My POV on Instagram with my 11 years of using it.

Hit 1 billion users worldwide, Instagram is more valuable to Facebook with the unique platform that combines photo, video, and shopping. Nearly 100 million contents have been uploaded to the feed each day. I spent so much time on Instagram, my first post was in 2010 when the platform was a small community of people who loves to make their photos look old and vintage (and yes only for iPhone users!). After being acquired by Facebook in 2012, Instagram’s number of users has been skyrocket and has become one of Facebook’s most utilized placement for advertisers. I’m not writing about the chance for you to grow your business here but as a long-time user (11 years active) this is what I’ve learned what Instagram loves about me or you or anyone who is still active on this app.

Instagram Loves When You Check Your Number Of Likes.

Instagram’s like system has become the key action for many apps that entry to the market. The small little heart shape button is an indicator of how much your content is worth for FOMO people like me. I love that in the past when you tap the heart button and there was a middle heart shape icon popped up on the photo. But this is where the most of users engage with. The number of likes has become something on this platform. It can be how much you are being loved by your friends, or it can determine your future and career, or even how much you can make money out of it. This function dominated users to constantly check their like numbers and it results in the Instagram app has been turned on your phone daily, hourly, or whatever that makes you become a value product called “Active Users”

Instagram Loves When You Post Photo of a Person.

Behind the artificial intelligence of Instagram where it works as a masterpiece of learning and detecting porno, abused vaccines, Covid-19 content like human eyes. The AI also knows that people come to Instagram to see what is happening with their friends and the social. That’s when the AI starts to push photos with real people in there to be up on the feed. I’ve learned that at the same time, same account, same day, same hashtag. Photo with people has more likes and engagement. The AI completely scans your photo no matter what it is and if they found a human in it, you get the score to be on the feed. And yes, “active users” love to see this more than any other thing else.

Instagram Loves When You being curious about people and gossipping.

Have you ever go to Instagram and skip the main feed to search the location instead? Or how many times have you tried to find who is in this photo with tagging function? These little finctuions are made for curious people like me. And it makes me spend more time on the app. For me every time before I book a nice hotel, I also went to Instagram and search the hotel in place tab, and see what is it look like IRL, where is the most place people take the shot, who went there, what color should I wear for the pool. By doing this behavior I already spent more time on the app than others. That makes me a highly “Reveuable Active Users”

Instagram Loves When They Know You Are A Real Human.

Being an Active User doesn’t mean you just tap likes. They know what is a bot and what is a human. The activities have been scanned from scrolling the feed, tap likes, search hashtags, messaging, engaging in the post. These make your account district from the bot. So when Instagram knows you are not a bot they start to scores your account and gives rewards such as push your post to the top of the feed and push it to the explore page. You will need to engage the most as possible to keep your account pop-out. Try comment in many posts, like the celebrity’s post, share the post to friends, tag people in the post you like, make a comment like human. Then the system knows you are a real person and your feed will not be under 6 feet limbo among the none likes counted photo.

In the end, the more time you spend on Instagram mean you help the app grow a chance for advertising, you have grown more impressions of ads and keep the company running the business. I’m not against this, I love Instagram and I will continue to be an active user for a while. The next time you open the feed, Let’s see if the first post is a person or a mountain?

What about you? Why you left Instagram? Let me know in the comment.