You know that feeling when you’ve finally figured it out? When your Social Media posts are doing their job, your reach is brilliant and engagement is off the scale but then suddenly there’s an algorithm shake-up and without warning you’re back to square 1? Frustrating isn’t it?
Luckily Twitter has released its own algorithm ‘how-to’ (thanks guys!) with everything you need to know to stay at the top of the timeline.
It all comes down to four main factors:
- How recently was the tweet published?
- How much engagement has the tweet had?
- Does the tweet include media? Video, pictures, links, GIFs and even polls?
- And a crucial one here- consistency! Twitter takes into account how long its been since an account posted or was active, so you may have the makings of a world class post ready to go but if you’ve been AWOL for a while, then chances are it’s not going to be seen by as many as you’d hoped.
Here’s our simple six point workout to ensure the Twitter algorithm doesn’t get YOU:
- Stay active! (We don’t mean donning the trainers and heading out for a quick 5K although fair play if you are) but ensuring you have a consistent post frequency and activity level on the platform will stand you in good stead when Twitter’s handing out reach
- Use your hashtags wisely. Not only can the right hashtag increase brand awareness and engagement (an algorithm win) but a well-placed hashtag could even ensure you end up in the Twitter ‘Trends For You’ section, which is going to make you very algorithmically popular
- Video (Have we mentioned in the last five minutes how vital brilliant video is to your Twitter performance?). Twitter themselves have pointed out that video tweets provide 10 times MORE engagement, and an amusing GIF can provide 55% more engagement than static posts
- Keep up the customer service. Replying to your followers demonstrates that you’re on the ball. According to Twitter, consumers who receive a direct and personal response from a brand are 44% more likely to share their positive experience and 30% more likely to recommend it
- Paid Social. Make room in the budget for some paid promotion and you’re sure to see some benefits, organic and otherwise. Check out our Paid Social blog here for further top tips
- Get rid of the long tail. Check your post performance analytics regularly to see what’s working, and what’s not then fine tune your activity to eradicate posts with zero engagement.
Ok, so that’s Twitter understood. For now. We’ll update you on any new algorithm changes as they happen, we look forward to seeing you smashing those reach and engagement levels once again!
