8 Ways to Defeat Social Media Algorithms
Have you ever wondered why you see the kind of posts you see in your social media feed? It did not just appear there, something was responsible for that and it is known as algorithms. These algorithms are responsible for sorting out the numerous posts on social media and pushing relevant posts to a user’s timeline. The world in each social media platform is quite a very large one with millions of users with various interests and demographics. This makes it quite impossible to be able to go through all content pushed out on each social media platform hence the need create a set of technical computer elements and analytics to show only content perceived to be relevant to a user.
While algorithms might seem like just a simple tool for getting the right content to the right people, it can also be a hindrance to getting the kind of content a user really wants at the moment. Also, for content creators on social media, algorithms could be a hindrance to getting their content seen by people in their target audience. If you would like your marketing to defeat social media algorithms, it is a great idea to contact a social media marketing agency to guide you through the process.
Now, taking a look at major social media platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn), we will examine how you can beat these social media algorithms to your own advantage. Consider these 8 Ways for doing just that.
1. Increase your engagement level
Engage with the kind of content you want to see. The simplest form of engagement is applying a “like”. Just by liking a post on social media, you are telling these social media algorithms that henceforth you want to see more of such content. Now, the deeper you engage with such content, by commenting on the post or even sharing such posts to your own small or large social media network, the more often such posts will appear in your feed.
2. Use social media influencers relevant to the niche of the brand
This is perfect for brands that want to be seen by social media users they are targeting. After putting in a lot of resources and time into creating your content, who wants to be smacked down by social media algorithms. No serious brand wants that. This is where brands can take advantage of social media influencers to improve how they appear in the feed of those that they are aiming at by partnering with them to share their content or create content that will promote their brand. Social Media influencers are also not exempted from the ever-changing algorithms of social media but the savvy ones have found creative ways to keep their followers engaged.
3. Create and push out timely content
Instagram is very big on content timeliness. While engagement increases a content creator’s chance of being in the seen in the feed of the target audience, content pushed out in a timely manner gets a higher chance of being viewed. This is because Instagram users are always after fresh content. To do this efficiently, content creators should take advantage of the in-built analytics tools for Instagram and other social media platforms to know when best to push out content. This enables them to be ranked higher in social media feed and get more engagements.
4. Get active followers interested in content
With more and more people giving into the trend of buying followers to pump up their social media following status, wise content creators will shy away from such. Social media algorithms sink such accounts because of poor engagement level. Rather, seek followers who have an interest in the kind of content you share and gradually growing it. Since engagement is key for most social media platforms, you are less likely to sink down people’s feed of you have more engagements even if you have less than ten thousand followers. Twitter, for example, is big on followers and interactions they have with accounts they follow, as Twitter often recommends content based on this in addition to timeliness. So this means that if you missed a tweet from an account you follow and interact with a lot, Twitter will first show you fresh relevant tweets and then recommend that you see tweets from certain accounts that you missed. It is also advisable to be mindful about the kind and number of accounts you follow. That you follow 500 accounts doesn’t necessarily mean that you will always see their posts, social media algorithms will come to play.
5. Create more live content
Live videos on social media have gained much preference over other regular content pushed out on social media. With this, social media platforms are now giving relevance to accounts that are able to engage their audience with live broadcast or live streaming content. Naturally, for millennials, visual content gets their attention faster than other kinds of content, so it is not surprising that live broadcast or live streaming, which is an advanced video format, is also getting their attention and spiking up engagement levels.
6. Create a credible profile
Credibility is an expensive currency that social media platforms are seriously looking for because the more they have more credible users the more credible their platform is. Credible accounts that share credible content are always placed at the forecast of social media feeds.
7. Encourage followers to spend time viewing content
Interaction is very key to social media. Social Media is not a world for loners, it is a world for people who are willing to interact with others beyond borders. So if you want to keep seeing posts from certain accounts spend the time to view profiles of accounts relevant to your interests.
8. Make use of tags and hashtags
While this might not look helpful, it actually can help boost post views. If you are just starting out on social media, this is one of the quickest ways to building organic followings and engagement. While it might not rank your post high in the feed of users, it can at least push you up that “feed ladder” and appear in a few feeds.