How it Works: The Twitter Algorithm
At Squirrels&Bears we believe in simplicity, and we like to provide clear answers to your questions. In our #howitworks series we focus on simple explanations of various aspects of marketing, highlighting the basic facts, what works and what doesn’t work. And we hope to make your life a little easier.
The Basics:
From its inception in 2006, Twitter has been viewed as a microblogging platform for users to share their thoughts in the form of tweets. It has evolved over time, but the premise has remained the same.
While Twitter may have fallen by the wayside for marketing in comparison to its other social sharing competitors, it is still an extremely useful tool for brand awareness amongst other things.
There are four main factors used in the Twitter algorithm. Recency, Engagement, Rich Media and Activity.
Some other factors to consider are: How many followers you have, those with a higher following will perform better. Tweets that are more relevant to a user and their interests will be ranked higher. Twitter also has an ‘In case you missed it’ feature where it shows the user relevant tweets that are of interest to them.
Do:
Really focus on your content strategy, the algorithm doesn’t necessarily reward quality content, but the users do. If your content is great and garners more attention, engagement is sure to follow, and Twitter will then reward you by making the post more visible.
Keep the tone more relaxed and conversational, You are more likely to get your followers engaged by asking them questions and getting their opinions on new products through polls and personalised hashtags.
Stay active on the platform. Like most algorithms, Twitter rewards those who are more active on the platform. Organic engagement with other accounts that are relevant to your brand will benefit how Twitter sees your page i.e. retweeting and sharing posts, or getting involved in discussions in the comments section.
Re-use your best performing content, if it has done well in the past it is likely to perform when posted again. This is helpful for engagement.
Don’t:
Be afraid to experiment a little with your formula. Advice on how often to post on twitter varies from 3-6 times a day and up to 20 times a day! You can also test different timings of when to post.
Leave too much time to respond to tweets and mentions. Letting your followers know you are a quick responder is great for your reputation and bodes well with the algorithm.
Be too niche with your hashtags, it is good to use a branded hashtag for promotions and giveaways but join in on trending hashtags too where relevant. The algorithm favours tweets from accounts who have regular engagement and jumping on trending hashtags can help your visibility and therefore your engagement.
Neglect various forms of media from your content strategy, try utilising video content and external links to boost variety.