If you’re a social media marketer, Instagram is most likely at the top of your list. With so many brands on the platform, each uploading their unique content, you must consider how to maximize your reach to get to the Instagram explore page.
This is where the Instagram Explore page can come in handy. Getting on the Explore page is a sure-fire way to significantly increase the visibility of your posts, resulting in a viral effect that provides you with a large amount of engagement in a short period Unfortunately, there is no surefire way to get on this page. However, with some work, you’ll be able to at least increase the chances of your post ending up on the page.
But before we get into all that, there’s one question that we need to answer.
What is the Instagram Explore page?
Instagram’s Explore page is where the company curates content for its users. Each user’s Explore page will display different content based on the posts they like and the people they follow. Simply put, it’s a collection of Instagram posts that Instagram thinks you’ll like.
Instagram claims that the Explore page is used by more than half of its users. And there are a lot of them. Instagram has over a billion active users, which means 500 million people are actively browsing the Explore page.
But how does Instagram choose which posts to display on the page? That is determined by their algorithm, which takes into account factors such as posts:
- Liked by people you follow
- With a lot of comments
- From accounts that are similar to those you already follow
Instagram revamped its Explore page around the middle of 2019. They added filters to the top of the page, allowing users to find specific content that they will enjoy. They also set two filters to appear first: IGTV and Shop. This is followed by topic-specific channels, and for some accounts, Instagram has also rolled out Stories on the Explore page.
Advantages of getting on the Explore page
It should be obvious by now that appearing on the Explore page has one obvious benefit: more people will see your content. This, in turn, can provide you with a slew of other advantages:
- More engagement on the post that was featured on the Explore page, as more people are now able to see your content.
- An increase in followers, because people who view your profile on the Explore page may decide to follow you
- Because of these new followers, there will be more engagement in all future posts.
- More conversions with effective CTAs.
How to get on the Instagram Explore page
Post when people are active
One of the best Instagram tips you’ll hear is to post when your followers are most active. This is a good suggestion because the Instagram algorithm uses punctuality as one of the factors for viewing posts.
This means that if your post is new, it will appear in your followers’ feed. If you can post when your followers are most active, you can get a higher level of engagement, which is the key to getting your post published on the “Explore” page.
Fortunately, figuring out when your followers are most active is not a difficult task. If you have an Instagram Business account, you can go to the “Audience” section of the “Insights” tab, and you can view the most active time (hourly and daily) of your followers.
Alternatively, you can use social media management tools that provide you with these analyses.
Figure out what kind of posts your audience likes
To publish successfully, it is not enough to publish only when the audience is online. You also need to make sure that the content posted is interesting and useful. This is when you can get the most engagement, making your posts more likely to end up showing up on Instagram’s “Explore” page.
Pay close attention to the types of posts that appeal to you the most. Does your audience prefer videos to photos? Do you like carousel posts more? Do they like interesting content or inspiring content? If you can answer these questions, you will have enough information to make the best type of post for your audience at the best time. This almost guarantees the participation of your posts.
Instagram’s own analytics tools make it a lot easier too. In the Insights posts section, you will be able to sort the best performing posts/stories based on various metrics (engagement, reach, impressions, etc.). Did you notice a pattern? great! Now you can use this information to make better posts for your brand.
And don’t forget that you can also get similar information about your posts and your engagement by using social media management tools.
Learn from posts that are already on the Explore page
One trick that works for you is to look at the posts that have already appeared on your “browse” page. If you are following an Instagram account or participating in posts related to your industry, its “Explore” page will give you an idea of the types of content that Instagram algorithms follow and the types of content that your potential audience wants to see.
If you are on “If you find a post that is not related to your industry on the Explore page, it likely has a high level of engagement. Remember, you can learn something from every article that is displayed on the Explore page. Take a good look at them, and then consider how to incorporate some of these elements into your posts.
Use the IGTV format and shoppable posts
As we all know, video is the best performing content on all social media. So it’s not surprising that Instagram is vigorously pushing its IGTV format. They even opened an IGTV Academy in London to help content creators make better use of this feature.
It uses the IGTV format to work well because IGTV has a separate section on the discovery page and it is also pinned at the top. Creating IGTV content can be a good decision for your brand because it is clear that the Instagram algorithm will work harder to promote such content in the years to come.
Similar to IGTV, posts that can be purchased are also posted at the top of the browse page. If you are a B2C company, this is especially beneficial for your business. However, there is a lot of competition from other brands on these types of posts, so you must ensure that you create great posts and publish them at the right time to achieve the highest level of engagement.
Use location tags and hashtags
Location tags and hashtags are very powerful tools on Instagram. They are a great way to ensure that more people on your channel can see your posts, which means you will be able to reach people who have not yet joined your network immediately.
When you use them, make sure you only use tags related to the post to avoid looking like spam. Using tags can significantly increase the engagement of your posts, thereby increasing your chances of being recommended on the discovery page.
Use calls to action
So far, we all know that the key to entering the discovery page is to increase post engagement. One of the best ways to ensure this is to directly encourage your audience to interact with your post by using a call to action (CTA).
Include questions in your title so that your followers can answer them in the comments to start a conversation with you. You can even directly let your followers like, share or tag their friends on your posts. This is a good strategy for contests or giveaways that your brand might want to hold.
Simply asking your audience to participate in your posts can sometimes have a huge impact on engagement and can increase your chances of being recommended on the “Explore” page.
Work with influencers
Finally, your brand may also consider working with influencers in the industry or specific market segments within your brand. This is a great way to expand your influence and engage the audience that your influencers have already cultivated. This additional participation helps ensure that your post ends up on the “Explore” page.
Cross-promote your page and posts on the influencer’s page, and then repurpose the influencer-created content for future posts.
By using our tips above, you should be able to get enough engagement on your posts and eventually show up on the Instagram Discovery page.
Did you find this blog article helpful? Is there anything we might have missed out on you’d like to chime in on? Drop a comment below and don’t forget to share with your friends and family.
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Until next time, cheers!
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