September 28, 2026 · Blake Mischley
Instagram Explains Its Algorithm & The FAFSA Opens Early Again | Reach Report No. 28
September 28th, 2026 | The Weekly Reach Report | Instagram explains how its feed ranks posts, the FAFSA opens early again, and a chalk circle gets campus dancing.
Good morning everyone!
Welcome back to the Reach Report.
Fall is settling in on campus, and there's no shortage of moments to post about. This week, Instagram offered a closer look at how its feed decides what people see, and we rounded up some standout posts from across higher ed to give your fall calendar a boost.
Let's dive in!
What’s New In Social Media
Mosseri Breaks Down How Instagram Ranks Posts
Adam Mosseri, the Head of Instagram, posted a series of videos last week explaining how Instagram decides what shows up in the feed. He named four things that drive ranking. The first is originality, which means content from the account that made it rather than one reposting it. The second is recency, since newer posts get more exposure. The third is breaking content, where Instagram tests posts from smaller accounts with people who don't follow them yet. The fourth is bigger AI models reading more signals that make the algorithm actually multiple different algorithms. His advice was to judge results by engagement rate instead of total views or likes, and to keep experimenting because what lands one week may not the next, with Trial Reels as a low-risk way to test. Click through to his account to watch all four parts. If you don't already follow him, I'd recommend it, since he regularly answers questions about how the app works.
YouTube Adds Shorts Series and Thumbnail Testing
YouTube held its ‘Made On YouTube’ event last week, and two updates stand out for campus teams. Shorts series let you group Shorts into seasons and episodes, so a recurring format like a weekly student Q&A or a dorm tour series lives in one place viewers can watch in order. Creators will also soon be able to upload up to three thumbnails per video, and YouTube will show each viewer the one that fits them best. Studio is adding video A/B testing as well. Custom feeds, where viewers build a feed by describing what they want to watch, roll out to all US users this fall.
What’s New Across Higher Ed
The 2027 - 28 FAFSA Opened Early Again
The Department of Education opened the 2027-28 FAFSA on September 23. It is the earliest launch in the program's history for the second year in a row. The department says families can finish it in as little as 15 minutes. Students can now invite parents or other contributors by text or email, and later this fall returning students will see their information pre-filled from last year. The Class of 2026, the first to use last year's early form, hit a record 59.1% completion rate. FAFSA traditionally opened October 1, so this early launch is worth flagging. It's a good week for a reminder post, a financial aid office Q&A in Stories, or a how-to pinned in your highlights.
Weekly Higher Ed Social Snapshot
Here's how higher ed accounts performed this past week. Averages across the board, who grew fastest, who got the most engagement, and the posts that pulled the biggest numbers.
Weekly Social Media Benchmark Averages
How the average higher ed account performed over the past 7 days on each platform.
| Metric | TikTok | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| % Follower Growth | +0.23% | +0.04% | +0.68% |
| Engagement Rate | 1.9% | 0.2% | 3.7% |
| Posts Made | 5.7 | 6.8 | 2.6 |
Top Growers This Week
The accounts that gained the most followers over the past 7 days, ranked by % follower growth.
| TikTok | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. @byuhawaii +4.2% +1,253 followers | 1. @TheCitadel +1.7% +1,460 followers | 1. @salemstateuniversity +13.2% +450 followers |
| 2. @clarkcollege +3.2% +213 followers | 2. @truettmcconnell +1.6% +197 followers | 2. @sacstate +10.9% +896 followers |
| 3. @babsoncollege +3.1% +1,864 followers | 3. @SulRossState +1.5% +176 followers | 3. @PurdueUniversity +7.7% +200 followers |
Top Engagers This Week
The accounts whose posts from the past 7 days earned the highest average engagement rate — engagements (likes, comments, shares) on a post as a % of followers, averaged across the week’s posts. Minimum 3 posts.
| TikTok | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. @byuhawaii 113.6% 247,009 engagements | 1. @SulRossState 3.5% 3,344 engagements | 1. @salemstateuniversity 186.4% 21,343 engagements |
| 2. @regentuniversity 36.6% 100,578 engagements | 2. @Bowdoin 2.4% 2,007 engagements | 2. @fordhamuniversity 32.6% 61,552 engagements |
| 3. @sulrossstate 20.2% 5,998 engagements | 3. @salemstateuniversity 2.3% 4,194 engagements | 3. @sacstate 24.0% 15,003 engagements |
Top Instagram Posts This Week by Engagement Rate
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Top Facebook Posts This Week by Engagement Rate
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Top TikTok Posts This Week by Engagement Rate
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Trending Hashtags in Higher Ed
Fall officially arrived on campus feeds this week — schools marked the first day of autumn with foliage shots, celebrated their new U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, and rolled out the welcome mat for Family Weekend.
| 1. #bestcolleges | ▲ 2,250% |
| 2. #firstdayoffall | ▲ 1,860% |
| 3. #family | ▲ 1,500% |
Blake’s Bookmarks
A few posts that stopped my scroll this week and why I think they worked.
 | Hot Ones SpinoffUCR did their version of the famous talk show "Hot Ones," where they sat down with their Chancellor. It combines a format that already resonates with a chance to feature their Chancellor. I'm a big proponent of using chancellors and presidents as social media characters, but either way, this was a very well executed post! |
Chalk Circle To DanceThis was a unique concept I haven't seen done before, and it could certainly be replicated with your own spin. IUP drew a circle in chalk that simply said "Dance Here" and set up a hidden camera to capture the vibes. A very fun post to have going into a weekend. |  |
 | Trend Alert: Hoa Hoa HoaI didn't realize this was a trend until I read the comments. It's a reemerging trend where users celebrate the arrival of autumn by sharing moody, nostalgic edits inspired by the movie Twilight. As we get into fall, I expect to see a lot of aesthetic campus candids, so this can be a way to add some uniqueness beyond still shots. |
What’s New At Reach
New Blog: More Social Media Post Ideas
Not to keep flooding you with content ideas, but hey, that's why you're here! I took some time to analyze posts across the industry and find standouts that can give you extra inspiration as we head into fall. While some of the content is more time-of-year based, hopefully it sparks a few post ideas, or at the very least highlights what has worked for other institutions.
Catch Us At NACAC 2026
If you happen to be at NACAC 2026, make sure to stop by booth 1608 to say hi! If you or anyone from your institution will be attending, let me know. I'd love to find some time to connect.
That's it for this week.
I want to hear what you thought. What was actually useful, what you skipped, what you'd want more of. If there's a section missing, a metric you'd rather see, or a post you think belongs in Blake's Bookmarks, send it over. Just hit reply, I read all of it.
And if something in here was useful, forward it to whoever on your team needs it.
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Until next time.
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