In this presentation designed for non-profits, we looked at how to navigate the changing algorithms of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA’S NEXT FRONTIER:
NAVIGATING CHANGING ALGORITHMS ON A BUDGET
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2. CONTENTS 01 NAVIGATING ALGORITHMS
02 ADVERTISING RECS
03 Q&A
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3. What is a social media algorithm?
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4. Social media algorithms are a
way of sorting posts in a users'
feed based on relevancy instead
of publish time.
Source: Sprout Social4

5. Social networks prioritize which
content a user sees in their feed
first by the likelihood that they'll
actually want to see it.
Source: Sprout Social5

6. ü Each network has a unique set of algorithms.
ü Aspects of the algorithms can change daily.
ü The algorithms get “smarter” by using machine learning, a form of Artificial
Intelligence (AI).
ü Major algorithm changes are noted by sites like TechCrunch and Social Media
Examiner.
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8. How is this content selected?
And what can we do about it?
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10. Facebook’s Algorithm – Top Ranking Factors
üComments
üReactions
üComment Replies
üSharing Links Over Messenger
üEngagement on Shares
Other Factors
üAverage time spent on content
üWhen it’s posted
üStory type
üCompleteness of page profile
üHow informative the post is

11. Eight Ways to Increase Reach on Facebook
üFocus on video, especially live video
üAvoid engagement bait
üFocus on community building through groups
üKeep creating quality content that resonates with your audience
üInvest in your ad budgets
üConnect with Facebook influencers
üLocalize
üEncourage customers to follow your Page

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ü Keep status updates
to one or two
sentences tops.
ü Include a shortened
or vanity Url if
possible
ü Share with a strong
image.

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ü Use Facebook to
encourage sharing
content on Twitter
and Instagram
ü Easier platforms to
monitor hashtags on
ü Send people to a
Vanity URL to see the
content

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ü Used Facebook Groups to increase
likelihood that your content will be seen by
your community.

17. What are your questions about Facebook?
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19. “Instagram relies on machine learning based on your past behavior to create a
unique feed for everyone. Even if you follow the exact same accounts as
someone else, you’ll get a personalized feed based on how you interact with
those accounts.”
Source: TechCrunch19

20. #1 Interest: this is Instagram predicting how much you’ll care about a post.
#2 Timeliness: how long ago was this photo posted? The new Instagram algorithm
will prioritize recent posts, so you’ll hopefully see fewer posts from over a week ago.
#3 Relationship: how do you know this person? If you comment on a lot of someone’s
photos or are tagged in photos with them, this signals to Instagram that they probably
fall into your “friends and family” category.
Source: Later.com
Instagram’s Algorithm – Top Ranking Factors
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21. #4 Frequency: how often do you open the Instagram app? If you’re a frequent scroller, your feed will
look more “chronological” since Instagram tries to “show you the best posts since your last visit.”
#5 Following: how many people do you follow on Instagram? If you follow a lot of people, then
Instagram has more options to choose from, so you probably won’t see all of the posts
from every account.
#6 Usage: if you spend a lot of time on Instagram, you’re going to see more posts as Instagram
“digs deeper into its catalog.”
Source: Later.com
Instagram’s Algorithm – Top Ranking Factors
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22. 7 Ways to Increase Reach on Instagram
üUse professional photos and videos whenever possible.
üPost to Instagram Stories and Instagram TV regularly.
üUse Live Video.
üRun an Instagram contest.
üPost engaging captions encouraging comments.
üJump on trends.
üPost during the most active times on Instagram.

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ü Repost photos from
your followers to
increase engagement
ü Ask questions of your
followers to increase
comments
ü Be sure to use
relevant hashtags
and tags

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ü Use the caption to
share more
information about the
photo.
ü Direct people to a link
in your bio for follow-
up information
ü Consider creating a
vanity URL that can
be easily typed in the
caption.

26. What are your questions about Instagram?
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29. The tweet itself: its recency, presence of media cards (image or video), and overall engagement
(including retweets, clicks, favorites, and time spent reading it)
The tweet’s author: your past interactions with this author, the strength of your connection to them,
and the origin of your relationship
You: tweets you found engaging in the past, how often and how heavily you use Twitter
Source: Buffer
Twitter’s Algorithm – Top Ranking Factors
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30. 7 Ways to Increase Reach on Twitter
üReuse your top tweets
üAttach media to your tweets—photos and videos especially.
üInstall Twitter cards on your website to increase visibility of your content.
üExperiment with posting times.
üUse hashtags strategically.
üReply to mentions.
üPromote your tweets.

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ü Keep your tweets to
140 characters if
possible.
ü Use a shortened
URL.
ü Attach an image or
video whenever
possible.

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ü Retweet your
followers when the
tweet makes sense.
ü Be sure to tag users
who appear in photos
and use relevant
hashtags.

34. What are your questions about Twitter?
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36. Source: LinkedIn36

37. Content is classified as Image/Text/Video/Long Form/Link
Depending on the classification, content is then distributed to a sample of the users' connections
Once placed in front of these people, different actions have different weights to determine whether
the post should be either (1) demoted because it's low quality or (2) shown to more people because
it's high quality
Editors then review the content to see if it's worth distributing beyond that users' network
LinkedIn’s Algorithms-- How They Work
Source: Social Media Today
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38. What Your LinkedIn Content Should Focus On:
• Be of value to someone’s career (whether as a business owner or
employee)
• Offer a tip related to business growth, or a career
• Inspire someone in their work life
• Be relevant to the industry in which you operate in
• Come from a credible source

39. ü Strong image.
ü Status update kept to
two sentences.
ü Content focuses on
education/career
development.
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ü Strong image.
ü Status update kept to
one sentence.
ü Content mobilizes
community to take a
specific action.
ü Make actions as easy
to follow as possible.

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42. What are your questions about LinkedIn?
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44. The YouTube ranking algorithm focuses on how the audience interacts with videos, using artificial
intelligence that “learns from over 80 billion bits of feedback from the audience daily to understand
how to serve the right videos to the right viewers at the right time.”
In broad terms, that audience feedback includes:
What they do (and don’t) watch
How much time they spend watching a video (watch time)
How much time they spend watching videos during each visit (session time)
Likes, dislikes, and ‘not interested’ feedback
Source: Hootsuite
YouTube’s Algorithm – Top Ranking Factors
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45. 6 Ways to Increase Reach on YouTube
üImprove the SEO (search engine optimization) of your videos
üCreate a compelling thumbnail
üKeep the video short and constantly hooking the audience
üEncourage visitors to subscribe to your Channel.
üCreate theme-specific playlists.
üPromote your Channel on other platforms.

46. ü Strong headline and
summary.
ü Strong calls-to-action.
ü Links to all social
channels.
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47. What are your questions about YouTube?
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49. Strategy for Executing an Advertising Campaign
• Have specific goals in mindà Website conversions, event registrations, new followers, etc.
• Develop specific personasà Age, location, interests, specific online behavior.
• Create strong creative and messagingà Be sure it is optimized to the platform.
• Have a strong, clear Call-to-Actionà The simpler, the better.
• Start with a small budget and test, test, testà Looking for engagement to grow over time.
• Change one element of the ad at a timeà Creative, copy, targeting.
• Avoid over-saturationà Once your engagement consistently decreases, stop the campaign.

50. Let’s take a look at strong ads.
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61. What are your final questions?
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62. Tracy Samantha Schmidt, Principal
312.881.9040 TracySamantha@SociallyAuthentic.com
THANK YOU
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