On all social platforms, there is an overwhelming amount of content published by millions of people worldwide. But somehow, the content that shows up for you is generally something you are interested in and is relative to you. This is the magic of a social media algorithm. It generates and displays the most relevant posts for a specific user instead of posting chronologically. Sprout Social tells us that social media platforms rank content that a specific user wants to see and will statistically most likely engage with.
For businesses trying to connect with their target audience, this can seem quite daunting and impossible to figure out. But in reality, social media algorithms are not as mysterious as they may seem. In this guide you will learn how to beat each social media algorithm and get your content shown in more user’s feeds.
Make Reels: Since the introduction of ‘Reels’ in 2020, businesses and creators have seen a huge increase in engagement and following when they brought Reels into their social media content strategy. Reels allow content to be shown to users beyond your following and provide the opportunity to ‘go viral’.
Create content that is useful to your audience: Publish content that will solve a problem or answer a question for your audience. Informative content generally gets saved & shared by others (pro tip: The ‘save’ metric is a great way of seeing what’s deemed ‘useful’ to your audience).
Engage with your audience: Your aim should not only be for your audience to engage with your post, but also for you to engage with them. Replying to comments can increase the chances of your post going to the top of a user’s feed. Everyone talks about the ‘like to minute’ ratio on social media- (posts that see more engagement in the first hour tend to perform better) but how about the comment to minute ratio? Reply to every comment to double engagement.
Post consistently: Hootsuite recommend posting 2-3 times a week and no more than 1 per day. It is also suggested that posting daily on stories is key if you want to use social media marketing effectively. This will help you attract more followers to your page and gain potential leads.
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Choose the right time to post: Finding the right time to post on LinkedIn is crucial when aiming to increase the number of people that see your posts. People generally use LinkedIn during their work hours (9 to 5, Monday to Friday). Think about when you check LinkedIn – first thing in the morning, during lunch or coming to the final hours of your workday. The optimal times to post on LinkedIn are 9am, noon, and 4:30pm.
Consider the type of content you are posting: Like any other social media platform, LinkedIn places content that is of ‘value’ to LinkedIn users higher in the feed. This is all determined by how a post is engaged with. The best type of content to increase engagement on LinkedIn is informative text that encourages others to comment on, and images and PDF’s that encourage users to click and see more.
Use LinkedIn Articles: As a professional platform, LinkedIn gives its users the opportunity to write articles. LinkedIn articles are a great way to stand out from the crowd and discuss your area of expertise in depth.
Use Trending Hashtags: This is the best way to reach an audience outside of your Twitter following. Piggyback on what is already out there in the media and give your opinions on the topic. Pro tip: check out the trending tab on Twitter to see what everyone is talking about and help you create more ‘reactive’ content.
Create content that is made to be retweeted: While it’s great to receive any type of engagement on your tweets, Twitter actually prioritises retweets over likes. Content that is interacted with tells Twitter that the content is valuable and is therefore shown on the homepage.
Post multiple times a day: Tweets have the shortest lifespan of any social media post (an average of 18 minutes). Therefore, it is essential to post 3-5 times a day if you are looking to become a thought-leader in your industry on Twitter.
Make video a priority in your content strategy: We said this in the social media trends in 2021 and we’ll say it again… video must be a key player in your content strategy if you want to see high engagement rates! Not only will you see analytical results, but you will also be able to clearly communicate your brand’s story to your audience. Video allows businesses to express emotion and connect with their audience on a deeper level.
Engagement is everything: Facebook wants users to create content that drives discussion and encourages users to stay active on the platform. Ask questions or create a poll to get your audience engaged in a conversation.
Avoid external links: As previously noted, Facebook wants to keep users on the platform and prefer their own native content rather than directing users to external links that take them out of Facebook.
Now that you have all the tips, it’s time to put them to work! Integrate everything you have learned into your social media content strategy and see the results for yourself. If you think you might need more help in optimising your social media strategy, we’re here for you. The Ripple digital team are experts in helping businesses grow their social media profiles and creating content to beat the algorithms. Get in touch with us today!