Welcome to Edition No. 4 of my weekly digital strategy newsletter, providing practical analysis of the latest in the world of content creation.
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Contents
I. Analysis: Cracking the Instagram Algorithm
II. News: A Google Fun Fact That’s Useful, Too
III. Tips: A Common LinkedIn Mistake
Cracking the Instagram Algorithm
In June 2021, Instagram shared details about how its algorithm works.
This week on Twitter, they posted and ranked four “signals” that affect how posts in a) Feeds and Stories, b) Reels and c) Explore, respectively, are ranked. For example:
The four signals are the same for each of the three sections, but in different orders.
How should this affect the way you think about your posts? I believe we can fairly break these four signals into two groups:
Group A: Outwardly controlled signals
Information about the post
Information about the author
Group B: Inwardly controlled signals
Your activity
Your Interaction History
What do I mean by “outwardly” and “inwardly” controlled signals1?
Outwardly controlled signals are controlled by the content creator.
Inwardly controlled signals are controlled by the content consumer.
Here’s how Instagram describes the four signals:
I would argue that information about the person who posted also includes everything from your bio, to your location, to hashtags you use, while your activity might include searches you perform, the posts you like/comment/save/share, the Stories you watch, and more.
The more consistent you are in the signals you send, the more likely users interested in your particular niche are to find you. What story are you telling your profile and your posts? That’s how the algorithm will see you.
What you can’t control are how other users interact with your posts. That’s where the algorithm comes in – to match you, the creator, with the dozens, hundreds or even thousands of users who are most likely to interact with your content.
The story of Instagram’s algorithm, after all, isn’t much different from that of Facebook’s, Google’s, Twitter’s and TikTok’s at their cores (that is, at the most basic level): Post quality content directed toward your target audience, and let the bots sort out the rest.
News
SNAPCHAT TAKING A PAGE FROM YOUTUBE’S PLAYBOOK?
A couple weeks ago, I delved into some issues with creator compensation on major social media platforms. Both user feedback as well as the number$ make it clear that YouTube is the leader in this field. One major reason is that in-video ad views can be attributed to specific creators. This is because, unlike Instagram, for example, where ads appear between separate pieces of content, YouTube ads are “attached” to specific content, allowing for better revenue attribution.
I recap all this because Snapchat has announced mid-roll ads in Snap Star Stories, which should open the door to better compensation for creators on its platform.
“In beta testing now with an early set of U.S. Snap Stars, Snap Stars will receive a share of the revenue generated from ads within their public Story.”
GOOGLE SEARCH NUGGET
While some of these original queries may be obscure and specific, don’t underestimate the opportunity to get an early lead on emerging trends that could sustain in the long run. One example could be all things Web3 and metaverse-related.
A more specific example: Let’s say you work at the Springfield Gazette and John Jones decides to run for mayor of Springfield. If Jones has never before run for office, there may be a sudden influx of searches for “John Jones mayor” or “John Jones politician.”
While your coverage of Jones as a candidate may naturally lend itself to filling in those new search holes, also think about all the ways in which you can optimize your SEO to be a SERP leader for Jones-related queries.
DOMAIN NAMES AREN’T IMPORTANT (IN THIS CASE)
Speaking of SEO, Google Search Advocate John Mu shared on Reddit that “a domain won't rank well just because it has keywords in it.”
In other words, choose a website name that fits your brand and follow best practices for building search juice. Just because your URL is sourdoughbread.com doesn’t mean you’re going to perform better in searches for “sourdough bread” than, say, theperfectloaf.com.
To put it another way, just because someone puts on a Messi jersey doesn’t mean they’re good at soccer.
THIS REMINDS ME OF Y2K, BUT FOR WEB BROWSERS
I’m not a coder, so the less I say here the more you’ll probably understand. (I aim for honesty and humility, always.) But later this year, both Chrome and Firefox will release version 100 of their browsers. Depending on how your site is set up, this could cause problems.
Check out this article, and if necessary, share with your developer(s) to better understand the issue, and if there is something your team should be doing to prepare.
META, METAMATES, ME
Mark Zuckerberg has updated his company’s values:
Move fast together
Build awesome things
Focus on long-term impact
Live in the future
Meta, metamates, me
Metamates are what Meta employees are now called. Kind of like Googlers.
UPDATES & TESTS
Not all bots are bad bots. A new feature – an “Automated by @handle” tag – will make it easier to trust well-intentioned bot accounts.
Also from Twitter, Safety Mode:
Feed. Just Feed, please.
A new feature to help group admins monitor “Conflict.”
TikTok
A Brand Safety Center: “Whether your business is big or small, we believe that creating a positive environment for our community is the foundation for keeping your brand safe.”
YouTube
Shorts – YouTube’s version (roughly) of TikToks – are getting their own “shelf” on channel pages.
The video platform has also unveiled a new initiative to fight misinformation:
Snapchat
As of Feb. 23, you’ll be able to change your user name without having to create a completely new account, which up until this point was the only way to do so.
Google Docs
In effort to “create a more flexible, interactive, and intelligent experience,” Google will allow you to add a summary section (automatically generated for some users) and page-less – i.e. no page breaks – documents to “gives teams more space to collaborate.”
101 Tip
Forgiving the fact that my phone settings are in Catalan (I’m trying to master my wife’s first language), here’s how to mute a term on Twitter using your iPhone. (I don’t know if this is available on Android.)
Highlight the offending term, tap the right arrow once, and the third option on the right should be to Mute (where you see Silencia here).
Then select the settings to mute the particular term, save (Desa, top right) your settings, and you no longer will have to worry about that term showing up in your Twitter feed.
Advanced Tip
LinkedIn About Section
This may seem like a simple tip, but I see a lot of people doing it wrong.
LinkedIn isn’t just for finding jobs. It’s also great for making connections and sharing best practices. The key is to present yourself as someone worth connecting with.
In addition to a recent, professional photo and an updated history, there’s another simple section of your profile that I often see botched: About.
Dos:
Make it personal – first-person and friendly
Concise: 1-2 sentences maximum (at least for the first paragraph if you decide to expand)
Make it intriguing enough that others will want to scroll down and learn more
Don’ts:
Repeat your company or title
Try to cram in various career accomplishments
Be overly complicated
Here’s a solid example from someone I have never met, but came across in my feed. You know exactly what Taylor does and you have a little bit of an idea about his background.
It’s personal and gives enough information, but you may also be curious to find out more about who he invests in and what companies he founded in the past.
Take a moment to evaluate your own LinkedIn page and brush up your About section. If it takes you more than two minutes, you’re probably doing it wrong.
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These are terms I’m using, not Instagram. I don’t mean that in an egotistical way, I just want you to understand that this isn’t official language from Instagram, but I think it makes the ranking process easier to understand.