Social Media Algorithms Explained: How to Increase Organic Reach

With the widespread use of social media nowadays, simply posting content is not going to get you very far as a business/brand. Every platform implements their own unique and complex social media algorithm, which determines what content you will see on your feed when you log in to the respective sites. Understanding how these algorithms function is extremely important to a business attempting to grow their organic social media reach and create engagement without solely relying on paid advertisement.

A solid social media marketing strategy will allow businesses/brands to align their content with what is important to the platform, as well as what their respective audience’s desire to see, thereby boosting visibility and providing continued growth.

What Are Social Media Algorithms?

The purpose of a social media algorithm is to analyze user behavior to determine what content will show up in a user’s feed when they log in. Each social media platform has its own unique method for analyzing content (within their platform) such as; relevance, engagement, watch time, shares, comments, and user interests on the respective platforms, to determine the priority of how content will show up in each user’s feed. 

The main objective of the algorithms is to ensure users stay engaged by presenting content that the user will engage with the most.

Why Organic Reach Is Becoming Harder to Obtain

Since there are increasing numbers of businesses and creatives competing for the same space, many platforms are receiving more content than ever before. This makes it harder for businesses to get Organic Social Media Reach.

But those who know how to use the algorithms of various platforms and have a good Social Media Content Strategy will get great organic reach.

1. Create Content that Adds Value

Every social media marketing strategy starts with great content. This is because algorithms work well for content that engages users.

Create content that is:

• Informative
• Insightful
• Entertaining
• Solution-oriented
• User-generated

The better the content you create, the more chances of getting promoted through the algorithms of social media sites.

1. Focus on Creating Engagement Over Followers 

Modern social media algorithms now favor engagement over sheer quantity of followers and reward accounts with (dominating) large followings as opposed to accounts with active engagement. Ways to create engagement include:

• Commenting
• Sharing
• Saving
• Direct message
• Having engaging conversations.

When a high level of engagement signals to the various platforms that your content holds value.

At Get Social, we build Engagement Driven Content Strategies that help brands establish true relationships with your audience rather than simply grow your page by hoping people like and follow.

1. Post Regularly 

Regular posting is important to increase Organic Reach. Regular posting aids in consistently showing up and also tells the platforms you have a consistent flow of daily activity for your account. A well-developed Social Media Content Strategy will include:

• Content Calendar
• Schedule for consistent posting
• Content Format specifications by platform

This allows businesses to continue to remain applicable and keep audiences engaged long-term.

1. Use Video Content 

Video content consistently creates the largest impact on the various Social Media platforms. Reels, shorts, and/or short video formats, tend to drive the most reach because they both drive overall time watched and user engagement.

Using Video Content as part of your Digital Marketing Strategy will result in more coverage and better performing Algorithm. 

5. Tailoring Your Content for Every Specific Platform

Every platform uses different factors when determining ranking of posts and stories. Content that ranks high on one platform doesn’t necessarily rank well on others. The most effective ways to boost your content include tailoring:

• Captions
• Hashtags
• Visuals
• Times of posting

6. Promoting Interactions within Your Community

Algorithms prefer accounts with an active community. This means that you need to respond to people who post comments on your social media pages and engage your audience more often.

Community management at Get Social is incorporated in our Social Media Marketing Strategy.

7. Regularly Reviewing Your Performance

Success in social media requires ongoing monitoring and optimization of various metrics. These include:

• Reach
• Engagement rate
• Saving and sharing
• Watch times of videos
• Growth of audience

By analyzing performance, one gets better equipped for future improvements.

Conclusion

It is crucial for companies and other organizations to understand algorithms used by platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter if they aim to increase their Organic Social Media Reach. We help organizations create Social Media Marketing Strategies and Digital Marketing Strategies, which are aligned with platform algorithms and the behavior of the audience. By following the proper Social Media Content Strategy, growth can become scalable.

As success in social media is not about fighting with the algorithm, it’s all about knowing it.