Instagram’s Explore page isn’t anything new, but it is unique to other social media platforms. It’s essentially a page full of content from Instagram accounts you don’t follow that the algorithm thinks you will be interested in. Being featured on the explore page is independent to a user’s interests and engagements. Every explore page is unique to the user. So getting onto it isn’t exactly easy, but here are some tips to help!
What is the Explore Page?
On the bottom of your toolbar menu you’ll see a magnifying Glass. That is where you’ll find the Explore page. Any content that is related to previous posts that you have liked, commented on, hashtags you’ve followed, and posts you have saved or shared to a friend will appear here. It’s more of a grid of images than a feed. You don’t see any captions unless you tap onto an image. Tapping open an image will then pull you into a feed-like page of content similar to what you just clicked. From there you can continue to scroll through an endless feed of related content.
This is an excellent feature that helps users find related content and new accounts to follow.
However, it takes a while for the page to get to know your account and find things you like. You can help Instagram’s algorithm create a more accurate feed by clicking on posts you don’t like and then clicking “not interested.” Over time, the feed content will improve. You can’t see the Explore page for other accounts, but if you use your Instagram strictly for work-related content, you should start to see related information pop up under yours.
How to Get On It
- Fit in
- Know your audience
- Engage
- Keep it up and repeat
The key to using the Explore page effectively is to know your Instagram audience and fit in. Content is always key, and it’s good to be unique. Look at your Explore page or a specific hashtag and view what is trending. The top posts are most likely to have a certain look or style to them. For example, you could be seeing rows of inspirational quotes and graphics, professionally photographed images, selfies, or stock photos. It is important to make sure the content you are sharing is going to fit in with the content on the Explore page you’re targeting. This can be tricky because the Explore page is unique for everyone. That is why it’s important to understand your Instagram audience and what they like and engage with. It may be different than your usual target audience.
The algorithm also heavily depends on engagement. Getting the most out of your posts relies partly on posting at the right time. Use your Insights data to improve your posts and targeting methods. If you don’t have the insights option, switch your Instagram account to a business account. It’s free to do and gives you access to more analytics on your posts’ performance.
Engagement is always going to be the main key to every area of social media success. Continue interacting with comments and followers even on posts similar to your own so that other viewers will see your remarks and hopefully click onto your account to learn more about you.
If you’re already following these tips, then you may have made it onto an Explore page already. Keep it up and keep trying. Even if all your posts are perfect, it is an algorithm that is sharing the content, so it’s not going to happen every time. If you notice one post getting a lot more engagement than the others, then it’s safe to assume that it did appear on an Explore page. You can double check by clicking on your insights and seeing under unique viewers how many came from “other.” We hope these tips help you and your content get seen!
