Tips for mastering social media algorithms
Today social networks are more than just platforms for socializing, if you have a business social networks can be the best platform to reach new customers, however it is not always easy so today we explain what they are and how they work the algorithms of the most important social networks of the moment.
Today social networks have millions of users and thousands of businesses that want to take advantage of this showcase, it is increasingly difficult to gain notoriety in them, which is why if we do not know the algorithm, it is most likely that our publications end up lost among thousands of other similar ones. Today we want to give you some tips to master these algorithms and your content will have the success you are looking for.
What are social network algorithms?
For a long time making a digital marketing campaign was limited to create strategies to appear in Google search results, while social networks were relegated to second place or we only used them to create a community, even when they were already a way to reach millions of people social networks had a somewhat simple search engine, so using it and appear in the recommendations of users depended a little on luck.
However, nowadays there is no digital marketing campaign that does not contemplate social networks and one of the objectives should be to reach the target audience organically, but to achieve this you need to know how the algorithms work in social networks.
Algorithms in social networks are programming rules that determine whether a publication is shown a lot or only a couple of times. These rules are not static, they evolve over time, but always to give the best experience to users, so it is important that you are up to date so that your profile has the reach you are looking for.
The most important rule
For a long time, it was thought that a publication with many likes was a publication that was going to be shared much more, however today this is not the case in any social network. In general, algorithms seek to give the user the best experience, so they detect publications or accounts that try to “cheat” (inflating likes or buying bots subscribers) and recommend them less.
One of the recommendations of SEO specialists is that you write for your audience, not for Google, and the algorithm values that quality and will recommend you sooner or later. The same thing happens in social networks, the most important thing is that you publish for your audience, not for the algorithm. Even if you trick the algorithm and position your content, if your audience doesn’t end up liking it, they will stop seeing and following you. Sooner or later, organic traffic from quality content will pay off and you will see that your content is more recommended.
In a nutshell, the golden rule for posting on social networks is that you offer quality content, something of value to your target audience.
Why social network algorithms are important.
Although we have already said that the most important thing is to create content of value to the audience, it always helps to know what the algorithms of social networks are, to help you understand what users are looking for. In addition, knowing the algorithm of each social network helps you understand what the trends are, so you can get inspired and create more attractive content.
There is no single algorithm for all social networks, each one has certain rules that determine whether or not to show certain content, which is why a publication may work better on Facebook, for example, but not on Twitter.
Facebook Algorithm
Facebook is one of the most used social networks today and its algorithm has changed significantly in recent years. Currently this social network determines a value known as “initial reach” to each publication, this value calculates the exposure to a greater or lesser number of users depending on whether or not it produces interaction. Another feature of Facebook is that it prioritizes new content and establishes a hierarchy that you should take into account: it recommends publications with videos uploaded from Facebook over images and posts with only text.
One of the most important features of Facebook is that if you want to make a paid campaign you will have the advantage that in this social network you will be able to segment quite precisely the audience you want your publication to reach.
Instagram Algorithm
It is no news that the content that Instagram likes the most is the audio visual content, so try to polish well all the images and videos you upload choosing from images, colors and audios.
In general, Instagram decides what to show each user by evaluating factors such as location, interactions and the content they usually see. In short, it prioritizes the content of interest to each user.
So, if you want to generate better results in this social network you must know your target audience well, clearly define your publications, so you can use the algorithm in your favor and recommend your profile.
Twitter Algorithm
Twitter is one of the social networks that has changed the most in recent months, especially after the acquisition of Elon Musk, although it seems that there are still some changes in process in Twitter algorithms, we can say that this social network no longer shows in the timeline of users the most recent tweets, the algorithm has left behind the chronological criterion to show the content with which the user is usually more involved. On the other hand, Twitter also takes into account the activity of your account, the more active it is the more it will recommend it, it also gives significant importance to the interaction of the content, so uploading polls on this social network can be of great help to generate interaction.
Tik Tok Algorithm
Tik Tok is the social network that has grown the most in recent years, what seemed to be a platform for teenagers, children and young people became a phenomenon with an audience of all ages, so do not make the mistake of leaving out this social network from your digital marketing strategy.
For this social network user activity is very important, if you want to succeed on this platform you must be sure to describe your content clearly. Remember that this platform is known for short videos, so in one minute or less you must attract the attention of the Tik Tok algorithm and users, choosing a striking and trendy audio and using effects and transitions that make your content dynamic.
YouTube Algorithm
YouTube is the video platform par excellence however, many brands do not create content for this platform, often because it seems more difficult than it is. If you decide to create content for this social network, you should keep in mind that today 2023 YouTube’s algorithm is promoting more content created specifically for shorts, and videos with vertical format. However, long content is still a format that users are still looking for, especially if they are tutorials, so these videos can be a good way to present your products.
General tips for success in social networks
While it is true that each social network has an algorithm that makes it unique, it is also true that there are certain things they share, one of them is the importance of describing the content, so no matter what social network you are posting on, it is important that you write a detailed video or image description, you cannot forget the hashtags or keywords.
Keywords are still important to position your content in any social network, in fact it is advisable to be aware of the trends to inspire you and create content related to these words.
Currently, all social networks give greater importance to audiovisual content, in this sense you must take care of the audio quality of your videos, because both for algorithms and for the public is a more valued features, you can have a very good video, with useful and valuable information, but if it is heard badly, your audience will not forgive you.
Today social networks are as important to position your brand as Google itself, in this sense the algorithm in each of them can be your best ally, so before spending time and resources to publish in them it is best to create a strategy knowing each algorithm. Tell us, do you have any other tips to achieve greater visibility in social networks?