What is a social media algorithms? 

Social media has changed the entire world, and even social media itself has changed over the decade due to changing social media algorithms. It certainly has changed the marketing world in the last few years drastically. The fact that people now communicate in a whole new way impacts how people market their products on a huge level. It’s no longer about who puts up the best sales offers but how you put them up. And social media algorithms can be a real make-or-break deal when dealing with social media marketing. 

Social media is a conveniently small term for the vast universe of platforms it is. But social media algorithm is a scary term, isn’t it? Well, don’t worry! We are here to make it easy for you.  

What is social media algorithms? 

You might be thinking – What is an algorithm anyway? It’s a series of instructions designed to solve a particular kind of problem.  

But when we talk about algorithms connected with social media platforms, the meaning changes a little bit. Social media algorithm is a set of codes controlling how social media platforms function. It essentially controls everything that happens on there. Everything is controlled by social media algorithms; from what you see and what you don’t see to what your feed and explore page looks like.

Algorithms are like big sorting machines. They sort users into smaller or larger groups based on their content preferences. But, if you’re sorted into a particular group, it’ll treat all of the people in the group the same. So, you’re served the same content as every other person in the group once you’re sorted into a particular group. And that means the algorithm makes a lot of assumptions about who you are. 

How do social media algorithms work? 

Social media platforms keep enhancing their algorithms to keep evolving from time to time. They design the algorithms to meet certain goals like keeping people on the platform for the maximum amount of time or getting the greatest number of people to engage with the content. These goals also keep changing according to the platforms’ requirements. 

One more important thing to keep in mind is that the algorithm doesn’t care about its user. It just follows a set protocol. The algorithm doesn’t care about how you engage with the content. It might serve you stuff that it predicts you’re going to like. But one wrong click and it may start showing you content that you hate. And yes, the algorithm decides what you see, but it also decides what you don’t get to see.  

That is the main reason why growing on social media organically is hard today. People who were famous on social media before the algorithms changed now find it difficult to keep up their engagement. On the other hand, relatively new users have gone viral because they know about the new trends and how algorithms function.  

Why is it necessary to follow social media algorithms? 

Social media algorithms do make it easier to get relevant content on your customer’s feed. As of today, every social media platform wants you to stay as long as you can on their platform. Social media algorithms are also designed to do exactly that. And hence, they are on your side. If you as a business promote your content through social media then: 

1. They get the promotion money because with social media algorithms in play, it’s impossible to grow organically and you will have to use paid ads. 
2. If people like your brand, they will spend more time on the platform exploring your page. 

It is a win-win situation. But, why doesn’t anyone grow organically anymore? 

The point is, social media has grown so much that posting creative content doesn’t do much promotion on its own. There is already more than enough content to go around. That is why social media algorithm exists, to filter out content that people want to see from what they don’t want to see. And that is exactly why you need to follow it.  

As said earlier, social media doesn’t need any newer content to function, it already has way too much. So, even after creating high-quality -brand content, you might be ranking low in the algorithm if you’re not following it properly. But, once you follow it, what it’ll do is show your content to the filtered audience, that is interested in similar things. This not only creates more chances for you of getting some sales but also gains you a genuine audience. 

Also, don’t forget that social media algorithms also disregard irrelevant content. If your content is good quality, branded but is completely useless to the users, it won’t favour you anymore. So, a necessary part of following the algorithm is to keep usability and shareability in mind. If your content is not useful, people won’t share it, and it just won’t go anywhere. 

Conclusion 

Social Media algorithms can be scary at first, but once you figure out how they work, you can use them to your benefit. In fact, with algorithms in use, something oddly useful might pop up which we couldn’t have thought of ourselves. So, we should just use the algorithms accurately instead of being frightened by them.

Algorithms are just then very simple. Data goes in, follows a set of rules, data comes out. It is bizarre to think of what proportion of our lives goes on server rooms all over the world. And to think that this simple process has now changed how social media platforms work completely is incredible. 

So, social media algorithms are beneficial for businesses, especially small businesses. For instance, if before running ads your reach was limited to a few 100s of people, but if you follow proper rules of the algorithms it can increase up to 1000s in a day. Now, with this added reach, people are more likely to leave comments and likes, which counts as engagement. Increased engagement in return increases your organic reach level. Engagement is important because it signifies a stronger connection with your target audience. Also, an indirect connection develops as people engage with your brand. The more engaged your audience is, the stronger your connection is with them. And with this connection, they’re more likely to buy from you. 

But it is also not that easy to understand how social media algorithms work. That is why we are here to help. Our team of experts is always ready to sort all of your needs regarding algorithms or anything else. Give us a call today to get more information about plans and start growing your business right away!