Already before Social media your digital marketing had to meet certain technical requirements. Many marketers have SEO The question of whether to write for potential customers or for the search engines is not entirely new - so the question of social media algorithms is not entirely new. In this guide, we want to show you how the algorithms of the major platforms work and what you need to know in order to produce better content that really gets noticed.
The logic behind social media algorithms - the end of chronology
The fact that the algorithms of Facebook, Instagram and Co. also have a bitter aftertaste is evident in scandals such as the one involving Cambridge Analytica anchored. But the filter bubbles are also a result of those algorithms that give users only relevant content want to display. Whereby the technical solution of a subjective term like relevance presents a certain problem, which is exactly where the algorithm comes in.
At the very beginning, the algorithm is a term from mathematics and information technology and describes a set of rules that is supposed to solve a problem based on various parameters. The problem for the social media is the financial exploitability of the content, which in return means that User bound longer and their Interests known should be.
Very simple Social media platforms (such as Facebook or Instagram were in the beginning) could use a chronological timeline where content was fed into the feed in real time. With more channels subscribed to, this no longer makes sense; instead, users receive content that they are more likely to enjoy and interact with. With this tactic, platforms are pursuing one goal: a better User Experience and a higher retention time. At the same time, however, the interaction is one of the statistics to be evaluated.
The more users interact with content, the more relevant algorithms consider it to be, the more users see it - this is how viral content is created.
The exact parameters in the background are always changing, and for understandable reasons the social networks are reluctant to show their cards. If there were a simple trick, the network would be easy to manipulate and the algorithm would be leveraged. Instead, as an advertising company or representative of your professional channel, you need to ask yourself how you can create relevant content.
No social media hacks, but guidelines for Social media Algorithms
So you will search in vain for a shortcut to trick the algorithm. Nevertheless, experience shows of course, which content on which platforms is preferred by the algorithm and thus your organic reach increased. Keep in mind that this is not witchcraft and it is not only in the interest of the platforms to engage users, but also you. Social media and marketing are a symbiotic relationship where your business will also be rewarded for more work on a particular platform.
Facebook Shops has made the largest social media platform even more relevant for companies. Even if you've lost interest in your page in the meantime, it's worth updating it. Especially since Facebook and Instagram are closely interwoven for ads. Facebook relies on preferences. Users see what they like to see. The feeds mainly contain content types that users have interacted with in the past.
Sponsored content have a separate ranking, but here, too, the focus is on engagement. If you want to increase your reach, you should fully focus on interactive content, views and shareable formats. Quick readability and a Call-to-action must be in the foreground here. The main focus here is on comments and shares, which are weighted higher than likes.
Once primarily a platform for images, Instagram has long been trying to break into the short video market. Story Marketing has become an increasingly important part of online marketing for companies, and the reason also lies in Instagram's preference for moving images. Here, too: Videos hold attention longer than photos, and you can place your sponsored stories more organically than ads in the feed. For channels, questions, polls, and sweepstakes are the main engagement drivers. You can even sort your page with guides, but the fastest way to increase your reach right now is with reels.
TikTok
With a young target audience, you can't go past TikTok. Use here Increases hashtags and work with influencers to leverage their popularity to your advantage. TikTok has very high growth potential with a young audience, but it also requires a lot of effort from you. Using popular sound effects and filters can boost your reach very quickly.
YouTube
YouTube is more than just a classic video platform; Google, for example, has closely linked videos and SEO. In addition, YouTube also thrives on the social component, a young target group eagerly follows their idols and their videos. This is where you as a company should also start, because Influencer Marketing and YouTube are a perfect match. YouTube tends to show users videos from big channels and prefers similar content. Setting up a new channel requires a lot of patience and perseverance, especially since YouTube wants to see regular uploads from channels. So if you want to grow especially fast here, you should calculate with weekly or - even better - daily videos.
Learn to understand and use the social media algorithms
Now, as can already be easily seen from these examples and insights, there is no general recommended course of action for all social networks that will guarantee you high visibility and rapid growth. Look at the social media algorithms more like the Conditions for successful search engine optimization. You want to meet SEO requirements here, but with good content marketing you can reach more visitors, which is also a ranking factor. Constantly growing on social media and reaching a larger and larger audience simply requires work.
How you can consistently optimize your content marketing and how you evaluate the data of your campaigns, we tell you in our free whitepaper. We are also available for personal inquiries with our know-how to help you grow on social media and on the web.
