21/10/2024
Instagram users, such as you and I, might have suddenly noticed a sudden influx of posts with the infamous caption 🧐 :
“No problem! Here's the information about the Mercedes CLR GTR: The Mercedes CLR GTR is a remarkable racing car celebrated for its outstanding performance and sleek design. Powered by a potent 6.0-liter V12 engine, it delivers over 600 horsepower. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h takes approximately 3.7 seconds, with a remarkable top speed surprising 320 km/h.🥇Incorporating adventure aerodynamic features and cutting-edge stability technologies, the CLR GTR ensures exceptional stability and control, particularly during high-speed maneuvers. 💨Originally priced at around $1.5 million, the Mercedes CLR GTR is considered one of the most exclusive and prestigious racing cars ever produced. 💰Its limited production run of just five units adds to its rarity, making it highly sought after by racing enthusiasts and collectors worldwide. 🌎”
Despite the race car caption being completely irrelevant to the content, posts have been observed to amass tens of thousands of likes consistently.😂
So, if you're like me, scratching your racing helmets wondering why it works, and how you could use it to better your account's engagement?🤔🤔
Here is a break down of why this caption works:
The caption is an AI-generated paragraph reminiscent of advertising blurbs. The first post with the caption was made as a car-related Instagram Reel on January 21st, 2024 by Instagram user .oo8. In February, Instagram user made a post brandishing the same caption, amassing over 400,000 likes. In the following month, Instagram user made a reel with the caption and amassed an impressive 11 million likes.
Since then, the caption has been predominantly seen usage from meme accounts. However, there has been a recent influx, of both professional accounts and official accounts, following the trend and using the caption.
For those of you wondering, yes, the caption has been flagged as AI-generated by GPTZero
Why Instagram's algorithm promotes the caption?
Blatantly put, Instagram's algorithm is a large-scale, pattern recognition and analysis model that helps the app predict trends and match users with posts that they are most likely to enjoy; Like a private chef serving us what we like best.
On an individual user level, this is done through something Instagram calls "signals". Signals can be understood as a unit of measurement for the receptiveness of a post in relation to a specific user. Signals are derived from a wide range of traits the user exhibited over their recent Instagram usage period, from how long the user views a reel to the category of posts the user is more likely to share. Think of Signals as stickers the teacher awards a student for doing a good job. The more suitable a post is for a user, the more stickers the algorithm gives it.
On a broader level, Instagram's algorithm functions as a pattern recognition model for predicting future trends. This is where keywords and content prominence begin to play a part. In the 'Mercedes CLR GTR Copypasta Caption', there is an abundance of keywords and phrases such as "exclusive and prestigious", "rarity", and "highly sought after" which could trick the algorithm into believing that the content being shared is more exclusive, thus deserving a greater promotion. Furthermore, analysts have identified the algorithm's system for ranking posts is biased towards posts it deems 'informational'. As the caption is informative in nature, it earns extra brownie points from the algorithm.
Keen, Rapid, Idyllic, Trustworthy, Accomplished. Krita : Guild of Creators Visionary. Pioneering. Transformative.
