The Instagram Algorithm holds many secrets. There are so many strong opinions on it, how do you know what's real? Let's bust some myths together.

1. Spamming is bad (FACT OR MYTH?) MOSTLY FACT (at least right now). Be authentic with your liking and comments. If you like too many posts too quickly, you can get flagged for "inauthentic behavior", and be given a timeout or shadowbanned, slowing your reach for a time. Leave thoughtful comments that relate to the post to maximize impact.

2. Buying followers helps you get started (FACT OR MYTH) MYTH. It doesn't matter how many followers you have if they don't engage your content regularly. Fake followers are often bots that won't like or comment on your posts, and these accounts might reflect poorly on your account. Engagement should be your focus, because the algorithm will reward your organic reach if you good engagement rates. Be sure to use targeted niche hashtags (50k uses or less if your account is small) that are relevant to your content. Encourage your followers to leave comments and share. Engage top posts from those hashtags regularly- comment, like, and follow to grow an authentic community.

3. Follow/Unfollow doesn't work anymore (FACT OR MYTH) MYTH. Follow/unfollow is a viable way to grow your account! Be sure to follow people based on niche hashtags or people who's content is similar to yours. You can go to an account that's similar to yours, but much larger, and follow their followers. We suggest liking the first post of each person you follow. When it comes to unfollowing, go to your profile and click on following. Go to the "Least Interacted With" list of 50 people (available on most accounts). Unfollow these people. You can follow and unfollow between 50-100 people each day. It's okay to follow more than you unfollow when you're first starting.

4. Saves are powerful (FACT OR MYTH) FACT. The actual metric of how powerful a Save is is still pretty unclear. However, saving is an indication that your content is interesting enough to be revisited later, so Instagram will favor its organic reach. If you are doing carousels, one way to promote saves is to pack your post with a checklist of tips and remind them to save it in the final slide or caption. With quality content, these prompts will bring in Saves easily.

5. Hashtags help you get seen (FACT OR MYTH) FACT. Without hashtags, the only people seeing your content are the people who follow you. Hashtags are crucial to organically growing your following. You're able to use up to 30 hashtags per post, which gives you 30 more places on Instagram to get seen. Hashtags are free advertising, take advantage of them! If your following is small, you should start with less popular but targeted hashtags to reach people interested in your topic.

6. Posts are more important than Stories/Reels/IGTV (FACT OR MYTH) MYTH. While photo posts are important, Stories and Reels seem to be engaged with more than ever before. By posting Stories daily, you're able to stay at the forefront of someone's Story lineup when they open the app. Regular stories also reinforce that you're an active, real user- not a bot. Reels are 15-30 seconds long, and if you're able to capture their attention for that long, there's a good chance you can get them to follow you. Posts can make it to the Explore Page, but so can Reels, Stories, and IGTV episodes. Take advantage of all of Instagram's features if you can, rather than simply focusing on Posts.