One of the most common curiosities I hear when it comes to social media is: Am I doing this right!? How do I know what the platforms want from me? And all too commonly, everyday folks throw around phrases like: “Ugh, that’s just the algorithm!” without really knowing what it’s all about! Today, let’s dispel the myths and break down each top algorithm in a digestible format so that you feel equipped to show up as your small business on the Internet - here is everything you need to know about social media algorithms in 2023!

Everything You Need to Know About Social Media Algorithms in 2023

Algorithms are, in the most basic term, recommendation systems. An algorithm is a program that helps determine what content should be fed to specific users across a social media platform, and why.

For the most part, there are three key elements that all the algorithms sort by: Relationship, Interest, and Relevancy (with the exception of Twitter - you’ll notice a small difference below!). Your overall comprehension of this framework will make social media as a whole more understandable and “easy”.

Facebook Algorithm 2023

Relationship = Users are more likely to see content from sources they interact with, including friends and businesses.

Interest = If users most often interact with video, they’ll see more video. If they engage with photos, they’ll see more photos.

Relevancy = Facebook prioritizes posts with a lot of engagement, especially from people users interact with a lot.

Instagram Algorithm 2023

Relationship = Do you follow each other? Do you message each other, or leave comments? Users will see more content from those they have interacted with repeatedly in the past.

Interest = Does a user typically interact with this type of content? When the Instagram algorithm recognizes that a user enjoys a specific content type or format, they serve them more of it.

Relevancy = Instagram performs an analysis of where the post fits with trending topics as well as the timeliness factor (recent posts are considered more relevant than old ones).

LinkedIn Algorithm 2023

Relationship = The more closely a user is related to someone, the more likely they will be served their content first - either people they work with or have worked with, or pages they've interacted with in the past.

Interest = LinkedIn determines a user’s interests based on the groups, pages, hashtags, and people they follow. Your post should mention topics/companies that align with a user’s interest.

Relevancy = LinkedIn follows a formula to determine "likelihood of engagement": How likely is it that a user is going to engage with your post and how much engagement is the post receiving?

TikTok Algorithm 2023

Relationship = Aside from your Following timeline, TikTok serves a variety of videos on the main hub: your For You page. This includes videos from accounts you follow and accounts with content you’ve engaged with in the past.

Interest = It also serves videos onto the For You page based on content you’ve either liked (or hidden) in the past, content you’ve added to favorites, and types of content you’re producing on your own account.

Relevancy = Relevancy for TikTok really goes hand in hand with Interest and the two may seem like one and the same. TikTok will serve trending topic content into the For You page, as well as videos related to things you’ve searched in the past including as hashtags, topics, captions, sounds, and effects. It may also choose to serve you more videos from users in your country or location, users who speak your language, and take into consideration the type of mobile device you’re using.

Twitter Algorithm 2023

Recency = Trending posts discussing topics that are relevant NOW are prioritized over random daily/past trending topics.

Interest = Twitter will serve users content related to topics they've tweeted about in the past, from people they often interact with, and the user's geographical location.

Relevancy = Twitter decides to serve tweets to users based on how much engagement the tweets are getting and how many people from a user's connections are engaging with them, and will also pull tweets from trending topic feeds that a user chooses to follow.

Pinterest Algorithm 2023

Because Pinterest functions much more like a search engine than a social media site, the algorithm is a bit different here. I figured folks may wonder about Pinterest and I didn’t want to leave you hanging, but just keep in mind that this is NOT a traditional “social network”. Here’s some of the criteria Pinterest’s algorithm uses to sort content:

Domain quality. Be sure to claim your website (URL) and enable Rich Pins for your site.
Pin quality. Always use the right size dimensions, write captivating titles and captions, and use engaging imagery.
Pinner quality. Be sure that you as a pinner are pinning consistently and pinning popular content.
Topic relevance. Use popular keywords and keywords that explain your content to reach the right audience.

CLICK HERE to see more about Pinterest and how you should approach this unique search engine.

Okay, so, what the heck do I do with all of this!?

It’s important to craft ALL of your content and overall strategy around these frameworks. Informing yourself of where the algorithms are currently at will help you understand the types of content to create and the right methods of encouraging your audience to engage so that your content will keep being introduced with priority in their timelines.

I hate to break it to you, but: There is no such thing as a “shadow ban”, or at least nothing proven that would be a similar drastic occurrence like such. ALL content from followed folks is pushed into a user’s timeline, however the order / priority is what matters. If you are engaging their account, your content will appear higher / sooner in the timeline over others, and this is key. Don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t getting a ton of engagement, just adjust your strategy and experiment - it’s that simple!

A great place to start is by studying what your competition and others in your industry are doing. Take a look at their content, which posts are getting the most traction? Are there popular buckets of content that you can pull inspiration from? Browse your own feed and insights, what posts of yours are getting the highest engagement rates? Try to tap into these winning content recipes. You need to be keenly tapped into your industry and the core pain points of your ideal client/customer in order to create content that converts.

You’ve got this! Stay true to your brand and yourself, and make content that your people will rave about.