Podcast Summary

Podcast: Good Content with Shannon McKinstrie
Episode: Train the Instagram Algorithm to Hype Up Your Content
Date: October 21, 2025
Host: Shannon McKinstrie

Episode Overview

In this episode, Shannon McKinstrie demystifies the Instagram algorithm, offering practical and up-to-date strategies to "train" the algorithm to amplify your content. She dives into how Instagram's system works, the shift towards interest-based recommendations (especially after TikTok's rise), and delivers actionable tips to help listeners make their content irresistible not just to followers, but to the platform itself. Throughout, Shannon’s tone is honest, encouraging, and just a little sassy, reassuring listeners that good content with smart tactics always wins over algorithm anxiety.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding Instagram's Current Algorithm

• Algorithm Evolution (01:05)

  • Shannon explains that Instagram’s algorithm has shifted from being strictly relationship-driven (showing you friends and family) to an “interest-based” model—similar to TikTok.
  • “The algorithm that a lot of people were coaching four or five years ago, it’s completely different.” (02:18)
  • Today, Instagram surfaces content based on user interest and engagement patterns—so your content needs to stand out to the right people.

• Don’t Blame the Algorithm (04:09)

  • She reminds listeners that sudden dips in reach are often due to backend changes, ad cycles, or shifts in user behavior, not because your content suddenly became “trash.”
  • “At the end of the day, the Instagram algorithm is not changing as much as these experts want you to think it is so that you buy their courses." (03:32)

2. Algorithm Analogy: The Grocery Store Display

• Shannon likens the Instagram feed to a grocery or department store display:
  • “Everything you want that’s on your shopping list...all those products were right when you walked in. That’s what the algorithm is trying to do.” (05:52)
  • The lesson: Your content should either make viewers feel like they instantly belong or address a pain point they recognize.

3. How to Help the Algorithm Hype Up Your Content

• Make it Clear and Easy for the Algorithm (07:44)

  • Use specific identifiers (keywords, locations, demographics) in your reels, carousels, and captions so the algorithm can “know” what your post is about and who to serve it to.
  • “You make it easy for the algorithm to know who to show your content to.” (07:45)

• Local Business Tips

  • If you’re local, put your city or region in the hook/title/first slide:
    • Example: “My perfect three day itinerary for Dallas Fort Worth.” (08:11)
    • For a business: “POV: You find the best bottomless brunch in Memphis for you and your girlies.” (08:40)

• Non-local/Niche Content (09:23)

  • Use “identifiers”: demographics or descriptors that make your audience say, “That’s me!”
  • “If you’re a fashion blogger…are you petite and in your 40s? Like, ‘petite moms in your 40s, this outfit right here…’” (09:38)

4. Keywords, SEO, and Hashtags

• Key phrases (“identifiers”) belong in your content cover, captions, and hashtags.

  • “Hashtags still help categorize your content, no matter what anyone says. Do they help you blow up your reach like they used to? No. But they still serve a purpose.” (12:18)

• Hashtags act as SEO; choose them wisely for discovery—not just for trends.

  • “Until they’re gone, I will continue to use them. And I love me some hashtags.” (12:45)

5. Real-Time Case Study: Shannon’s Algorithm Feed

• Shannon scrolls her own feed as a live example:
  • Fall fashion content appeared because she’s been searching for that—“This is literally a perfect example of how she trained the algorithm to show it to me. And I’ve never seen this creator before.” (14:10)
  • Parenting content shows up due to her engagement as a mom—"The next time your child doesn’t clean up after themself, try this one sentence response.” (15:51)
  • Nostalgic interior design is fed to her because she’s a millennial engaging with similar posts—“Lisa Frank, everything. Right? So there you go. The algorithm knows…that I’m a millennial.” (17:06)

6. Actionable Takeaways: Train the Algorithm Like a Marketer

• Find and use the words your target audience uses to describe themselves.
• Apply “identifiers” not just in post content, but everywhere: hooks, covers, captions, hashtags.
  • “Really think about what are those demographics about them? What are those trendy sayings—or maybe not so trendy sayings—that they say? What do they consider themselves?” (18:22)
• Use seasonality to your advantage: Start creating holiday (Christmas, etc.) or trending content early so the algorithm begins to notice and categorize you accordingly.
  • “Anyone that’s out there that do interior design…you better be creating that Christmas content now.” (20:30)
• Bottom line: “The algorithm will actually be your hype man. Love you, friend.” (21:17)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Overthinking the Algorithm:

  • “It’d be so easy for me to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s the algorithm here, and buy my course and I’ll solve it for you.’ No, it’s user behavior, typically—like, I would say, 97% of the time.” (04:03)

• On Defining Your Audience:

  • “Your content has to lure them in. They either need to feel like they belong instantly or it’s something they’ve been looking for. It’s a pain point. They need to see themselves in the content.” (06:41)

• On the Power of Identifiers:

  • “When I say identifiers, that is it. You don’t just say ‘fall wardrobe’—for who? ... Now, why am I seeing this? Because I’ve been absorbing a lot of fall outfit content…” (13:56)

• On Hashtag Usage:

  • “Hashtags still help categorize your content, no matter what anyone says.” (12:18)

• On Giving Your Content a Boost:

  • “You deserve your content to be seen, and there’s people out there dying to see your content. They are, I promise. And just a few tweaks, friend—a few tweaks and it will go crazy. Promise.” (18:02)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:05] Algorithm changes & evolution
• [03:32] Addressing algorithm myths and course sellers
• [05:52] Grocery store & retail analogy for content
• [07:44] Making the algorithm’s job easy
• [10:55] The power of local content and geographic identifiers
• [12:18] Hashtag defense and SEO tactics
• [14:10-17:06] Live Instagram feed scroll & case study
• [18:22] Action plan: Find and use your audience’s descriptors
• [20:30] Seasonal/trend-specific content advice

Summary

Shannon McKinstrie cuts through the Instagram algorithm drama, emphasizing that success is about understanding both interest-based systems and your audience’s self-identifiers. Whether you’re a local business or operate in a specific niche, using strategic keywords, crafting irresistible hooks, leveraging relevant hashtags, and tapping into seasonal trends will “train” the algorithm to serve your content to the right people. Shannon offers both encouragement and actionable tips, making the algorithm feel less “spooky” and more like a hype man you can recruit through clever content choices and a strong sense of your audience’s identity.