Which Social Posts Do My Audience See?!?

Social media channels can be confusing. Questions like - “Why did I miss the post from my friend?” Or more importantly,” Why are customers missing my recent business post??”

Seemingly, random posts can produce frustration, yet there is a logic behind the social posts shown and those not shown in your individual feed.

The truth: on average, only 10 to 18% of your social media followers will see your posts.

Algorithms applied to what is displayed for each user by each platform (Google search, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, etc), are used to 'rate a piece of content for the value it offers each individual user.

Why are Algorithms used on Social Media Platforms? 

Social media algorithms are an important part of the way we use the internet and social media. They are used to determine how content is displayed, which posts you see in your feed, what ads get shown to you, and more. 

The algorithm has been around since the early days of Facebook, but it has changed over time as new features have been added and more people use it every day.

The goal of these algorithms is to make the user experience as positive as possible for their users. They are attempting to keep the user on the platform as much as possible and they hope that they return again. If a user receives too much irrelevant content for them, they will leave. And since these social media platforms make money from the time that users are on the platform, this makes the algorithms very important to them.

What exactly are Social Media Algorithms?

An algorithm is a mathematical set of rules specifying how a group of data behaves. In social media, algorithms help maintain order and assist in ranking search results and advertisements. 

They do this by analyzing what kind of content has been successful in the past (i.e., getting engagement), as well as how often users interact with certain kinds of posts or accounts. The type of engagement helps determine who should see a given post next: if someone likes or comments on an image or video, then their friends will likely see it too; if someone shares an article on Facebook then those who haven't already read it may get exposed through their friends' feeds instead (or vice versa).

On platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, for example, there is an algorithm that directs pages and content to display in a certain order.

Algorithms are based on four basic factors:

• Recency

• Relationship

• Popularity

• Post Type

Let’s delve into these factors just a bit.

Recency

Social media algorithms can take time into consideration when elevating or filtering out a social media post. Generally, this means that over time, a social media post will lose value in the algorithm. This is especially true on social media channels like Twitter and video posting channels.

Relationship

A post from a social media friend/connection might tend to get shared with you more than a post from a stranger. This is one of the key reasons that you want to invite people to follow your social media channels. Those that follow your channels and engage with your channels tend to see more of your posts.

Popularity

The algorithms will elevate a post that is getting higher engagement. Engagement such as Likes, Shares, and Comments tell the algorithm that people like a post and the algorithm will then share it with more people.

Post Type

Video tends to get higher engagement, so the algorithm will tend to elevate video posts above text posts. So, anytime you can create a video version of your social media posts, the better.

How companies use algorithms to target their audience on social media

There are two factors to keep in mind that influence what posts are shown include:

• Demographics - A user's profile information (e.g., age, gender) can be used by an algorithm to determine which posts and ads they should see in their newsfeeds or timelines.

• Behavior - For example, a person who recently purchased a car may receive ads related to car insurance; someone who recently got engaged might see wedding-related ads; if someone has recently moved, then they may receive home improvement offers from local businesses near their new address

Companies can sponsor or ‘boost’ a social media post on most platforms by selecting demographic details or user behaviors that match their audience. And don’t be surprised that most of the social media platforms (especially Meta) have a lot of detail on their users. This might be bad for users, but it’s great for their advertisers.

What do algorithms mean for social media users?

Social media algorithms are designed to help you find the content you want to see, the people that matter to you and the information that matters most for your interests.

If you participate in social media of any kind and enjoy the experience, thank the algorithms. But, beware of your behaviors. ‘Liking’ a post might just get you more of the same… so choose wisely. 

Here are some things that users can do to influence the algorithms for their benefit - 

• When possible, don’t sign into another website with your Facebook login. This just allows Facebook to track your activity on other sites to get more information on your behaviors and likes.

• Don’t engage with posts that you don’t like, as it will tend to tell the algorithm to serve up more of the same. This is especially true these days with politically charged discussions

• Many of the ‘tests’ presented to you on Facebook are just excuses to harvest your information (and sometimes your friends’ info). Try not to take the next IQ test on Facebook.

What do algorithms mean for social media advertisers?

Having an understanding of how algorithms work on social media will help you create more effective content. This will help you improve your engagement with your audience. Here are a few pointers for improving your social media visibility and engagement.

• Post regularly and frequently

• Use captivating images or compelling video

• Look at past posts for engagement trends. Try to create new posts that resemble past successful posts

• Invest some marketing dollars into posts and test where you are getting better responses

Conclusion

We hope that this article has helped you understand how social media algorithms work. We know that there's a lot to take in, but we encourage you to keep learning! The more you know about how these systems work and the different ways they can be used, the better equipped you'll be to enjoy your time on social media and to get better performance when creating content for any platform.