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Social media algorithms are the backbone of all social networks. They exist to sort the massive volume of content posted every day and show each user the content they are most likely to engage with.
It’s never a good idea to try to game an algorithm on social media, but understanding the most important ranking signals can give you a strategic advantage over your competitors.
Keep reading for a rundown of each major platform’s most important ranking signals and expert tips on how to make your social posts stand out — not just to users, but also to social algorithms.
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A social media algorithm is a set of rules and signals that automatically ranks content on a social platform based on how likely each individual social media user is to like it and interact with it.
Algorithms are the reason why no two users will see exactly the same social content, even if they follow all the same accounts.
There’s a reason why the main TikTok user feed is called the For You Page. It’s content specifically selected for you, based on the way you have interacted with the app in the past.
But, of course, there’s no human being sitting behind a desk shuffling content into the feed of each TikTok user. (What a job that would be!) Instead, those recommendations are made by algorithms.
The algorithm of every social media platform is different, but they are all based on machine learning and a set of factors called ranking signals. These are exactly what they sound like: signals used to rank the value of each individual piece of content for each individual user.
Ranking signals are individualized because they are often based on your previous interactions with the app.
Social media algorithm examples
To show algorithms in action, here are some examples of how they work in my own social media feeds.
Facebook shows me a constant stream of videos that fall into a category I call “sad animal becomes happy.” A woman adopts a bee with no wings. A horse stuck in the ice is rescued by some guys with a pick-up truck. A police officer saves baby ducks stuck in a sewer grate.
Source: The Dodo
I’ve never specifically liked or followed an account that serves these videos, but every time one appears as a suggested video in my news feed, I watch it all the way through. I often share them through Messenger with my sister. The behavior tells Facebook I want more of this content – and boy, does it deliver.
The Instagram algorithm, on the other hand, serves me an uninterrupted stream of vintage/boho home decor and houseplants.
Sources: @stunning_plant, @greentica, @vintage____visions
In this case, I have followed some accounts based on suggested posts. That reinforcing signal tells the algorithm to serve even more of the same type of content into my feed, and I’m not mad about it.
Sometimes Instagram even tells you why it is suggesting a specific post to you, based on something you liked, followed, or watched.
Source: @bestofnorthernlights
So far, you’ve seen how the algorithms are affected by user behavior. In the next sections, we’ll talk about how xcontent creators can “communicate” with the algorithms that power social media (and help algorithms surface their content to more users).
Now that you know what social media algorithms are and how they work, let’s look at some of the specific ranking signals for each social platform.
We can never know all the details of a platform’s algorithm – that’s their secret sauce. But we do know enough to make some meaningful adjustments to your content strategy so the algorithms work for you, rather than against you.
Here are the most important known ranking signals for each social platform.
