A study of 10,000 Reels found that videos featuring speech (direct-to-camera or voiceover) have a significantly higher engagement rate and increase average watch time by nearly 25%. This data contradicts the common strategy of relying solely on trending audio for Reels.
Instagram's crackdown on aggregator accounts now specifically targets content with "low effort edits." Simply adding a border, new captions, or a watermark to someone else's video is no longer enough to avoid suppression. The algorithm flags this as unoriginal, penalizing accounts that rely on this tactic.
After posting a carousel, use Instagram Insights to identify which slide gets the most likes. Then, use the new reorder feature to move that top-performing slide to the first position. This "hook swap" strategy ensures your most engaging content is seen first, maximizing the post's effectiveness.
Instagram's Adam Mosseri confirms that while sharing feed posts to Stories is effective for driving traffic to that post, it generally leads to lower overall Story views for that day. Creators must choose between maximizing feed post engagement or maximizing Story viewership on any given day.
Instead of constantly creating new content, "upcycle" evergreen posts by republishing them. The speaker's rule is to repost content every 90 days. Continue reposting a piece of content until it underperforms three times in a row, giving each post multiple chances to go viral.
According to Instagram's CEO, the type of engagement matters for your reach goals. Content that gets more shares is prioritized for "disconnected reach" (non-followers). Content that gets more likes is more likely to be shown to your existing followers. Tailor your content's call-to-action to your specific reach objective.
Data shows a split in performance between post types. Instagram's algorithm favors Reels for reach, showing them to more people. However, audiences are more likely to engage with Carousels, which see higher engagement rates (6.9% median for Carousels vs. 3.3% for Reels). A balanced strategy should include both formats.