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Everything You Need to Know About the New Instagram Best Practice Guide

Instagram have released their new best practices built right into the platform. 

However like most updates, it hasn't rolled out to all accounts (one of three of mine has it) so let's breakdown exactly what you need to know sprinkled with my commentary 🤠.




The best practices section is broken down into five sections: 

Creation

Engagement

Reach

Monitisation

Guidelines.


I'm going to cover 4 out of 5 because we don't have monetisation here in Aus (cries in lack of creator fund 🥲).


Part One: Creation


Reels are here and here to stay. 

Remember when Zuck said "Instagram is moving towards a video platform" and we all said absolutely not! Well, turns out he was right this time (poor IGTV never got its spotlight moment). 


Recommendations from Instagram for Video:


  • Instagram recommends creating 10 or more reels a month so if you're talking about dabbling in Reels, now is the time to ramp it up. 

  • Make your first 3 seconds count "share something funny, relatable or unexpected" AKA- start speaking in hooks! 

  • Reels that are 30-90 seconds "get better engagement" while Reels over 90 seconds "won't be recommended to new audiences". 

  • Use trending audio as it determines how content is associated and distributed 

  • ONLY use relevant hashtags. No 30 per video, only specific to your reel and the audience. Don't confuse the algorithm or he won't know who to send your video to 🥹.

  • Keep it high res- minimum of 720p and min frame rate of 30 frames per second. 



Don't worry- photo's and carousels can gain you follower growth too: 

If you're reading this ready to throw your Canva carousel template in the bin- don't stress. Instagram says "posting photos and carousels can help you get more reach & lead to more followers". 


In Summary: You now have proof from Instagram themselves to send to that coworker who wants to post a 3 minute landscape video with a 15 second opening. 


Part Two: Engagement

There's no shockers here but here's the summary: 


  • Focus on deeper engagement- how likely someone is to watch, like, share or comment determines reach. 

  • Make it relatable enough to share "if people see your content and think "that's literally me" they'll share it. Humour works well to spark engagement and reshares"

  • Reply to comments within a couple of days (bonus points if you reply with a video)

  • Tune into your audience for content ideation. 


In Summary: Tell your boss you need to create (on brand) memes that are relatable to your industry, audience and the life experiences they have on a daily basis. Oh and don't disregard community management. 


Part Three: Reach

Quite similar to the previous two yet Instagram has focused on two key takeaways; post when your audience is active and play the long game. 


  • Understand how people see your content because EVERY piece of content is eligible to be shown to an audience the algorithm thinks will like it, whether they follow or not. 

  • Post when your audience is most active (unlike TikTok focus on this for Instagram)

  • Track long-term follower growth; it's natural to see audience changes over time, don't get discouraged by short term changes in follower growth 

  • It's normal for reach to vary- especially in regards to what is going on during that time. 


In Summary: Focus on best time to post, quality content your audience wants to see and playing the long game. Don't get caught up on short-term impact to followers and reach.


Part Four: Guidelines

This part is INTERESTING for me because it's calling out how Instagram has operated for YEARS. All of those reshare accounts for quotes and motivational speeches will be most affected. 


  • Follow the guidelines (no shock here)

  • Taking credit for content that isn't yours will prevent your content from being recommended.

  • Engagement bait will affect reach 

  • Going against Instagram's guidelines is a big no no. 


In Summary: Play by the rules. 


Overall, I'm super excited for the future direction of Instagram and what it will allow for brands, businesses and individuals to gain discoverability, build and audience and sell in an authentic manner. 


As always if you're reading this thinking omg we are not set up for using Instagram effectively, let's chat on a no-obligation call.


An audience centric content strategy is what will lead you through as the platform continues to evolve and I can be your right hand man in creating that with you. 




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