In today’s day and age, social media marketing is crucial for businesses. But with social media algorithms, it can often be a challenge to stand out against the crowd and have your content show up in your target audience’s feed. Understanding how the social media algorithms work will allow you to maximise reach and leverage your digital efforts. We provide you with everything you need to know about this hot topic so you can dominate the social space. Let’s get into it!
What are social media algorithms? In simple terms, social media algorithms are an automated way of sorting posts in a user’s feed based on how relevant it is to them. Posts are fine-tuned and catered to each user, with the purpose of encouraging user engagement and activity on the social platforms. Algorithms change over time based on trends and user preferences but the top strategy to stay buoyant against these changes is to increase your audience engagement across all social platforms. Yet, different platforms have their own formulations for their algorithm and it’s important to know how they work and the strategies to use for each. Below we will provide you with these details so you can best optimise your content on these top three platforms – Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Facebook’s algorithm prioritises content that is relevant to its users and content they are most likely to engage with. Meaningful conversations and activity are prioritised, and the more the users like, comment, and share your posts, the more chance there is for your posts to be placed for users to see.
Some tips to increase Facebook engagement include:
- Ask questions in the caption to provoke conversations in the comments
- Build emotions and use storytelling in your captions and visuals so your audience are likely to use the react buttons and share your posts with their friends
- Know when your audience is online and optimise best posting times for increased engagement chances
- Like and reply to each comment in your post so your audience know their comment is acknowledged
Instagram’s algorithm is determined by user behaviour and interaction. It places content that its users will engage with, with the aim to have users spend more time on the platform. Feed ranking on the platform is affected by comments, likes, saves, shares and views that take place on accounts and posts. Instagram’s algorithm has some key traits and prioritises the following:
- Posts with highest number of likes and comments
- Posts from regular user engagement
- Posts from hashtags followed by the user
- Recent posts published soon after a user logs on
Some tips to increase Instagram engagement include:
- Write informative and meaningful captions that will provide value to your audience to provoke saves and shares
- Ask questions in your captions to have your audience comment on your posts
- Use the right hashtags and add a geo-location for every post
- Tag other accounts in pictures and captions if you mention them or use their images
- Utilise Instagram’s features such as IGTV and Reels
- Post consistently
The LinkedIn algorithm promotes engagement and prioritises relevant content of interest. Posts on a user’s feed are bumped up of content by people the user frequently engages with and by any followed page or connection that posts consistently. Interest relevancy is measured based on the groups its users are in, the hashtags, the connections and pages followed. The algorithm also favours comments over reactions, and reactions over shares.
Some tips to increase LinkedIn engagement include:
- Post a combination of different types of content such as text, images and videos
- Write relevant and interesting content that spark conversations and interactions
- Utilise hashtags on your posts to achieve visibility
- Share links occasionally
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Chronicle Republic Communications is a boutique Sydney marketing consultancy for real estate, property and interiors professionals. We specialise in social media, content marketing, email marketing, blogging, search engine optimisation, social media advertising and much more!
We help our clients tell their brand’s story through engaging and meaningful marketing that captures attention.
