How Instagram and Facebook algorithms work

Promotion on social networks today is relevant to almost every business owner who wants to develop it and attract an interested audience, and SMM services are extremely in demand. But for this promotion to be as effective as possible, it is necessary to constantly keep abreast, follow current trends and understand the current algorithms of the social network. It will allow you to adapt the content strategy and make the company’s Facebook or Instagram page an effective marketing channel for a growing business.

How does the Facebook algorithm work today

The algorithm of a certain social network is a software code that reacts to various user actions. With the help of algorithms, the activity of followers (their likes, comments, and subscriptions) is monitored and, based on the results, the most relevant recommendations are offered.Over time, algorithms change and adjust, which is typical for the Facebook platform. Currently, this social network prefers ranking algorithms, evaluating the content that is published and sorting it based on certain interests of a particular user. In this regard, publications that arouse a person’s insufficient interest and the probability of interaction with which is the smallest are lowered to the bottom of the news feed. For it, numerous behavioral factors are used, which collect the experience of user activity.Due to these features, promoting on Facebook has become much more difficult for brands, as traffic has decreased and statistics have worsened. In this case, it is simply necessary to understand the rules of operation of current algorithms and adapt to them.

The main categories of content ranking signals

The main categories involved in content processing include the following:

1. Authorship of the post. The Fb algorithm takes into account whose pages and with whose publications subscribers interact most often.
2. The types of posts that the user chooses. It can be images, video content, or other types of posts.
3. The level of popularity of the publication. In this case, we consider how followers react to a specific post and their feedback.
4. Content placement time. The more recent the post, the higher it will appear in the news feed.

News feed

Facebook allows users to customize their news feed and the content they want to see on it. To do it, you need to perform the following simple steps:

• go to the “Settings and privacy” section;
• select the item “News feed settings”;
• select from the list the groups and accounts whose posts you would like to see first.

You can also filter content based on chronology or relevance. To select the first option, you can select the “Latest News” function using the panel on the left side of the screen.

Original sources

One of the features of this social network is the prioritization of true and original news sources that are published. But this option only applies to news channels.

Video content and its originality

Recently, video publications that arouse the interest of users have become especially popular. Create a video in such a way that you want to watch it to the end. The longer you manage to keep people interested, the higher the post will be rated by Facebook’s algorithms.

The time and frequency of Facebook posts

For effective advertising on Facebook, it is also necessary to take into account the novelty of the post, which is one of the key factors of its ranking. From our own experience, we recommend testing the posting of posts on Saturday and Sunday. Despite the fact that activity on weekends is less than on weekdays, competition is also lower on these days. In this way, you can increase your organic reach.You should also pay attention to the frequency of posts. The recommended number of posts is no more than one or two per day. If there are more than two posts per day, the reach of all subsequent posts will decrease.

Business groups

Another effective channel of communication with potential and existing customers is the creation of business groups. Publications from them are given the highest priority by Facebook algorithms because it is in them that users interact with the content especially actively.

Emotional marketing

Establishing an emotional connection with your followers is extremely important, so offer them the content that will fully meet their interests and pain points. So, for example, encourage followers to communicate in the comments, demonstrate your point of view and be interested in the opinions of followers, and introduce them to your ideas, supported by strong evidence and indisputable statistics.

Response templates

In order not to lose the loyalty of the audience, try to answer comments and questions from subscribers. To optimize this process and save precious time, use special services for configuring response templates for similar requests.

​​The advantages of targeted advertising

The best result of advertising on social networks will bring a harmonious combination of organic promotion and targeted advertising. One of the significant advantages of this approach is a significant increase in the reach of the target audience. In addition, in this way, you can promote both your profile in its entirety and a specific post, depending on your preferences.

How the Instagram algorithm works in 2022

Algorithms for forming a news feed on the Instagram social network also have their peculiarities, which must be understood to obtain maximum coverage. A clear understanding of their work and the ability to adjust the advertising strategy with them in mind will help anyone who is engaged in promoting an Instagram account.

Photo vs. video

Some users believe that video posts currently have many advantages over photo content. Despite the fact that interesting and original videos are a current trend, in terms of ranking, live content has the same opportunities as photos.When choosing the type of content to publish on Insta, you should focus on only one most important indicator: the preferences of your audience. Users will be shown the type of content they interact with the most. Therefore, analyze the activity of your profile and act depending on the received data.

Mas followers and their influence on the account

Users who mass subscribe to a large number of accounts can really hurt your statistics. In most cases, they are inactive, which negatively affects the ranking of your account. Therefore, they can be removed without fear.

The engagement rate in social networks

The engagement rate (ER) is a good indicator of the level of follower engagement with an account’s posts. With its help, you can track profile dynamics and determine which methods of promotion are the most effective. You can increase this indicator with the help of various interactives – both in posts and in stories.

Time matters

Despite the belief of some experts that the time of publication does not influence statistics, it is not so. The settings of the social network work in such a way that the subscriber sees the most recent material. But at the same time, we should not forget that the content should not only be published at a time when the audience of the account is online, but also cause a response from them.

Statistics and their importance

It is extremely important for the owner of a business’s Instagram account to track its detailed statistics. For effective promotion, positive dynamics should be reflected in it. And in this case, all its indicators are equally important: reach, interactions, and subscribers.

Narrow topic: plus or minus

Most often, Instagram’s recommendations include profiles that are dedicated to a narrow topic. It is because the “Interesting” category is formed depending on those headings that are the most interesting for users.Nevertheless, accounts in a narrow niche gain many times fewer followers than universal ones. In this case, you need to decide and make a rational decision.

Quality of content and subscriptions

For advertising on Instagram to be most effective, it is also necessary to take care of the quality of the content that is published. The fact is that this social network prefers images and videos made in high resolution.In addition, the time of subscription plays an important role. It means that posts in the feed will be seen more often by those who have subscribed to your profile recently. Retargeting will help “stir up” those who subscribed earlier. Also, don’t forget to regularly post stories using various interactive methods of engaging your audience.

Conclusions and advice

To obtain the desired result from advertising accounts in social networks, it is necessary to be aware of all innovations and learn how to work correctly with the current algorithms of the chosen site. If this task seems too difficult, an experienced specialist who understands all the intricacies of promotion and pays attention to the peculiarities of algorithms at all stages of working with the advertised account can help with attracting the target audience.