Over the years, Facebook and other social platforms have changed the game for organic posts, making it increasingly harder for businesses to place at the forefront of users’ feed. This has both been to improve user experience and to encourage social advertising. If you’re reluctant to spend on social ads or if you just want a healthy combination of paid and organic social, then you need to learn how to get pass the social algorithms. Luckily, Social Report provided some tricks to do this.
Social Media Algorithms – What Are They?
These algorithms are developed by recording user interactions and developing a mathematical model that is updated on a regular basis. In short – it is a social media company’s attempt to quantify human behavior. The end result: a social media feed determining, mathematically, to be of interest to the end-user.
This is in stark contrast to the older method which rewarded material based upon “freshness” alone. Now, the impetus has been shifted to the content creator to continuously prove that the material is worthy of sharing. Informative, accurate, and entertaining content will win out over new material any day of the week theoretically.
Why Social Algorithms Exist
Money – specifically advertising revenue. Social media sites needed to develop a funding mechanism that would not alienate their product (the end-users). These companies were able to maximize time spent on site, and thus increase potential marketing opportunities, by finding a way to more easily connect interesting content to readers.
The results have been staggering, with Facebook alone rising to have well north of a billion users just ten years after creation.
It also helped advertisers that could not afford traditional marketing by creating increased opportunities for organic growth. The increased focus on interesting content rewarded creators that took the time to understand their target demographic and develop engaging material, creating a virtuous cycle that occurs much more readily than in the early days of social media. All you need to do is engage with your followers and the community will swell around you.
Beating the Algorithms
There are many ways to develop a social media campaign that leverages (or at least neutralizes) these algorithms. Here are some popular tips that can help you obtain success with your next marketing endeavor:
Ask For A Share
This is one of the easiest ways to organically boost your social media ranking. Include a request in your CTA for users to like, comment, or share your material. The results will be of note even if just a small fraction of the readers do engage in this manner.
Be Inquisitive
The more engagement occurs, the higher your post will rank. Strive to create an active conversation between your brand and the end users with every possible opportunity. Some ways to start this include:
- Polls
- Q&A
- General Inquiries
Request Users Authorize Push Notifications
Push notifications cut out the middleman when reaching users. With push notifications you will be able to notify end users immediately, eliminating the risk that the almighty algorithm scores your content too low for inclusions on the regular listings.
Doing so will also help solve the “chicken and the egg” quandary that plagues new posts, at least for those that already have an established presence.
Share Interesting Content That Reaches Your Target Demographic
Engagement will not occur if the material is not interesting. Make certain that your material is of note to your audience by understanding the market demographics and segmenting the population accordingly. For instance, a single campaign may have dozens of posts targeting each subsection. In this instance, the old method of creating engaging content is the same as the new. Know your audience and you will succeed.
Reach Out To Users With “Tags”
Notifications are sent to end users whenever you tag them on a social media platform. Invariably, this will encourage them to visit your post and start a conversation on the topic. Just be careful to not randomly “tag” people – only connect with those that have a stake in it. The author of an article is a good example, or an individual you know will be impacted by the content of the post.
Pay Your Way
Fresh brands often have the most difficulty in establishing a stable foothold. The reasons for this vary, though the solution is often direct advertising. Every major social media network offers companies the opportunity to purchase promoted posts. These posts guarantee to reach your target audience.
Just remember to treat this like any other SEO (search engine optimization) advertising endeavor and experiment with a limited budget first. You should be able to transition to a more organic growth pattern after success here.
Review Your Stats
Any marketing endeavor comes with uncertainty. It is wise idea to always assume that a component of your advertising campaign is unoptimized in at least a few areas and to take the time to identify and correct them. Additionally, you may discover new opportunities for your campaign in both the organic and algorithm departments.
Good Organic Practices Will Keep You in Front of Users
Face it: like Google, social algorithms are constantly changing. Marketers always need to stay on their toes to adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape. Regardless of what changes are made, adaptable organic marketing practices will always keep you at the top of the feeds.
