Ahhh the explore page. The crowning glory of Instagram. The pinnacle of growth and discoverability. It’s not hard to see why landing there is one of the top desires of any marketer. But for those of you who aren’t too familiar with the explore page or are wondering why this place is so coveted let me break it down for you. 

The explore page is a section within the app where Instagram curates and recommends a collection of content it believes you will be interested in. You can find it by simply clicking on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the app, right beside the home button. 

According to Instagram and I quote, “Posts in Search & Explore are automatically selected based on a variety of factors including:

• Instagram accounts you follow.
• Photos and videos you like on Instagram.
• Who you’re connected to on Instagram.

Essentially it’s curated based on how you interact on the app. So, why do you want your content to be featured here?

Well the answer to that is pretty simple. Having your content shown on the explore page will give you exposure to more people. This helps to boost your engagement, increase your followers and if you’ve been strategic about the content you’ve shared and included a call to action, it can also help to increase your conversions.

So now you know what the explore page is and why you want to be featured there, let’s chat about HOW you can actually make this happen! 

Tip #1: Create interesting content people actually care about

What does that mean? It simply means you need to create content that gets people to stop the scroll and ENGAGE with what you shared. The best way to do this is to have a thorough understanding of who your ideal client or customer is. When you know exactly who this person is and what makes them tick, you can create content that speaks directly to them! For more detailed information on how I create content that lands me on the explore page regularly, feel free to check out The Insta Glow Up Bundle, which is a collection of my best content creation resources that teaches you how you can create content that stops the scroll and lands more dream clients and customers. I’ll leave that linked in the show notes if you want to check it out!

Tip #2: Research the content you’re seeing on your own explore page

I always say that the best way to learn is from someone who already has the results you want so what better place to do research than your very own explore page. The posts you see on your explore page have already been successful in being chosen to feature here so take a look at the type of content you see. What do you notice about these pieces of content? What makes them stand out? What formats do they use? Are they posting reels, carousel posts, infographics, memes, quotes of photos? Take note of these things and then start creating your own content, incorporating what you’ve learnt.

Tip #3: Optimise your content for discoverability and engagement

The best way to optimise for discoverability is to use targeted keywords and hashtags. Instagram has come out and said that they look at hashtags as a way of understanding what your content is about and categorising it accordingly. So what you want to do here is choose hashtags that are highly relevant to your content and the ideal clients or customers you’re trying to reach. This will help Instagram to choose the right audience to show your content to. My favourite app for researching hashtags is called Flick. Flick allows you to find quality hashtags in a matter of minutes, organise, manage and copy hashtags with ease and uncover which hashtags are performing best. I’ll leave it linked in the show notes for this episode if you’re interested in checking it out.

Optimising your content for engagement simply means including a call to action specifying the engagement you want to receive. If you’ve created a high-value, educational carousel or infographic, you can encourage your audience to save it. Or, if you shared a relatable and entertaining reel, you could ask your audience to share it or tag a friend in the comments who can also relate. As I mentioned earlier, engagement is one of the key ranking signals the Instagram algorithm uses to determine how a post is performing. The more engagement you get on your post the higher the chance of Instagram showing it on the explore page. 

Tip #4: Create reels

I couldn’t create this list of tips without including reels. Look, reels are here to stay. They’ve been around for over 2 years now and aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Instagram is still prioritising reel content over other types of posts so by simply creating reels, you’ll increase your chances of being featured on explore significantly. I have a whole podcast episode all about how to create reels that explode your reach. Click here to listen to that episode.

Tip #5: Post your content at the right time

If you’re sharing your content when your audience isn’t active then you’re not going to get much engagement and this will hurt your chances of landing on the explore page. What you want to do is look at your insights to see when your audience is most active and post during these times.

Tip #6: Regularly review your Instagram insights

If you’re not reviewing your insights regularly, you’re missing out on some seriously valuable intel! Instagram provides you with helpful data like which of your posts have the most saves, shares, likes and comments. You can even see which of your posts resulted in follows and clicks to your website! Using this data you can determine what content is working well and engaging your audience and what isn’t performing so well so that you can create more content your audience loves. 

Landing on the explore page isn’t a simple task but it certainly provides an amazing opportunity for your business. By implementing these tips, you can greatly increase your likelihood of being featured and reaching new audiences and potential clients and customers. 

If you found value in this post and are looking for more tailored help with your Instagram marketing please feel free to click here book a strategy call with me where you can learn more about how I help business owners like you leverage Instagram to stand out as experts and land more dream clients and customers.