The Algorithms are Changing on Instagram What You Need to Know

The Instagram algorithms are changing. And if you're a health pro who's tuning in wants to start and scale a profitable business using Instagram, here's what you need to know.

Hi, I'm Beverly Simpson, former fitness manager turned online personal training business owner. And this podcast is where smart fitness professionals, including trainers and clinicians, discover how to increase client performance and movement, package and position their products and services and get out of their own way so that they can increase their revenue to live a life that they love without sleazy sales. Welcome to the PT Profit Podcast.

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the PT Profit Podcast. I'm your host, Beverly Simpson. If this is the first time you're hanging out with me today, welcome. I'm super pumped that you're here. As someone who was a former district fitness manager who's now generated seven figures online even with a handful of followers, first by starting this account and then by starting and growing this account, I've learned a thing or two. And today we're diving into the changes that were announced on February 28th on Instagram's blog, sharing publicly how the algorithms have changed. And here. What, here's why. This is really important, especially if you're someone who is new or new to the online space and wants to use Instagram for new customers, for new clients, and for new potential clients or leads. So let's get into it. One of the biggest and most important changes is how the algorithms are showing your content to the people on the platforms. So traditionally, Instagram, before this update, Instagram would share your piece of content to a percentage of your followers. If your followers engaged in the content, they liked it, they commented, they shared it, they bookmarked it, or they watched it for a number of times, Instagram would determine this piece of content to be relevant. And so they would then show the piece to a wider percentage of your followers. And then if the engagement continued to grow, then Facebook would push it out to more followers and then more people who've never heard of you. And that's how you really got to be discovered. You gained your searchability through invisibility, through search, when your followers had determined that this piece of content was relevant. That's why back in the day, if you, if you bought followers or if you were tricked by companies that said that they were going to grow your comp, your Instagram account organically, and then they didn't, then the viewership of your content really suffered because you, your followers weren't real, then Instagram did two things. First, they launched trial reels, which is the ability to post your piece of content and trial the reel, which means that they're going to show the reel to people who do not follow you. Now, if you're like me and don't have access to that feature yet, just keep waiting patiently. It's coming. Don't know when, but it's coming, then this update is going to be even more good news for you. Why? Because now Instagram has declared in multiple places, first here in the in the blog on February 26th where they first dated first in this article and also where he said in this interview where they are prioritizing small content creators and helping them break through. With the release of this article in February, they essentially are saying that they are switching who they are showing your pieces of content to. So instead of of showing your content to followers, they are now showing your content first to both followers and percentage of non followers. As someone who is newer to the platform or you have a handful of followers, this is great news because it is giving your content more of an equal chance to break through the saturated and I use that in quotations. If you're not watching here on YouTube the saturated market space or what seems like or feels like the saturated market space. Because like I've said in many pieces before, you are actually not in competition with colleagues, you are in competition with attention spans. So as a health professional who wants to use this platform for leads and sales, it's essential that you understand how the platform works. So even if you don't identify as a small content creator, you might identify as someone who has a handful of followers and wants to reach your perspective, leads and your prospective clients. So with that being said, it becomes our job as the health and wellness professional and business owner to align our wants and desires with Instagram's wants and desires so we can have a co creation relationship and help both businesses grow. So the fact that your content has a fighting chance to reach and connect with potential clients who've never heard of you before, this is good news. So how do we use this to our benefit? Well first we need to understand how the algorithms work and what the actual signals are that that Instagram is using to identify how well your piece of content is performing. So first we need to understand what are the main types of algorithms that Instagram is really looking at. So so essentially there are five algorithms for each part of Instagram. First you have the feed, your home feed algorithm, there's also the story algorithm and then we also have the Explore algorithm. So when you are actually looking at your app, you'll see that the, the magnifying glass is at the search is actually Explore algorithm. Then you also have the reels algorithm. So in addition to Explore, they have an actual reels algorithm. And then, and then there is an algorithm that is search based, which is viewing how you search on the platform. Now previously we used hashtags, but they have shifted now to more search engine optimization Keywords. They're still using hashtags to both identify your content and people still search by hashtags. However, they have made a concerted effort to use search engine optimization. So keywords inside of of algorithm inside of Instagram. So there is a whole algorithm dedicated to that. So the home feed algorithm is taking into account how you show up on the platform. Who do you interact with, what is the content that you are, are, are engaging with and connecting on. They're also taking a look at of those posts that you are engaging on. What is the creative, Is it a real, is it a carousel? What is the information about the person that you are engaging on? They are considering these as signals to the platform because if you're engaging in that content, then they're going to show you more of that as well as maybe person you're engaging with will also enjoy your content. Why? Because like attracts like. So they're using these types of signals in your home feed to collect information about you, what you might like and what the people like you might like. So it's essential that you spend some time engaging on your feed with potential clients. So this is why it's essential that you not just interact with your colleagues. You must interact with people who are your ideal clients, with your clients, as well as with people who might have access to your ideal clients. Why? Because your ideal clients will then see the comments and the engagement and say what does this person doing? And the action will compound and send signals to Instagram so that your content gets put out in front of people who want to see it. Remember, Instagram's algorithms actually want to help you. So Instagram also considers engagement to be likes, comments, shares, bookmarks as well as watch time. And over time, the priority of what they prioritize changes. Sometimes it's bookmarks, sometimes it's. Sometimes it saves, sometimes it shares, sometimes it's like, sometimes it's comments. Instagram's always changing. But instead of majoring in the minor and trying to go after the minutia, do two things. Create content for your ideal clients. Speak specifically to problems and outcomes they want as well as creating the shareable content. So what is shareable content? I'll save this for a different episode, so stay tuned. I'm doing a series in this right now all around Instagram. But think about educational, shareable things they bookmark, things they share, then. The story algorithm is similar to feed in terms of how you respond, what you watch. However, it also is paying attention to engagement history. So what are you liking? What are the DMs, what are swipe throughs? Can you do quick engagement activities on your stories as well as the viewing history? Here's just a really quick fun tip about stories. Every time you go live on Instagram, it automatically puts your story in front of your everyone who follows you feed. So it will, it will bring you back to top of mind, especially if your story has been, has, has gone down the line. Because people typically only watch stories from people that are on their homepage and maybe, maybe a couple more out. So if you want to get ranked up to your followers top of your story feed, go live. Okay, so now the algorithm that everyone wants to talk about. What, how do we get discovered? What is the explore feed, both from the reels as well as the actual explore page. Once information has gathered the signals about you, what you interact with, what people that follow you interact with, they're also now going to send out this piece of content to people they think is going to engage in the content that might like it. So yes, while the algorithms will prioritize your non followers, they're still sending non. They're going to still send your piece of content to non followers based on the signals that you that they have gathered about you from you. So how you show up on the platform as an engaged consumer matters just as much as the creator, as someone who shows up as a creator. So this, this is good news. It means that pay attention, spend time thinking about who you follow, how you engage on the platform. Tell Instagram I'm interested, not interested. So how do we use this information to help us grow a business? Because if you're anything like me, I don't identify as a content creator. I'm not super techie. I'm a personal trainer, former district fitness that turned into a district fitness manager. I run businesses. So for me, what I'm desiring is helping people use this tool to grow their business, just like me, not become an influencer or content creator. So here just some, just with this algorithm update, here are some of the best practices that you can use. Number one, make sure you're creating content for your Clients, not your colleagues. Engage with your clients and potential clients and if their content is private and you can't engage, where are they hanging out and spending time that you can engage with them there where you can get seen, be visible in front of not just your colleagues, competitors who have your business think about what else are they watching and paying attention to and engaging in? Is it hd hgtv? Is it, Is it the Rock? Is it actors travel? Where else are they spending time? Stay consistent. You are teaching Instagram how you show up and where you show up. The best types of content right now that I am seeing pop off are your reels, of course, and then carousels that have music on it because then they also get to show up in the reels feed. And when you tune into the next episode, I'm going to give you 10 real ideas that you can use that will take you less than five minutes to create. So thank you so much for hanging out with me today. And if you want me to do this for you, I have created 90 days done for you content which you can grab in the show notes is literally for one cent a day. I will create the piece for you and then show you how you can turn that piece into multiple, multiple pieces that will drive leads, customers, clients. So thanks so much for hanging out with me today. I'll catch you on the next episode.

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Special Instagram podcast that will show you.

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A wait list of clients ready for your services.

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