Social media networks are extremely powerful resources that businesses can use to reach audiences in ways they never before could. These platforms provide businesses with free ways to post messages to reach customers, but those messages will only be seen if they rank highly according to the platform’s algorithm, explains digital marketing consultant Robert Arloro.
These algorithms are constantly changing, which makes it challenging for anyone to consistently meet the requirements laid out to ensure the content is placed prominently in the feed of your audience.
Still, by understanding the basics of how social media algorithms work, you can figure out how you can use them to your advantage.
What Are Algorithms?
Algorithms are complex mathematical rules that determines how data behaves. The algorithms are used by social media companies to automatically determine where content should rank in search results as well as in ads.
Pages on these platforms will display content in a particular order based upon the rules set forth by the algorithm. It’s important, then, to ensure that your content adheres to the best practices of the algorithm so that your content ranks highly.
If it doesn’t, then it’s less likely that your content will be seen, which makes it harder to actually reach your intended audience.
How Each Platform Uses Algorithms
While all of the main social media platforms use algorithms to organize and rank content, each of them does so in a slightly different way. It’s important, then, to understand the specifics of the platforms you are using so that you can tailor the content to that platform’s algorithm.
It’s possible that you may need to tweak your content for each individual platform, even if you wish to post the same exact content across multiple social media channels.
Facebook’s algorithm, for example, uses four signals to determine how content is ranked — recency, relationship, content type and popularity. Paid content on the site is ranked in a separate way, revolving around relevance, customer response and engagement.
LinkedIn’s algorithm uses similar factors of engagement and connection, meaning that content that is both relevant and strong is what’s likely to rank highest on the site.
Twitter also integrates engagement as a major factor in its algorithm, but also prefers content that includes other media such as photos, GIFs and/or videos.
How to Use the Algorithms to Your Advantage
Robert Arloro says that it’s very important to understand how the particular algorithm at the site you are using works so that you can tailor your content to it. That being said, there are some general guidelines you can follow no matter what social media platform you’re posting to.
First, you want to post relevant content to your audience, whether it be free content or paid content. You want the content to be recent, meaning you’re updating your page frequently, and you want people to engage with that content.
The more direct connections you make on the platforms with users who fit into your customer persona, the more likely your content is to be served not only to them, but to other users like them. Original content is also always preferred, especially in the current environment where so much external content can be misleading.
By following these basic tips, and integrating platform-specific strategies into your content, you can use social media algorithms to your advantage to reach more people.
About Robert Arloro
Robert Arloro is a digital marketer and marketing consultant with more than a decade of experience in the field. He currently works with businesses of all sizes to help them reach their digital marketing goals. Robert’s expertise includes SEO, social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, and website optimization. When he’s not working, Mr. Arloro enjoys spending time with his family, playing soccer, and traveling.
