Insurance Navy Brokers is here to guide you through the perplexing world of commercial auto insurance requirements. When it comes to insuring your business vehicles, there are certain factors that can create bursts of challenges in obtaining coverage. One such factor is the presence of high-risk drivers on your team – those with a penchant […]
How to Schedule Instagram Posts: 3 Ways for 2024
Researching how to schedule Instagram posts? You’ve come to the right place. Here, we break down how you can schedule posts, Stories, and even Reels – so you can plan and execute effective Instagram campaigns rather than wearing out your thumbs posting on the fly.
Bonus: Download our free, customizable social media calendar template to easily plan and schedule all your content in advance.
Can you schedule Instagram posts in advance?
This is an easy one: Yes. In several different ways, in fact. We’re about to show you three different options for scheduling Instagram posts.
Perhaps the bigger question here is why you should schedule Instagram posts. Scheduling social media content has tons of important benefits for creators and social media managers.
On Instagram in particular, creating and scheduling your content in advance allows you to focus on the high-quality images and well-edited videos that thrive on Instagram.
It also allows you to work interrupted for the rest of your workday so you have a chance to tackle responsibilities like community engagement, reporting, analysis, and strategic planning. (And avoid getting up at 3 a.m. to post content when your international audience is most active.) Since 38% of all social “teams” are actually just one person, scheduling posts is a critical way to get more out of the very limited number of hours in your day.
How to schedule Instagram posts: 3 ways
Heads up: To use any of these scheduling methods, you need to have an Instagram professional account. If you’re currently using a personal account, you’ll have to switch to an Instagram Business or Creator account before scheduling posts. Fortunately, it’s free, and it only takes a minute.
Need help switching? We’ve got a step-by-step guide to walk you through the process.
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How to schedule posts on Instagram (the app)
This method works for both posts and Reels — but not Stories.
1. Open Instagram and tap the plus icon and then tap Post or Reel to create your content as usual.
2. Once you’ve made your edits and added your caption, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and tap Advanced Settings.
3. Toggle the Schedule switch on and choose the date and time you want you post to go live.
4. Tap the back button and then tap Share to schedule your post.
5. If you want to revise your scheduled posts, open your Instagram profile and tap the menu icon in the top right.
6. Tap Scheduled content, then tap the three dots next to the relevant post or Reel to edit, reschedule, share now, or delete.
Note that you can schedule a maximum of 25 posts per day and a maximum of 75 days in advance.
How to schedule Instagram posts in Meta Business Suite
If you’d prefer to schedule posts on desktop rather than mobile, you can use Meta Business Suite. This method allows you to post Stories as well as Reels and posts.
To schedule Instagram posts from your computer using Meta Business Suite, follow these steps:
1. Open Meta Business Suite and click Content in the left menu.
2. Click Create Reel or Create post. To create a Story, click the down arrow next to Create post and choose Create Story.
3. Choose your Instagram account under Post to.
4. Complete your post, Reel, or Story with all the appropriate image(s), video(s), text, stickers, and so on.
5. Check to make sure you’re happy with the preview of your post or Story.
6. To schedule a post, slide the toggle on next to Set date and time. For a Story or Reel, click Schedule and enter your desired time.
That’s it! Now you can lean back and check your DMs.
How to schedule Instagram posts with Hootsuite
As described above, Meta Business Suite is a good tool if you only want to schedule content for Instagram and Facebook. But most social media pros can save a lot of time and energy using a social media management tool and handling all social channels from a single dashboard.
Hootsuite will help you schedule social media posts to Instagram and Facebook as well as TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest, all in one place.
You can schedule posts, Stories, carousel posts, Reels, and Instagram ads with Hootsuite. Here’s how.
1. Add your Instagram Business account to your social media management platform
If you’re using Hootsuite, it’s easy to link your Instagram account. From the Hootsuite dashboard:
Click your profile icon in the bottom left corner
Next, click Manage accounts and teams
Select + Private Network in the bottom-left corner
Choose Instagram from the list of networks and choose Instagram Business.
Click Log in to Facebook and enter your credentials. Choose the account you want to add and click Add.
For more details on this process, check out our very thorough help article.
2. Compose your Instagram post
In your Hootsuite dashboard, click the Create icon, then select Post.
In the Publish To field, choose your preferred Instagram account from the list. The default option is to create a post. To switch to a Story or Reel, tap the down arrow next to Post above the content box.
Now go ahead and upload your visuals (or select them from your content library). You’ll also want to write an engagement-driving caption, add your hashtags, tag relevant accounts, and add your location.
Optional: If you’re not sure how to caption your photo or video, click Create a caption now to try OwlyWriter AI. Save your existing post as a draft so you can return to it once you have the perfect caption.
Copy your desired caption, then find your draft on the Calendar tab to resume editing.
If you haven’t already prepared your image for Instagram, it’s easy to do so here. Hover over the image in the content box and click the pencil icon to crop your visual to the required aspect ratios, filter it, and otherwise perfect it.
You can also edit your image using Canva’s editor inside the Hootsuite dashboard. No more switching tabs, digging through your “Downloads” folder, and reuploading files — you can seamlessly create beautiful visuals from start to finish without leaving Hootsuite Composer.
To use Canva in Hootsuite:
Click on the purple Canva icon in the bottom right corner of the content editor.
Select the type of visual you want to create. You can pick a network-optimized size from the drop-down list or start a new custom design.
When you make your selection, a login pop-up window will open. Sign in using your Canva credentials or follow the prompts to start a new Canva account. (In case you were wondering — yes, this feature does work with free Canva accounts!)
Design your image in the Canva editor.
When you’re done editing, click Add to post in the top right corner. The image will automatically be uploaded to the social post you’re building in Composer.
3. Find the best time to post
Posting at the right time can help you reach your audience when they’re online. Plus, early engagement tells the Instagram algorithm that people like your content (a.k.a. gives it a nudge to surface it in more users’ feeds).
Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature shows you your best time to post on Instagram based on your posts from the past 30 days. It groups posts by weekday and hour to identify when your posts had the highest impact, based on average impressions or engagement rate.
To find your best times to post, save your post as a draft and follow the instructions below:
In the left-hand side menu, click Analytics.
Then, click Best time to publish.
In the dropdown menu at the top of your screen, select the Instagram account you’re posting to.
You will see a heatmap highlighting your best times to post (based on your account’s historical performance). You can switch between three tabs: “Extend reach,” “Build awareness” and “Increase engagement” to find the time that will work best for your specific goals.
4. Schedule your post
All right, now comes the easy part. Click Schedule for Later in the bottom right, and select the date and time you’d like your post to go live.
If you skipped the step above and didn’t go to analytics to look up your best times to publish, you will see a couple of recommended posting times once you select a date. You can pick one or manually set a time.
That’s it! You can review your scheduled posts in the Hootsuite Planner, and edit them there before they go live, as well.
Best practices for scheduling Instagram posts
If you’re ready to take the plunge and get really efficient with your posting habits, these tips will help keep you ahead of the game.
1. Post at the right time
In general, posting when your followers are online is key. That’s because early engagement is a value signal for the Instagram algorithm.
That’s one reason why simple cross-posting may not work. Your audience on Facebook may be active from 6-10PM on weeknights, but browsing Instagram from 1-4PM.
The right Instagram analytics tool will tell you when your audience is most likely to be online and/or engage with your post.
For the Hootsuite social media team, that time is 8AM-12PM PST, or 4-5PM PST on weekdays. For you, it might be different.
Luckily, Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature can show you your best time to post on Instagram based on your posts from the past 30 days. It groups posts by weekday and hour to identify when your posts had the highest impact, based on average impressions or engagement rate. Then it suggests the best times for you to post moving forward.
It will also suggest time slots that you haven’t used in the last 30 days so that you can shake up your posting habits and test new tactics.
2. Pause or adjust your posting schedule when necessary
When it comes to Instagram scheduling, going much farther than a week or two in advance can start to increase the risk of something going sideways.
You don’t want to cause a social media crisis for your brand by posting something insensitive. If something unexpected happens, you may need to pause your content calendar entirely (Hint: You can do that with one button in Hootsuite). You might even need to use your social channels to communicate through a crisis.
Posting everything too far in advance also makes it tricky to stay on top of the latest trending audio, trending effects, and popular memes. That said, posting evergreen and non-time-sensitive content in advance actually frees you up to jump on those trending moments as they happen.
Our advice: Keep your finger on the pulse, and stay nimble.
3. Don’t get carried away
Yes, the miracle of Instagram scheduling means you can increase your quantity of posts without sacrificing quality. But should you?
The short answer is “maybe.” The long answer is “maybe, if you can maintain consistent quality at that pace over the long term.”
Consistency matters more than frequency when it comes to engagement. Remember that the algorithm prioritizes good relationships: if your followers are engaging with your Instagram content, the algorithm will show more of it to them.
4. Optimize and edit
Great visuals are key on Instagram. Get yourself an Instagram scheduler that allows you to edit your photos in the same dashboard you publish from. It’ll save you much more time and ensure that your images are fully optimized before posting.
Shout out to Hootsuite’s image editor, which can crop your image to the correct size for any social network. It also has an extensive filter library (useful for those who would rather leave photo editing up to the professionals). Watch the video below for a preview of the tool.
Scheduling also allows the chance to double-check and proofread the text that accompanies your Instagram content. Grammarly is built into the Hootsuite dashboard to help prevent embarrassing typos.
And for big teams with a lot of moving parts, an internal multi-stage approval system is ideal for preventing a gaffe.
5. Analyze and adjust
Now that you know how to schedule an Instagram post, you’ve got time to take a look at the big picture.
Are you creating content that works for your audience? What’s earning likes? What’s falling flat?
Choose your preferred Instagram analytics tool (or hit the Analytics tab in Hootsuite) and start exploring.
Use Hootsuite to schedule Instagram posts (and Stories, and Reels) for the optimal time, respond to comments, track competitors, and measure performance—all from the same dashboard you use to manage your other social networks. Start your free trial today.
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The post How to Schedule Instagram Posts: 3 Ways for 2024 appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
14 Social Listening Tools for Effortless Brand Monitoring
Social listening tools are some of the most important for any social media marketer to master. Why? Simply because of the vast amount of data they provide about your brand, your audience, and your competitors in real time.
Back in the day, marketers had to dedicate substantial budgets to consumer and competitor research through surveys, focus groups, and market testing. Now, all you have to do is set up a social listening tool to track the details that matter most to your brand, and the information comes directly to your computer screen.
Here, we break down 14 of the best social media listening tools, so you can choose the one that makes the most sense for your current needs.
First things first, though. Let’s start by clarifying exactly what we mean when we talk about social listening.
Bonus: Discover the best way to gather insights and intel from your audience, competitors, industry, and favorite aspirational brands in our complete guide to advanced social listening.
What is social listening?
Social listening is the practice of using social tools to monitor what people are saying about your brand online. It’s also an important form of competitor research.
It works by tracking mentions (both tagged and untagged) of your brand and your competitors online, along with relevant keywords and hashtags. You can then access all of this information in one place to get both macro and micro views of the social conversation about your industry and your brand.
Here’s a quick video overview:
Want to dive deeper into this subject? We’ve got a whole blog post on what social listening is and why it matters so much for brands.
What are social listening tools?
Social listening tools are tech products — apps and software — designed to seek out the entire social conversation about any topic you choose. For marketers, the subjects of choice are usually their brand, their competitors, and their industry as a whole.
The tools search across multiple social platforms and compile all the relevant social data in one location, so you can get the full picture of what people are saying from just one screen.
Why do marketers need social listening tools?
One of the greatest benefits of social media for marketers is the ability to understand what people are saying and thinking in real time. Social media listening tools collect that data for you so you always have it at your fingertips.
Here are some key reasons to add social listening tools to your social marketing toolbox:
Understand what your audience really thinks about you. You already know what customers say in posts where they @mention you. What do they say in the posts where they don’t tag you?
Find opportunities for authentic engagement. Thank people who mention you or jump in with a useful suggestion. Or just keep an eye on the conversation to understand the social communities where people talk about your brand.
Identify pain points and new product opportunities. What are people asking for that they can’t find? Maybe you can provide the solution.
Track social sentiment in real time. If the conversation about your brand starts to skew negative, you can take action before things reach crisis level. If something is going unusually well, you can throw some budget at it to keep riding that wave.
Identify potential creators to partner with. Social media listening tools help you understand who the big players are in your niche.
Spot competitor campaigns as they launch. This gives you the chance to analyze potential opportunities and threats just as they start to emerge.
Get in early on trending topics. From memes to larger social trends, social listening platforms are like an advance alert system for what’s happening in the social sphere.
14 best social listening tools for 2024
There are a lot of options out there. Here are our top social listening tools picks for 2024.
1. Hootsuite
Hootsuite actually offers three different social listening features depending on the size of your brand and how much social data you need to analyze. (That’s on top of comprehensive social media management tools, including scheduling to all major network, easy performance tracking, and audience engagement tools.)
Streams
Streams are included in all Hootsuite plans, so this social media monitoring tool is available to all Hootsuite users. This is a simple-to-use tool, but that doesn’t mean it’s basic.
Streams are a powerful resource that allows you to build your own custom social listening dashboard. You can monitor keywords, mentions, and hashtags across multiple social platforms. With integrations from the Hootsuite App Directory, you can even monitor conversations on Reddit, Google My Business, and multiple online review sites.
You can respond to any post directly from your dashboard, assign it to another team member, or flag it for follow-up.
Here’s a detailed tutorial on how to set up Streams for social listening.
Pricing: Starting at $99/month; 30-day free trial.
Hootsuite Insights powered by Brandwatch
Insights takes social listening to a deeper level. This makes it a robust tool for market and competitor research.
With embedded sentiment analysis, Hootsuite Insights tells you not just what your audience is saying, but what they’re thinking and feeling. This allows you to deliver what they want from you in near real time. You can even set alerts to be notified of unexpected changes.
It also means you know how your target audience feels about your competitors at any given moment. Has the competition launched a marketing campaign you need to counter? Have they made a fumble you can capitalize on? Hootsuite Insights means you never miss an opportunity to engage.
Hootsuite Insights also includes an AI tool that helps you identify the most important conversations every time.
Insights is available as an add-on to Hootsuite Enterprise plans. Pricing available on request.
Hootsuite Advanced Analytics
Hootsuite Advanced Analytics is primarily a tool for tracking the ROI of your social marketing strategy and the business impact of your social media posts.
But it also contains a competitive analysis component that earns it a spot in our list of social media listening tools.
Hootsuite Advanced Analytics allows you to analyze your competitors’ audience and content strategy on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Key social data sources include their audience stats, engagement, and hashtag use.
Advanced Analytics is available as an add-on to Hootsuite Enterprise plans. Pricing available on request.
2. Brandwatch
Source: Brandwatch
Brandwatch uses a library of 1.6 trillion historical conversations going back to 2010 to help brands track trends online. More than 500 million new conversations are added every day.
Brandwatch provides access to conversations from more than 100 million sites and has the capability to integrate your own customer data. You can track key social listening metrics like brand awareness, social sentiment, and social share of voice.
For even easier tracking of your social listening queries, you can integrate Brandwatch into your Hootsuite dashboard.
Pricing for this enterprise-level social listening tool is available upon request.
3. Brand24
Source: Brand24
Brand24 is an AI-powered social listening tool that covers the major social platforms as well as blogs, news sites, and other online sources. It allows you to track trends in reach and brand awareness, and to set up alerts for critical notifications.
You can also gain insights into social sentiment. Influence score allows you to identify top influencers and creators in your niche.
Pricing: Starting at $99/month; 14-day free trial.
4. Digimind
Source: Digimind
Digimind expands social listening to 850 million sources, including blogs, forums, and offline sources as well as the major social media platforms. It works in more than 200 languages and features automatic translation.
This social listening tool incorporates AI to analyze trends in mentions and sentiment analysis.
Pricing is available on request.
5. Talkwalker
Source: Talkwalker
Talkwalker’s social data library includes more than 150 million sources. With more than 50 advanced filters, you can segment your social data and identify the right audience to monitor.
This powerful social listening tool allows you to understand the full impact of your social conversations by measuring engagement volume, reach, sentiment, and more. It incorporates Blue Silk GPT for AI analysis.
When you integrate Talkwalker into Hootsuite, you can tag, assign, and respond to Talkwalker-identified mentions up to two years old directly within the Hootsuite dashboard.
Pricing: Starting at $800/month.
6. Mentionlytics
Source: Mentionlytics
Mentionlytics monitors keywords in multiple languages across both social and web sources. This social listening tool identifies positive and negative mentions with advanced sentiment analysis.
You can filter your social listening results by keyword, source, country, and language. Mentionlytics also identifies the top influencers in your niche. Mentionlytics integrates into Hootsuite so you can assign and reply to mentions directly from the Hootsuite dashboard.
Pricing: Starting at $49/month; 14-day free trial.
7. Meltwater
Source: Meltwater
Meltwater allows unlimited searches over a rolling 15-month archive so you can identify trends and yearly cycles. Beyond social and web sources, Meltwater data includes TV, radio, podcasts, and other media sources.
Within Meltwater, you can build custom dashboards, analyze sentiment, and take advantage of image recognition tools.
Pricing is available on request.
8. Sprout Social
Source: Sprout Social
Sprout Social helps you track conversations about your brand, understand your audience demographics, and identify important influencers in your niche. Hashtag and mention monitoring are baked into the solution, along with sentiment analysis. More detailed social listening is available with an add-on.
See how Sprout Social compares to Hootsuite.
Pricing: Starting at $249/month; 30-day free trial.
9. Mention
Source: Mention
Mention tracks more than a billion data sources across the web, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can create and save filters to make it easier to find what you’re looking for.
This social listening tool includes sentiment analysis and visual reporting. You can track mentions of your brand or any topic up to two years in the past and set up alerts for unusual activity.
Pricing: Starting at $41/month; 14-day free trial.
10. Quid
Source: Quid
Formerly known as NetBase, this social listening tool uses generative AI to identify customer needs and expectations from the social conversation. It tracks millions of data points in dashboard form so you can view trends and insights.
This tool is specifically focussed on using social listening data to predict and anticipate future needs and trends, rather than responding to the conversation right in the moment.
Pricing is available on request.
11. Ipsos Synthesio
Source: Ipsos Synthesio
This is another AI-powered social listening tool with trend analysis. Synthesio divides data types into social-declarative data and digital-bevavioral data.
The trend detection here is designed to alert you to statistically relevant changes in the social conversation, topic pairings, and trending images.
This is particularly useful to spot new competitors and shifting brand perception.
Integrate Synthesio with Hootsuite to more easily engage with the social content this tool surfaces.
Pricing is available on request.
12. Audiense
Source: Audiense
Audiense takes a different approach to social intelligence. It’s not strictly speaking a social listening tool according to the narrowest definition of the term. But it does use social listening concepts in its offering, so we think it belongs on this list.
Rather than focusing on conversations about your brand, Audiense uses social data and conversations to help you understand who your audience is and what they care about. It’s about who’s driving the conversation more than what’s being said.
Audiense primarily pulls its data from X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook and Instagram). It also integrates with Hootsuite.
Pricing: Starting at $1,499/month.
13. Keyhole
Source: Keyhole
Keyhole offers a social listening tool that tracks keywords, mentions, and hashtags across multiple platforms. It graphs trends over time along with social share of voice. It tracks the sentiment in every mention, along with changes over time.
It’s also helpful to identify key influencers in your niche and compare the performance of the various influencers you identify.
Pricing: Starting at $79/month; free trial available.
14. HubSpot
Source: HubSpot
HubSpot’s social listening tools allow you to create keyword monitoring streams and set email alerts for specific keyword mentions. Since HubSpot also includes a CRM, it links social conversations with customer data.
HubSpot works well for social listening on X (formerly Twitter) but has limited functionality on other platforms. You can add the Hootsuite integration to HubSpot for additional features.
Pricing: From $800/month; free trial available.
Hootsuite makes it easy to monitor social media conversations and keywords, so you can focus on taking action on the insights available. Try it free today.
Do it better with Hootsuite, the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.
The post 14 Social Listening Tools for Effortless Brand Monitoring appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
Social Media Algorithms: A 2023 Guide for Every Network
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.
In this post, we’ll answer the question of how social media algorithms work. 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.
Download the full Social Trends report to get an in-depth analysis of the data you need to prioritize and plan your social strategy in 2022.
What is a social media algorithm?
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.
How do social media algorithms work?
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).
Every social platform’s algorithm explained
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.
1. Instagram algorithm
Known Instagram ranking signals:
Relationships matter. You’re more likely to see content from people you follow, message with, or otherwise engage with. For brands, this means it’s critical to encourage and respond to follower engagement.
Interests rule. This is why I get all that home decor and plant content.
Relevance is key. Relevance is based on factors like timeliness and topic trends.
Popularity pops. The level and speed of interaction with a post, and the level of engagement with an account in general, signal popularity – which can help content land on the Explore page.
For more key insights, check out our full blog post on how to work with the Instagram algorithm.
2. TikTok algorithm
Known TikTok ranking signals:
Previous interactions. This includes signals like accounts followed and hidden or content you’ve engaged with or marked not interesting.
Behavior on the Discover tab. This factor analyzes content characteristics like captions, sounds, effects, and trending topics.
Location and language. Content from your own country or in your own language may be preferenced.
Trends. Using trending sounds and effects can help make your content more discoverable.
TikToks should feel like TikToks. Use native features like effects, sounds, and text treatments.
Follower count does NOT matter. TikTok’s real distinction is that follower count is NOT a ranking signal.
TikTok’s algorithm is especially important to understand because unlike most social platforms, TikTok is designed to surface new content rather than showing content from people you already follow.
For more details, check out our full blog post on everything you need to know about the TikTok algorithm.
3. Facebook algorithm
Known Facebook ranking signals:
Facebook connections. Your Feed will primarily be filled with content from people and Pages you follow and interact with.
Content type. Users who watch videos get more videos. Users who interact with photos get more photos, and so on.
Engagement level. Popular posts, with lots of engagement, are more likely to be boosted by the algorithm – especially if that engagement is from people you already interact with.
Content quality. Facebook describes this general category of ranking signals with terms like “meaningful,” “informative,” “accurate,” and “authentic.”
Find more details in our post on how the Facebook algorithm works.
4. YouTube algorithm
Known YouTube ranking signals:
Video performance. Popular videos get more algorithm love. This is measured through metrics like view duration, likes, dislikes, and click-through rate.
Watch history. YouTube recommends content similar to what viewers have watched before.
Context. Topically related videos or videos that are often watched together are likely to show up in the “suggested videos.”
Like TikTok, YouTube is less about who you follow and more about what the algorithm serves up for you to watch. As of 2018, 70% of YouTube watch time was based on algorithm recommendations, and as of 2022, homepage and suggested videos are most channels’ top sources of traffic.
Download the full Social Trends report to get an in-depth analysis of the data you need to prioritize and plan your social strategy in 2022.
Learn more in our post on how to increase views with the YouTube algorithm.
5. LinkedIn algorithm
Known LinkedIn ranking signals:
Post quality. LinkedIn’s algorithm does an initial sort to flag content as spam, low-quality, or high-quality. You can guess which you should aim for.
Early engagement. LinkedIn’s algorithm uses early engagement as a secondary quality test before pushing the content out further.
LinkedIn connections. Closer connections see more of your content, while the pages, groups, and hashtags people follow are used to determine their likely interest in a topic.
We get into much greater detail in our post breaking down the intricacies of the LinkedIn algorithm.
6. Twitter algorithm
Known Twitter ranking signals:
User interactions. As Twitter defines it, “accounts you interact with frequently, Tweets you engage with, and much more.”
Recency. This specifically affects what shows up in trending topics or What’s Happening.
Location. This will also affect what you see in Trends.
Current popularity. How much engagement and activity is happening related to this Topic/Trend/Tweet right now, especially from people in your network.
Get the full scoop in our post on the Twitter algorithm.
7. Pinterest algorithm
Known Pinterest ranking signals:
Website quality and ownership. Pinterest judges the quality of a website based on the popularity of Pins that link to it, and prioritizes content from the website owner.
Engagement levels. Evaluated for both individual Pins and for the Pinner’s account.
Since Pinterest works a little differently from the other social platforms, we’ve got a post on Pinterest SEO instead of one focused specifically on the algorithm. It shares lots of juicy details you can use to make your Pins more discoverable.
In case that brings up even more questions, we’ve also got a blog post all about social SEO and how it’s different from social media algorithms.
How to make social media algorithms work for you: 7 tips
You now know why social media algorithms exist and how they differ across platforms. Here are some overarching tips for scoring points with social media algorithms in general.
1. Post relevant, high-quality content
Content relevance and quality are ranking signals for all the social algorithms. That’s because the entire point of algorithms on social media is to show people content they’re likely to be interested in. Spoiler alert: People are not generally interested in content that can be deemed irrelevant or low quality.
What “quality” means can differ depending on the platform. While you might want to use a high-end camera for your Instagram feed content, you’ll almost certainly shoot your TikToks on a mobile device. Quality is really about matching the content you create to the expectations for the platform. Take advantage of features like stickers and sounds to make the most of each social tool.
Relevance can also vary by platform, but it’s always about understanding your target audience and creating content that appeals specifically to them.
2. Deliver what you promise
Clickbait was a real problem in the early days of social media. As a result, all the platforms have trained their algorithms to essentially downvote content that appears misleading or spammy.
Make sure your headline, caption, and hashtags are accurate and clear.
3. Understand the trends
Trending topics keep people scrolling and engaged, so the social platforms want to serve up more of that content.
You don’t want to leap on every trend that comes along. But if something emerges with real potential to align with your brand messaging, it’s worth putting some of your best social minds on it. Use tools like Google Trends to see what’s trending online in general, and a social listening program to understand what’s happening in your industry specifically.
Also watch for ways to incorporate trending sounds and effects for short-form video like TikToks and Instagram Reels.
4. Know the best times to post
Many of the algorithms include recency and early engagement as key ranking signals. That means you need to know when your audience is most likely to be online and actively engaging with each social platform.
For general recommendations, check out our post on the best times to post on every social network. But remember that while these times are a good place to start, they won’t necessarily be most effective for your followers.
To get custom recommendations for the optimal time to post for maximum engagement based on your own followers’ behavior, check out the best time to post recommendations built into Hootsuite.
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5. Encourage comments, saves, and shares
As we just said, engagement – especially early engagement – is a key ranking signal for all the social media algorithms. One easy way to get more engagement is simply to ask for it.
We’re not suggesting you plead with followers to like or share your posts. Instead, create content that naturally encourages followers to engage, both with your content and with each other.
One tried-and-true way to encourage engagement is to run a social media contest. But, of course, you don’t want to run a contest in every post.
Another great way to boost engagement is to ask a question or start a debate.
When you create especially informative content, encourage followers to share with others who could benefit from the resources, or to save the post for their own future reference.
6. Experiment (a lot)
Working with the social media algorithms is part science, part art, and a tiny bit of magic. While we can give you tips to help send the right signals to the algorithms, there’s no universal formula for success.
That means you need to try new things, see what works, and refine your strategy over time. All good digital marketers know the manta “Always Be Testing.” It’s the only real way to learn what’s working right now, for your brand, in real time.
We’ve got a blog post that outlines how to run social media tests. For inspiration, check out the experiments playlist at Hootsuite Labs.
7. Post more video
Social platforms are leaning hard into video. Posting more video content aligns your brand’s social strategy with the direction the platforms are headed.
In particular, Meta platforms provide lots of opportunities for uses to discover short-form video content (i.e., Reels) from brands and content creators they don’t follow. Reels are an important way to reach new users and send relevance signals to the algorithms.
Make your social media marketing strategy work with algorithms and save time managing all your accounts using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule and publish content, engage your audience, and measure performance. Try it free today.
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The post Social Media Algorithms: A 2023 Guide for Every Network appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
Originally posted on November 7, 2022 @ 2:41 pm
LinkedIn Groups: How to Create, Join, or Manage Them
If you’re the sort of person who likes to both work hard and play hard, LinkedIn groups are going to be right up your alley.
While your LinkedIn page or profile is a place to get down to business, LinkedIn groups are a chance to (digitally) mix and mingle. This is where you loosen your digital tie and kick back with industry colleagues or like-minded entrepreneurs to collect wisdom, share your own two cents, or get into a spirited online debate.
And if you happen to promote your brand and connect with new partners or potential customers along the way? Win-win.
Here’s how to use LinkedIn groups to form deeper connections with the most relevant of LinkedIn’s 875 million members.
What are LinkedIn groups?
LinkedIn groups are a feature of LinkedIn that allow users with shared interests to connect. Think of it as an online clubhouse or modern message board where you can start or join discussions and build relationships.
LinkedIn groups can be based around a specific industry (e.g., social media marketing!) or a topic of interest (e.g., Ultimate Frisbee). Ask questions, share insights, and maybe make a few new pals.
How to find LinkedIn groups
There are two types of LinkedIn groups: listed and unlisted.
To view and join an unlisted group, you need to be invited personally by a member.
To find a listed group, use the search bar in the top left-hand corner to search for a topic of interest. Then, in the “On this page” menu, tap Groups to see all groups associated with that search term.
Tap the group’s name to learn more about its mandate, or tap Join if you want to sign up without further information. (You live on the edge, and we love it!)
LinkedIn’s algorithm will also suggest groups to you. Find those recommended groups on your LinkedIn groups page on the right-hand side.
How to join a LinkedIn group
To join a listed LinkedIn group, tap the blue Join button, either on the search results page or on the group page itself.
Some groups have an open-door policy, and you’ll be admitted immediately.
Other LinkedIn groups will require you to wait for admin approval before you can start participating in the group.
Your LinkedIn groups will be listed on your profile by default, but you can change the visibility by visiting your personal groups list.
Tap the three dots next to a group and select Update your settings.
Then, toggle Display group on profile to off.
How to create a LinkedIn group
To create your own LinkedIn group, go to the Groups page and tap the Create a Group button.
Next, fill out the details: your group name, description, industry, group photo, etc.
You can also explain any group rules here and adjust discoverability and permissions. (You can always go back and change these later!)
Tap Create when you’re done to see your new group page. But before sending out invites, tap Write a welcome note to create an automated message for new group members.
Now you can invite members or post on your new LinkedIn group page. To adjust settings, edit your page content, or review members, tap the Manage Group or Edit Group buttons on the left-hand side.
Tips for managing a successful LinkedIn group
Of course, just like groups on any other social media platform, simply creating a LinkedIn group is not enough to generate engagement. A community doesn’t emerge out of thin air: it takes some elbow grease to develop a successful LinkedIn group.
Promote your group on other social media networks
If you want your LinkedIn group to be full of vibrant, enthusiastic participants, you might want to look beyond your professional network. Head to your other social networks to promote this hot new group. You may just lure over fans, followers, and well-meaning creepers who are passionate about your group topic, too.
You could create posts, videos, or Stories about your LinkedIn Group, or you could add a link to the group in your social media bios. (Hot tip: it’s easy to share one key message across multiple platforms using a scheduling tool like Hootsuite.)
Invite friends, colleagues, and other professionals who may be interested
While you certainly don’t want to spam everyone on your list with an invite to your LinkedIn group, reach out to those in your network who might be interested in a personal invite.
After all, people can’t join your hip new club if they don’t know it exists, right? It’s possible people may find your group by searching if you’ve packed your group name and description with strong keywords, but the reality is that word of mouth is going to be your strongest recruitment tool… and that starts with you.
Post regularly about relevant topics
Hopefully, one day, your group will be so full of enthusiastic members that the conversation will flow effortlessly all day, every day. But first, you may need to put on your super host hat and take charge, one post at a time.
Create value for your members by posting regularly about relevant topics. They joined your group for a specific reason, so stick to content that’s on theme. Creating a content calendar for your group posts can help you stick to your content pillars.
Just like when posting to your business page or your personal LinkedIn profile, think about content that will engage people.
Ask questions, prompt discussion, and share content about your industry — whatever you can to keep people coming back and joining in with their own opinions.
Check out our social media content idea cheat sheet here for a few ideas to get you started.
Respond promptly to any questions or comments posted by members
A great LinkedIn group is full of lively conversation and interactions. So if a member posts a comment and then hears crickets? They’re probably not going to feel very excited about coming back to see what else you have to say.
The easiest way to make your group members feel like their comments have been seen and heard is by answering questions promptly. LinkedIn groups have a notification setting so that you can set up a little alert for any new comments and posts. Toggle that on to make sure you never miss a chance to be the host with the most.
Monitor conversations within the group for inappropriate content
Maybe you are happy to let your group be the wild west… but chances are that you’ll want to set certain standards for behavior to make sure everyone is comfortable and feels safe.
First, some preemptive measures may be helpful. You can cut inappropriate posters off at the pass by setting clear expectations for members. (Remember that “Rules” section when you set up your group?) You can also set up your group so that admin approval is required for any new member, which can help you reject spambots or bad dudes before they even join.
As an admin, you can simply delete inappropriate posts and comments as they come up. You can also turn off comments on particularly sensitive posts altogether.
One more helpful moderation tool is turning on post-review. It takes a little more time, but adding a step where posts need to be approved by an admin can help stop inappropriate content before it goes public.
Show appreciation for active members
Reward active members by engaging with their posts and comments, or shouting them out in your posts.
Can you tag them, asking for their specific expert insight? Is there a milestone of theirs that you can celebrate? (“Congrats on your 100th post, Darlene!”) Are there special privileges you might consider giving to someone who has shown themselves to be a true leader in your community? Can you share their story with the group and praise them for adding value?
Not only will special treatment make this all-star individual feel special, but it may just incentivize other members to step up their own game.
Offer participation incentives
Responding to someone’s comments or thanking them for a like or a share is one way to incentivize participation, but maybe your group can go beyond that.
Try offering prizes or opportunities for specific participation actions — a chance to be featured in a LinkedIn Live Q&A, perhaps, or an honorary title (“Supermember”).
When all else fails: promise ‘em a tote bag.
Solicit feedback
You don’t have to guess at what your members want to talk about —they’re right there for the asking. Check in about the goals they have for the group, and collect feedback about just how you can make your group better.
It’s a hyper-effective way to discover what conversation topics will delight and inspire.
Set clear guidelines and expectations
Make sure everyone who joins your group understands what the expectations are for behavior.
That way, when things go sideways, you can block or kick out the offending member knowing that you were clear about expectations from day one.
You’re ready to get started with LinkedIn groups now — go forth and get groupin’. Unless you want to stick around and do some more reading and strategizing about LinkedIn for business? We love this for you.
Easily manage your LinkedIn Page alongside your other social channels using Hootsuite. From a single platform you can schedule and share posts—including video—engage your network, and boost top-performing content.
Easily create, analyze, promote and schedule LinkedIn posts alongside your other social networks with Hootsuite. Get more followers and save time.
The post LinkedIn Groups: How to Create, Join, or Manage Them appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
Originally posted on April 28, 2023 @ 11:41 am
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