Plus, introducing Content Feeds! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
We're officially one month out from Buffer's annual team retreat in Antalya, Türkiye, and the excitement levels are higher than ever! There's something uniquely special about getting a remote team together IRL. For many of us, these in-person moments become a source of inspiration that fuels our work long after we've returned home. When we met up in Cancun last year, it was our first team wide retreat since 2020. So we were more focused on making sure that things went smoothly. This time around though, we're taking things up a notch — especially with social. The Content team (Hailley, Kirsti, and me) will be sharing content ourselves and empowering the rest of the Buffer team to share the retreat experience on social media – before, during, and after. So keep an eye on our socials for all the retreat highlights and behind-the-scenes content. Let's get into it. Have a lovely weekend, and we'll see you next Friday! |
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| Warmly, Tami & the Buffer team |
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💌 What's in this issue – 4 minute read |
💻 The latest content on the blog 📰 Social media news and features to note 🪂 Get up to speed on the Instagram algorithm - 🎬 Our latest YouTube video
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👇 The latest from the blog |
How to edit TikTok videos to make your next video the best yet Get inspired with this list of real-life social media campaign examples Learn the sizes of every single image you'll need on all the major social networks Get our list of the 11 best social media analytics tools Check out 35 side projects from the Buffer team
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How the Instagram Algorithm Works in 2025 |
Instagram has multiple algorithms — not just one — and they all work differently across the app's four main surfaces: feed, stories, reels, and explore. If you're serious about growing on Instagram in 2025, understanding how each of these works is your best bet for creating content that actually gets seen. Let's break it down. First, the big picture: Instagram doesn't just have an algorithm — it uses a combination of algorithms, classifiers, and processes to personalize each part of the app. That means what works for the Feed won't necessarily work for stories or reels. Here's how to think about each part: Feed: Your first connection to your audience This is where most people start when they open Instagram — and it's where Instagram decides what from people you follow is worth showing you. It ranks posts based on: - How you engage (likes, comments, saves, DMs)
- Post performance (speed + volume of engagement)
- Your relationship with the poster
- How likely you are to interact with the post
To win here: - Use carousels (Instagram re-serves them to users who didn't swipe the first time)
- Add audio to image posts for better engagement
- Optimize your image dimensions to avoid cropping issues
Stories: Your place to go deep with existing followers Instagram Stories are designed for people's closest friends — not necessarily for discovery. Instagram ranks stories based on: - How often someone views your stories
- How often they engage with them (e.g. replies, reactions)
- How close Instagram thinks you are (based on DMs, tags, etc.)
To win here: - Use polls, stickers, and questions to spark interaction
- Share behind-the-scenes or complementary content to what's on your feed
- Re-share user-generated content to deepen community ties
Reels: Your discovery engine The reels tab is where strangers find you. Instagram looks at: - A user's past reels activity
- How they've engaged with your content before (even if they don't follow you)
- The audio/visual elements of your video
- Whether the video is being DMed a lot (this one really matters)
To win here: - Post follow-ups after a reel pops — ride the wave of attention
- Include text in the first frame for sound-off viewers
- Avoid reposts with TikTok watermarks
Explore: Your personal discovery dashboard This grid is built around what you might like based on who you engage with, what those people like, and what's currently trending. Instagram evaluates: - A post's popularity (especially how quickly it gets engagement)
- A user's past explore behavior
- Any prior interaction with the account
- Shared interests via social graph mapping
To win here: - Use trending audio (but only when it makes sense)
- Keep reels under 90 seconds for better retention
- Track which posts get the most shares and replicate those patterns
Bottom line? Instagram's algorithms aren't trying to trick you — they're trying to surface content people want. That means engaging, useful, and consistent content is your best strategy. |
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🤳 What's happening in social? |
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📈 "I doubled my follower count with Buffer" |
We pride ourselves on being an excellent tool for creators and business owners to grow on social media — and our users are more than happy to back us up. Reid says: "Doubled [my] follower count and engagement has gone up 4x" Want to skyrocket your growth? Get started with Buffer today! |
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Productivity Tips + Tools for Consistency with Anna Burgess Yang |
In this episode of Buffer Chat, Anna Burgess Yang, a solopreneur and content marketing expert, unpacks the tools and strategies that help her maintain a consistent and efficient social media presence. |
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One last thing before you go 💟 |
Take this 2-minute survey to help us make this newsletter exactly what you want it to be. |
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