention in the first second
Captions turned on for Reels (adds keyword text)
Reels under 3 minutes with high completion rates
Trending or relevant audio that matches your niche
Content that makes people share it to a friend via DMs
Posting consistently within a clear niche or topic area
Account in good standing (check Account Status)
✕ Algorithm buries this
Videos with TikTok watermarks - actively deprioritised
Reposted or recycled content from other platforms
Content that violates Community Guidelines
Trending audio used with completely misaligned content
Posts people scroll past in under 2 seconds
Posting then going silent - no engagement reciprocated
Inconsistent posting across wildly different topics
Keyword stuffing in captions that reads unnaturally
Knowing how the algorithm works is only useful if it changes what you actually create. Here's how to translate all of this into your day-to-day content decisions.
Reels
Best for unconnected reach - reaching new audiences. The algorithm pushes Reels beyond your followers more than any other format when watch time and sends are high.
Carousels
Best for saves and connected reach. Instagram can treat unswiped slides as "new content" and re-show them - giving carousels an extended lifespan in the feed.
Static Posts
Lower organic reach than Reels or carousels, but still powerful for authority and trust content. Works best for strong visual storytelling and community-building.
Use Trial Reels
Test new content with non-followers first before committing it to your profile. If it lands with cold audiences, post it properly. If not, no damage done.
Niche Clarity
The algorithm recommends you to people based on interest matching. If your content is all over the place, it can't categorise you. Stay in your lane consistently.
Timing Still Matters
The first hour of engagement after posting tells the algorithm whether to push content further. Post when your audience is actually online - check Most Active Times in Insights.
Bottom Line
The algorithm rewards content that genuinely interests people - and punishes content that gets scrolled past. Your job isn't to game the system. It's to make content so good that people stop, watch, save, and share it. The algorithm follows the humans.
Your Action Plan 🎯
Check your last 5 Reels in Insights - look at sends per reach and likes per reach, not just views
Turn on auto-captions for your next Reel before posting
Write your next caption with a specific share CTA - "send this to someone who needs it"
Check your Account Status in Settings to make sure you have no restrictions
Try a Trial Reel before your next experimental post to test it with cold audiences first
List your 3-5 content pillars - if you have more than 5, narrow it down
Want to go further?
Explore the Strategy Vault
Find more Quick Wins and Deep Dives to build your Instagram strategy from the ground up.