Social Media Algorithm

"Social media platforms know more about us than we know about ourselves."

The Social Dilemma

If you want your business to grow and thrive through social media marketing, understanding the mechanism of social media algorithms is imperative. The complicated part of understanding these algorithms is that they are often updated, keeping social media users on their toes to conquer the social media game.  

Social media has become a significant part of our world. It holds the power to alter opinions and shift perspectives. The frenzy started with Facebook. The advent of multiple social media platforms and billions of users sharing and consuming content across them calls for the requirement to establish structure and relevance. A social media algorithm serves this purpose. 

The thing with Social Media Algorithms is that it is quite difficult for businesses to stay up to date with the volatile nature of these algorithms. Although it is difficult for users to consistently keep abreast of all the changes and details involved in every change, it is possible to understand the gist of it. The role of an algorithm is crucial in determining your rank on social media ads and content placement across feeds. Let's start with understanding what is a social media algorithm and how it works. 

What is a social media algorithm?

Social media algorithms technically sift through posts based on relevance and not the time of publishing to prioritise what content will appear to the user first based on the promising probability that the user will engage with this content. 

The simplest way to understand how social media algorithms work is by observing the posts Instagram recommends while scrolling the feed or the top stories Instagram displays for you. A social media algorithm determines this sequence of post recommendations. 

Who creates Algorithms?

Algorithms are developed by coders using machine learning. Algorithms have the ability to learn how to implement tasks under different degrees of human supervision. Algorithms help with multiple functions, which are otherwise monotonous for human beings to execute. 

For instance, boosting content discoverability requires managing the content flow by consistent suggestions, shadow banning and intervening communication supplemented by information through likes and comments, through comments and likes. Along with this, the algorithm precisely ranks and filters information, giving a stimulus and situations of communication for content creators similar to the ones prevalent in the market. 

Factors on which Social Media Algorithm work

• Pertinence- Content relevance is the basic premise of social media algorithms as their design ensures displaying content users are interested in. Therefore, if a user interacts with a specific content type, it will display more similar content. 
• Fine-tune the content- This works in an exactly opposite manner than pertinence. If a social media user is not following or ignoring a specific type of content, the algorithm will filter it out by treating it as noise. 
• Sponsored content based on user interest- All major social media platforms have the feature of running ads. User interest and inclination are critical to this feature. For example, if a user is interested in skincare and make-up, social media platforms will display ads related to skincare, make-up and the beauty industry. 

What is the purpose of Social Media Algorithms?

• Enhancing user experience- The ultimate purpose of algorithm updates is to boost customer experience with social media. This is the reason why all social media platforms showcase content based on the nature of past social media engagement. The core purpose of continuously changing social media algorithms is to deliver the users more of what they prefer, further lengthening their engagement duration with the platform. 
• Remedies the problems of bots- Social media websites suffer a lot at the hands of bots and spam content. One of the most important purposes of algorithms is to decipher and eliminate suspicious activities and keep users safe from fraudulent activities that hinder their experience.
• Amplify reach- A critical role that algorithms play is to consistently fine-tune and equilibrize user experience with the chance to deliver various types of content to users. It entails pushing forward content that attracts engagement and automatically shifts the chronology of the priority given to the posts in user feeds. 

Nature of social media algorithms of different platforms  

Although the purpose of algorithms across are uniform- boost reach, avoid bots and improve user experience, the way these algorithms work across different platforms is different. 

Facebook

Facebook is a leading platform for all its users. It works and displays what it thinks users are interested in or find relevant. Facebook takes into consideration the following aspects to determine its Algorithm. 

• Inventory- This includes the posts appearing from people in your friend list, pages followed by you and groups you are members with. All of these factors will take priority to appear on your FB feed. 
• Signals- It comprises forecasting the content a user will find interesting based on watch time, content type, likes, shares or comments a user makes on FB. 
• Predictions- Where signals conclude the relevancy and value of the content, predictions forecast the probability of your friends and other users commenting on your post. 
• Ranking score- The algorithm calculates a relevance score, placing posts in the user feed based on their higher relevancy and meaningfulness to the user. Most relevant posts appear on the top feed and vice-versa. It also ensures the correct content mix. 

Instagram 

Instagram pays heed to factors like usage, followers, user interest, newness and the frequency of posts while determining what to show to the users. Instagram considers the following aspects to decide its algorithm. 

• Feed- Reflects the content shared by people or pages a user follows or is interested in by perusing the activity in a user’s history. It comprises people following and engaging with accounts and content saved and shared. 
• Stories- When users view stories from the pages and people they follow, this algorithm measures viewing, engagement and the complete relationship dynamic with the page or the person. 
• Explore- Whatever content- posts or stories a user has engaged with in any manner acts as the benchmark for the Instagram algorithm to show under the explore tab. Users will see more content similar to the post they have liked, saved, shared or commented on. 
• Reels- Highlighted for their entertainment value, the value Reels add to the users is determined by Instagram through a survey which asks people whether they find the reel entertaining. This foretells the probability that users will reshare the Reel, like it, watch it completely or visit the ‘audio page’ to make a reel themselves. 

X (Twitter)

• Inventory- All the content published on X goes to the inventory of X. This inventory accumulates all the posts ever posted on X. The algorithm then decides who will engage most with these posts and shares them with the ‘For You’ feed of the users. The vast distribution of the post depends on the popularity and relevance of the content across a variety of users. 
• Signals- The data points an algorithm uses to evaluate the probability of users engaging or finding a specific content piece entertaining. Positive indicators include actions such as likes and reshares, whereas negative indicators include actions like ignoring or muting the content posted. 
• Predictions- Signals act as the basis for algorithms to foretell the kind of content users might like. This will ultimately appear on the ‘For You’ feed. These predictions evolve simultaneously with user activity as the users consistently interact with X.
• Relevance- Past user behaviour is the key factor for the X algorithm to determine the relevance of content. This includes your interaction with similar accounts or subjects you showed interest towards in the past. Alongside, X will constantly display content about the top trending across industries of your interest. It also highlights content based on regional popularity and content based on frequency- content shared multiple times related to a specific topic. 

LinkedIn

• Filtering- This step ensures that the user content fulfils the LinkedIn community guidelines. Content quality is segregated into three categories- Spam, Low-quality content, and High-quality content. Spam content is generally eradicated, low-quality content gets less engagement, whereas high-quality content gets traction and the possibility to go viral. 
• Testing- Once the content is filtered out, LinkedIn puts it to 'test'. In this step, LinkedIn displays user content across user connections and analyses the engagement signals. This is a test for evaluating content authenticity by fellow LinkedIn users. 
• Delivering- Transmitting content to meaningful users. If the content passes the testing stage and gains engagement, the LinkedIn algorithm spreads it further to a broader audience. The LinkedIn algorithm does not focus on the element of going viral but towards the creativity and uniqueness of the content. Relevance is key to the LinkedIn algorithm. 

Conclusion 

Consistency is the key. Staying abreast of all the updates and trends is the basic premise of staying ahead in the social media game. Mastering social media algorithms is tough. A great way to start and master them is to look and work on every social media platform by understanding their individual nitty gritty. It will ensure a successful outcome. Customising social media strategies specific to each platform can drastically amplify reach and foster interaction from followers.