Instagram’s CEO has recently revealed the best algorithm tips of Instagram, growth hacks, and best practices to help you maximize reach and grow your audience in 2025. After analyzing his videos, interviews, and press releases, We’ve compiled this definitive guide to help you understand Instagram’s algorithm and boost your growth effectively. Let’s dive in!
1. Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories won’t help you get new followers; however, they are the secret to growing your audience as fast as possible.
This might sound kind of counterintuitive, but it’s because while they won’t get new people to follow you, they are the best way to engage your existing audience so that they stick around. And this decreases the number of people who unfollow you, meaning you grow much faster.
If you’re currently gaining a couple thousand new followers a month but also losing a couple thousand, you’re not going to grow. However, if you start posting more Stories, you build a better relationship with your audience. Stories are what your audience will watch without knwoing what is behind it becuase they want to see the authentic you.
2. High-Production Content Might Hurt Your Reach
High-production-value content could actually be decreasing your reach in some situations. Now, if you’re doing branded content deals with premium or luxury brands, then yeah, it might make sense to try and create that really polished look. But if you’re a musician, an athlete, or a comedian, honestly, it might work against you.
It might make your content a lot less relatable.
So think about whether or not being polished is aligned with the story that you want to tell and the brand that you want to build, and then decide based on that.
3. Carousels Outperform Single-Image Posts
Post carousels instead of single-image posts for better engagement. According to the best algorithm tips of Instagram, the platform’s new Best Practices says: “Carousels typically get better reach than single-image posts. Try adding text in the first slide to set context and keep people scrolling through.”
The CEO of Instagram also talked about this in another clip, saying that carousels perform better because:
- It gives people more content to engage with.
- From that added engagement, it then gets more reach.
It usually gets more watch time, and it will perform better.
So, why do carousels often get more reach than photos?
Two main reasons:
- Multiple pieces of media = more interactions. And more interactions = more reach on average.
- If someone sees your carousel post but doesn’t swipe, Instagram will often give that carousel a second chance and automatically move to that second piece of media for the viewer.
Now, I’ll throw up an example on the screen from jamessmith that got 60,000 likes when really… it’s just a simple photo dump of his year. But he’s added context by adding a little bit of text to each slide, which makes you want to read and scroll through it, spend more time on it, and engage with it.
And that’s why it’s performed so well.
4. Hashtags Are Pointless
Instagram’s CEO is making it clear that Hastags don’t matter and aren’t worth your time. While they once helped Instagram categorize content, AI advancements now analyze videos and captions without needing hashtags. Instead of wasting time on hashtags, focus on creating better content.
5. Sends (Shares) Are the Most Important Engagement Metric
Instagram prioritizes content that people send to others over content that gets saved. While saves still matter, shares:
- Indicate strong interest and relatability
- Bring people together, aligning with Instagram’s mission
- Boost algorithmic reach
That said, other engagement forms still help—so balance shares, saves, likes, and comments in your content strategy.
6. Watermarks Can Decrease Reach
Instagram doesn’t like content with watermarks from other apps (looking at you, TikTok logos). If you upload a Reel with a TikTok watermark, Instagram will limit its reach—meaning fewer views, less engagement, and slower growth.
But your own logo? That’s fine. So,
- If using a third-party editing app, remove watermarks before posting.
- If adding a personal logo, ensure it’s subtle and not mistaken for another platform’s watermark.
7. Post Soon After a Viral Post to Maintain Momentum
When a post goes viral, it brings in new eyes to your content. To capitalize on this:
- Post again within 24-48 hours
- Maintain content quality to convert new viewers into followers
This method also works across platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.
8. Consume More Content in Your Niche to Improve Your Own
If you struggle with content ideas, consume more of what interests you. This helps you:
- Stay updated on trends
- Identify what works in your industry
- Create better, more engaging content
9. How Often Should You Post?
While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, two things are true:
- Posting more increases reach
- Posting too much can cause burnout
Instagram’s best practices recommend posting ~10 times per month (2-3 times per week) as a baseline. Adjust based on your content type and capacity.
10. Your Second Slide in Carousels Matters
If a user doesn’t swipe on the first view, Instagram may re-show your post starting from the second slide. This gives you:
- A second chance to grab attention
- More engagement opportunities
Tip: Make your second slide visually engaging to hook viewers on a second impression.
While Stories don’t attract new followers, they strengthen audience relationships, keeping them engaged and reducing unfollows—leading to faster overall growth.
No, Instagram’s AI now analyzes videos and captions without needing hashtags. Focus on high-quality content instead of spending time on hashtags.
Carousels encourage more engagement, leading to better reach. If a user doesn’t swipe, Instagram may show the second slide automatically, increasing interactions.
Shares (sends) matter most because they show strong interest and relatability, align with Instagram’s mission, and boost reach more than saves.
Instagram suggests around 10 posts per month (2-3 times per week) to maintain reach without burning out.
