Instagram encourages use of ‘Edits’ app with short-term boost

Instagram head Adam Mosseri has shared two points that may influence content reach on the platform, while clarifying a common misconception about engagement practices.

Mosseri said videos created in Meta’s new “Edits” app currently receive a small reach boost when shared to Instagram. He described this as a temporary measure intended to raise awareness of the app.

“For now, Edits does help a little bit with reach. It’s not going to be something that’s going to be around forever. Do not just use Edits to try to pass through content [because] we can check for that. But we are trying to bootstrap the app, and we’ve also found that predicting whether or not you’re going to tap on the ‘Edits’ button is something that we can add to ranking, and therefore hopefully show more of this kind of content to people who are interested in it, and who are going to be interested in the app itself.”

On another point, Mosseri addressed what he described as a “myth” that interacting with content similar to one’s own is necessary to maximise reach.

“One myth I learned recently about Instagram is that you have to interact with similar content to the content that you create to maximize your reach. That is definitely not the case. It’s great to interact with people in your comments, and with your followers in general, but what you decide to consume is not going to affect who you reach with your content.”

“Feel free to engage with the content that you love, then try to create content that your followers love.”

While engaging with accounts in a similar niche could still raise awareness of a profile and result in more interaction, Mosseri said this is not a direct factor in Instagram’s algorithmic recommendations.