Instagram classifies content according to 4 criteria and their subcriteria (which isn’t complex… at all). To simplify, we’ve put feeds and stories together (as their subcriteria are similar). They’re all ranked according to unique “signals”.
| Feeds & Stories | Explore Page | Reels |
| Following: Users see the most recent posts from the people they follow. | Info about the post: metric analytics including likes, comments, shares, saves and speed of interaction. | Activity: gives the algo tips on what users might be interested in based on interaction with similar content. |
| Favourite: Users see posts and content from creators they’ve got bell notifications on for. | Interaction history: how users have previously engaged or interacted with a stranger’s post. | Interaction history: how users have previously engaged or interacted with a stranger’s post. |
| Default: The main home view when opening the app. | Activity: measured by posts users have interacted with (likes, comments etc.) | Reel info: signals about the content from the audio track, pixels, template, its popularity. |
| Interaction: The home feed and stories is categorised by “close friends and family”. That’s why your home page is probably full of relatives, university friends and pets. | Info about the person who posted: how frequently the user interacts with that account over 30 days or so. | Info about the person who posted: focus on the popularity of the creator and share with users that would find it valuable. (Give everyone a chance to find their audience.) |
Your explore page is designed for exactly that: exploring and discovering new things relevant to you. This is where most creators want to be featured, as it’s pushed out to thousands of new potential eyes and followers.
When you open the reels tab, you’ll notice that the creators are strangers or accounts you don’t follow. Similar to the explore page, the most relevant content is shared according to the sound, content, prevalence and the creator. Note that Mosseri said reels will be dominated by “smaller creators”.
Did you know: Reels get 22% more interaction than regular static posts?
