YouTube video transcript

As always, the Instagram algorithm is ever-changing. Literally, according to the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, it changes every single day. But, it's not your job to worry about the dang algorithm. That's my job. It's your job to grow your brand, grow your business, and it's my job to tell you what you need to know. And so, in today's

episode, I'm going to be sharing with you the six key algorithm updates, many of them coming directly from the CEO of Instagram himself. And these are the most important updates that you need to know heading into Q4 of 2026. Number one, the first update is that Instagram is doubling down on their focus on

retention. What I mean by that is retention for the last few months or so has been the number one factor that determines the growth or the amount of views that your reel is going to get. To say it another way, if people are watching your reel for longer, your reel will get more views because of it.

That's been true for the last few months, and retention has mattered for the last few years, but right now Instagram is weighting retention heavier than it ever has before. It is caring about the view duration more than it ever has in the past. Now, there's multiple pieces to retention that we need to discuss, because I don't think

it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that if you get someone to watch 100% of, say, a 15-second video, that's better than getting someone to watch 100% of a 5-second video. And when you look at your insights on any particular reel, Instagram lists skip rate as the number one most important factor that

they look at. But, I just told you that retention is the most important factor. And I would actually argue that the most important factor for virality is share rate. And so, if I've done an adequate job of confusing you, now let me simplify it with an analogy. Skip rate is the bouncer standing at the door of