Instagram has provided an update on its effort to maximize exposure potential for smaller creators, which it says has now resulted in significantly more opportunities for creators to reach a broader, more focused audience in the app.

In April last year, Instagram announced a new push to help original creators, by reducing the reach of aggregator accounts, and referring to original content, as opposed to re-posts, where possible.

In addition, Instagram also launched an algorithm update that sees new content get more initial reach via initial audience testing.

As explained by IG:

“When you post a reel on Instagram, it’s shown to both followers and non-followers. Among non-followers, your reel is initially recommended and shown to a small audience of people that we think will enjoy it. As this initial audience responds to these reels, the best-performing reels are then shown to a slightly wider audience, then the best of those are shown to an even wider group and so on. This process is designed to level the playing field by distributing content based on its engagement, not just the creator’s follower count.”

Instagram says that this update is now fully enabled, which has led to many creators seeing higher view counts as a result.

In addition, Instagram says that as overall video view time has increased in the app, that’s also led to more opportunities via this process, as more people watching more video gives creators more potential for exposure.

IG says that more and more people are now also recommending more Reels to friends “with people resharing reels over 4.5 billion times every day across Instagram and Facebook.”

That additional activity, combined with this updated recommendation logic, has meant more opportunity for smaller creators, which has helped many boost their exposure in the app.

In order to tap into this, Instagram recommends that creators post “recommendation-friendly content,” in order to meet the eligibility requirements for maximum exposure.

By “recommendation-friendly”, Instagram means that content needs to adhere to its Recommendation Guidelines, which advises creators to avoid posting “low-quality, objectionable, or sensitive” content, or material that may be inappropriate for younger viewers.

Instagram also recommends that creators:

Post regularly: As people often watch reels from accounts that they don’t follow, every reel that you post has the potential to reach a massive, new audience.
Create content that can stand on its own: If your goal is to reach new people, your reels should make sense to those who may not know you.
Amplify your content with audio: Incorporating audio to reels can bring them to life and grab attention with new audiences. Continue experimenting: Not everything that you post will be a hit, but you can learn each time. Your knowledge will compound over time as you continue to stretch your creativity and see what connects with people.
Embrace unpredictability: Recommendations make it more difficult to predict the reach of every post, but it’s the best way to give all creators a fair shot.