Why Do Social Media Algorithms Always Change?
When you’ve got a good thing going — like a perfect Internet marketing machine, you don’t want it to end, and soon you’re likely to believe that it will never end. People discover some great opportunity, bring all their energy to bear on it, and create a system that’s working well...
Then they get comfortable. They get used to it. Often people will even fall into a false sense of security. They become accustomed to the new normal of the perfect (or good enough) world they’re living in, and believe, “This will never end. It will be forever.” This is delusional.
It’s the kind of thinking that leaves investors blindsided when the market loses steam and crashes. It’s the all-too-human pattern that leaves online marketers and publishers dismayed when there’s another update to the algorithm of a social media or search platform, that suddenly changes the calculus of their business model.
Why do social media algorithms always change?
It’s a common lament among online marketers in recent years as the platforms they use to distribute content and advertisements reckon with their enormous and ever-growing scale. By now we should expect it, accept it, and plan what we’re going to do about the next algorithm update.
Because there will be more.
Last month one of the greatest drummers and lyricists in rock n roll history passed away at the age of 67. Neil Peart penned the lyrics and played the unforgettable drum beats of one of the most epic, perfect rock songs ever written, “Tom Sawyer.” One of the lyrics should put you in the perfect frame of mind for the information and recommendations in this article:
Always hopeful, yet discontent
He knows changes aren’t permanent
But change is
It can be exasperating or downright scary to see your organic reach fall.
But if you understand why it’s happening and know what to do about it, there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful. And plenty of reasons not to be content with how your online business is performing today.
Why Social Media Algorithms Change
“The algorithm is on the side of the person consuming it, not on the side of the person that’s making it.” -Gary Vaynerchuk
1,500 stories. That’s how many stories are competing on average to be displayed on your News Feed when you open Facebook. Obviously Facebook can’t show you all those posts at once. The platform has to decide what to show you first. The algorithm solves that problem.
And it has the user in mind as it works.
The constant algorithm changes are refinements to make it more and more accurate at guessing which one of those 1,500 stories it will please the user most to see first in their news feed. And then which one will please the user second most, and so on…
Gary Vaynerchuk recently had one of the most insightful conversations with a guest about this on his podcast.
During the interview, he tells the guest:
“I think you should be posting, based on what you’re trying to achieve in your career — eight to fifteen times a day on LinkedIn.”
Surprised, she balks:
“Get out of here. And that’s not gonna be overkill, you don’t think? It’s not spamming people?”
Then Gary pulled back the curtain and showed us how the algorithm works:
“No, because people aren’t going to see it all. The thing that people haven’t figured out is — the algorithm is on the side of the person consuming it, not on the side of the person that’s making it. And so the algorithm is going to — you know who it’s going to overkill?
The 49 people on earth that think you’re the greatest thing of all time. And they’re going to see all fifteen. They’re gonna be pumped! I’d like to get 49 pieces of content from Randy the Macho Man Savage in 1988 every day of my life. So, no that’s why the algorithms work. People blame the algorithms… I’m like mm-mm, the algorithm’s there for the people. It’s consumer centric.”
So as a result, there’s a never-ending arms race between the social media platforms (on behalf of users) and the content producers and Internet marketers.
The Death of Organic Reach
Businesses, marketers, and publishers panicked in 2018 when Facebook overhauled its core algorithm for distributing posts to users’ newsfeeds.
Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media giant would start prioritizing posts that foster “meaningful interactions” from people’s friends and family, and dial down the amount of brand and publishing content they’d see on Facebook. In his announcement, Zuckerberg said:
“We built Facebook to help people stay connected and bring us closer together with the people that matter to us. That’s why we’ve always put friends and family at the core of the experience. Research shows that strengthening our relationships improves our well-being and happiness.
But recently we’ve gotten feedback from our community that public content — posts from businesses, brands and media — is crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other.”
In a follow up announcement, Facebook’s Adam Mosseri, Head of News Feed, spelled out exactly how that would affect brands and other public content on Facebook:
“Because space in News Feed is limited, showing more posts from friends and family and updates that spark conversation means we’ll show less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers or businesses.
As we make these updates, Pages may see their reach, video watch time and referral traffic decrease. The impact will vary from Page to Page, driven by factors including the type of content they produce and how people interact with it. Pages making posts that people generally don’t react to or comment on could see the biggest decreases in distribution.”
Some online marketers reacted to the changes like the four horses of the apocalypse had landed. People called it the “death of organic reach.”
How To “Beat” Social Media Algorithm Changes
Here are three strategies to “beat” social media algorithm changes.
These are evergreen social media strategies. They work regardless of the algo update. They worked in 2016. They worked in 2018.
They will work in 2020.
And they will still work in 2024.
1. DIVERSIFY
Gary Vaynerchuk recommends you diversify.
It’s a good idea for other reasons than limiting the short term damage from a sudden algorithm change. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
If you’re on more than one platform, if you’re on more than just Facebook, or YouTube, or Instagram, or Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Tumblr, Reddit — then when one of them updates the algorithm, if you experience a sudden drop in organic reach, it only affects a percentage of your Internet marketing operations, not all of it.
2. ENGAGE
Not only are algorithms serving less branded content to consumers on social media platforms, there are more competitors than ever for a shrinking number of organic reach opportunities. In order to prioritize which ones get played, the algo takes its cues from the users. The content they engage with the most is the content that others or more likely to want in their feed.
Facebook prioritizes posts that get comments, shares, and reactions.
Here’s what engages people:
Quality — Content that you’ve put thought and effort into making. Posts with interesting headlines and a message that fits into the medium (each platform is different and has its own cultural language). Posts with visually appealing images that people want to see.
Generosity — Content that isn’t for or about you, but that you made for the audience. Something that gives to them in some way, by informing them, amusing them, affirming them, inspiring them.
Authenticity — Don’t pretend to be something you’re not. You can’t fool people. Not even online. Genuine and personal content goes a long way.
Relevance — Posts that are newsworthy and timely. That riff on current events or popular memes. That engage with the conversation people are having right now.
Questions — Ask questions. Especially questions that people want to answer, by giving them an opportunity to brag a little, or show their individuality, or tell a funny story.
Video — Video gets a lot of engagement, and your phone’s cameras keep getting better and better.
3. SPEND
As social media platforms get more crowded, advertising prices are going up. They’re still at an epic, historical all time low.
We’ve never had anything like this before. Social media advertising has lower price barriers to entry than newspapers, magazines, radio, television, billboards, and probably even paying a college student to flip a sign on the street corner. And it’s laser targeted to reach exactly the demo and psychographic profile that you want to speak to.
Hustle for that organic. It’s worth it. Then pour some jet fuel on a good Internet marketing campaign with some ad dollars.
