Social Media Mean Girls

Understanding the social media algorithms can be extremely time consuming and very confusing to some. When you understand how they work, you can learn how to grow your social media channels organically. In this blog I will explain the social media algorithms as characters from the well-known movie "Mean Girls." I hope that this helps you see the algorithms more clearly so that you can use them to your advantage. The main platforms that I am going to go over today are: Tik-Tok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter and Linked-in.

Janice and Damian are the epidemy of the Facebook algorithm. Most of us remember Janice as the first girl who spoke to Cady when she arrived at a new school. Cady was then told a story about how Janice was possessive and jealous, never wanting her friends to have other friends. Facebook is a possessive and needy algorithm as well. Now, I love Janice and I am not saying that the stories in the Burn Book about her are true but they do help me remember the algorithm. Janice and Damien to me are the perfect way to remember an algorithm that will stand up in the gym of social media platforms and announce, "You don't even go here." When it comes to Facebook, you need to use native content rather than links to any outside sources. Hint: drop the links in the first comment. Also, do not ask users to directly comment, like or share your post. Instead, ask engaging questions that they are likely to answer or use engaging photos they will want to share. Also, just like Janice and Damien movie nights, Facebook watch parties will be an amazing way for you to increase your organic reach. These are just a few ways I use these characters to help me remember the Facebook Algorithm.

Other Facebook tips:

-Utilize spotlight to choose five videos to stay on the top of your Facebook page

-Respond to every comment and start conversations.

-Tag people and products within their Facebook pages to keep your information reachable while staying on the platform.

"Stop trying to make "Fetch" happen," is my favorite line of the entire film. The irony is that thanks to this film, "Fetch," did happen. Gretchen Weiner has big hair because it is full of secrets and she is the perfect character from the film to help us remember the algorithm for Twitter. Twitter cares significantly about what is new and trending. Twitter is the originator of the hashtag and revolves around sharing and engagement. If you want your posts to go viral on Twitter, then they need to be Fetch. Your going to want to focus on increasing your mentions and retweets is you want the algorithm to push your content further. Always pay attention to new ways to use the trending hashtags in a way that matches your brand and audience. Engage with other users and retweet others to build an engaging community.

Other Twitter Tips:

-stay consistent

-stay on the feed

-stay on top of everything that is new

Walking into the Tik-Tok platform is very similar to being the new kid in a school full of different cliques just like Cady Heron in Mean Girls. Cady can teach us a lot about the ever growing Tik-Tok algorithm. You need to figure out where you belong in Tik-Tok, your lane if you will. There are many different sides to Tik-Tok and you want to delve into your lane hard. Also, hang out in other lanes when necessary and be kind to everyone. You want to be communicating and commenting and responding to those who comment on your videos as well. Pay attention to the Tik-Tok trends and find ways to bring them into your content in a unique way.

Instagram founders took advantage of a simple way for their users to share images with people all over the world. The app took off and has continued into the most downloaded social media app that there is. Photo quality is majorly important to the Instagram algorithm as they are an about created on image sharing. Another key thing to remember is to use all aspects of Instagram. This includes reels, stories, IGTV and now the Instagram Shopping features for those of you who market products on Instagram as well. The most important engagement that Instagram is going to pay attention to is how much of your content is getting saved or shared. One way to do this is to make sure that your content has information that people will want to go back and look at again.

Snapchat is not always the first social media platform that comes to mind when you think of business social media platforms. Snapchat should never be counted out though as they have new business profiles that allow you a lot of great benefits on the platform. You can utilize different story groups in order to encourage different interactions from people on the app. You can also reach a younger demographic for your brand or business as well. Snapchat also allows you to show a more playful side to your brand or business that can be beneficial in building more personal relationships with your audience. The best part of this platform though is you can connect directly with your audience without having to worry about your position on a feed.

Aaron Samuels is the perfect example of quality over quantity which tells us a lot about the Pinterest algorithm in 2021. There are many hacks to creating Pinterest posts and a few key rules that you need to remember in order to get the most out of this platform. Do not pin over 50 pins per day and this includes pinning things to your curated boards as well as uploading pins. Make sure that you are pinning items to relevant boards that have niched down content specific to your target market. Also, keep a break of 2 days between boards. Meaning if you are pinning something to one board, do not pin the same pin to another board for at least two days. Dates are very important to Pinterest as they are to Aaron Samuels.

How many of you have felt personally victimized by social media. Ms. Norbury is the clear way that I remember the LinkedIn algorithm. She pushes people and expects them to be the best version of themselves. Let's be honest, the social media where we are the best version of ourselves is usually LinkedIn. So, here are some things to remember about the algorithm and how to gain more organic reach. Personal connections are always going to carry more weight on LinkedIn than people you connected with just to grow your numbers. They base the posts in everyone's feeds based upon the people and content that they interact with. This means that the people you interact with who also interact with you will see your content come up on their feed. LinkedIn needs to feel that your content will cause engagement in order for them to share it. You always also want to go niche rather than broad. Stick to what you know and you will succeed.

Understanding the algorithms can be vitally important if you want to organically control your reach. Rather than thinking about the algorithms as data driven crawlers pushing content onto feeds, I hope that this blog helped you see them in a new way. Let me know any other marketing questions that I can break down for you!