Getting in to the algorithm: how to get your content seen

Algorithms are constantly changing the way we consume content, they affect everyone who uses social media platforms — most significantly brands. We look at what’s key to keeping your brand visible and relevant in an algorithmic world.

Social media platforms are constantly updating their algorithms, and 2021 has certainly brought with it a lot of changes, changes aren’t going anywhere, any time soon.

Forward thinking social feeds

With the number of users, and the amount of content, on social media much bigger now than it was even so much as only five years ago, it makes sense for social media to have ditched the good old-fashioned reverse chronology news feed in favour of something more forward-thinking. Because that’s exactly what social media algorithms do: they forward think. They calculate what a user wants to see based on previous behaviour.

The main social media platforms (Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter) all now run on different algorithms, altering a user’s feed based on significance, relevance, preference, among many other factors.

Authentic content is the answer

Algorithms have completely transformed social media. No longer can you post half-hearted content and rely that it will get in front of the people you want it to based on hashtags and your followers alone. Instead, you want to make sure you are producing content that has value.

Forget production quality, when your social content is thoughtful, valuable, and in touch with the world around you, it makes you more human as a brand, and you're likely to see engagement improve as a result.

As always, engagement = relevance

In 2021, the top factors affecting most social media algorithms are 1) the amount of engagement that piece of content has received (especially within a short time frame) and 2) how much and how frequently you are engaged with as a content creator. If you are using social media for business purposes, you need to be equipped with a strategy to increase brand engagement; likes, shares, retweets, mentions, saves, reactions and comments will boost your brand to the top of your audience’s social feeds. And in order to do this...

Easily digestible content is key

As social media attention spans continue to shrink and more people scroll endlessly through feeds, easily digestible content is key to grabbing the attention of your target market.

You want to ensure that whatever format you choose to share your content in, be that stories, reels, posts, tweets or via TikTok, your followers are able to get value from it without spending too much time consuming it, and you want to make sure your content is memorable.

And a chatty and conversational tone works wonders

When creating social media captions or posts for your platforms you want to think about how to go about starting a conversation with your followers. Whether that's through telling The oldest trick in the book to getting people to engage? Asking questions. It's a tried and tested sales technique that's been around for decades, apply this approach to your social content and watch the replies stream in.

Social media algorithms haven’t signalled the end of organic engagement and no, you don’t need to resort to paid activity every step of the way. But they have put the focus back on the audience. It’s about them and not you.

So, what’s going to get their attention? How exactly are you going to engage? That is not such a short answer and is different for every brand. If you’d like to know more about creating engaging content that connects with the right audience, Nutcracker are here to help. Call us on 0203 941 0305.