Social Media Algorithms and How to Conquer Them
By Ashlyn Rochester, Communications Specialist
The key to have successful social media content is understanding the platforms you’re posting on. When you understand how the social media algorithms work, you can overcome them with lasting, successful content.
Social media algorithms exist to sort through the large volume of content being posted every day in order to choose posts a user will engage with. In short, it’s a ranking system for content. Any post on a platform that has “suggested for you” in a feed means the algorithm has chosen this post in hopes the user engages with it.
Social media algorithms update constantly, so it’s important to be on top of them so you can change your marketing plan, if necessary. And each platform uses different algorithms to decide what to promote. Here are some of the most important algorithms to know:
Facebooks Newsfeed Algorithm
Facebook is great for sharing videos and photos easily, so it’s a popular platform for many communicators. When posting to Facebook next time, keep in mind that the algorithm scores posts by its relevancy. Relevancy is calculated by predictions about each user’s potential interest in your post. To cut to the point: Facebook utilizes users’ history of posts they liked and engaged with when promoting your post to the right audience.
Twitter Timeline Algorithm
Once upon a time, Twitter use to chronologically display posts. But since 2016, that’s no longer true. Since then, they implemented an algorithm-based timeline so users see posts they may be interested in. The algorithm likes when its suers engage with tweets, so higher engagement in your Tweets will give you more visibility. In addition to users interacting with your content, once you have an established audience and engaging content then your interactions will boost how many people see your posts, too.
Instagram Feed Algorithm
Besides promoting content that has been interacted with, Instagram also uses hashtags. Hashtags helps users find more specific content. Instagram’s feed is curated by individual interest, how many followers the user has, how often the user posts, and when the post was published. Relationships are also important on Instagram since people are more likely to see content from people they follow, message, comment, like, etc.
LinkedIn Feed Algorithm
LinkedIn will rate a post as spam, low-quality, or high-quality. The goal is to aim for high-quality as it will rank higher in the algorithm. LinkedIn will also use their early engagement feature to gauge how audiences respond to the content before promoting it further. Lastly, LinkedIn will utilize your connections to promote your content to your closer connections.
How To Conquer Social Media Algorithms
- Posting regularly to increase organic traffic and audience engagement.
- Share informative and relevant information.
- Create eye-catching posts.
- Link to your website whenever possible.
- Ask questions to interact and engage with your audience and followers.
- Leverage giveaways and prize drawing to attract new followers.
- Encourage and respond to followers.
- Avoid clickbait, spam, or misleading titles.
- Post when your audience is most likely to be online.
- Have fun! Experimenting with what new thing work will teach you a lot.