Cracking the social media algorithm code means that you’ve already won half the marketing battle! If you know how to stay on top of the user feeds, you are a step ahead of the competitors. 

However, nailing the algorithm game isn’t as easy as it sounds. With multiple changes going around the year, the content strategy needs to be changed quite often. What worked in 2023 might not yield similar results in 2024 and so on! 

In this article, we will break down the social media algorithm updates based on different platforms for 2024. 

Table of Contents: 

1. What are Social Media Algorithms? 
2. Why Social Media Algorithm is Important?
3. Facebook Algorithm
4. Instagram Algorithm
5. LinkedIn Algorithm
6. Pinterest Algorithm
7. YouTube Algorithm

What are Social Media Algorithms? 

Mathematically speaking, an algorithm is a finite set of rules followed by the system to perform any given computation. Based on the data provided, an algorithm performs a series of logical operations and produces the desired output. 

On a similar note, a social media algorithm is a series of instructions responsible for ranking content according to your liking. It learns a user’s content consumption behavior and then selects posts that will suit their interests best. 

Why are Social Media Algorithms Important? 

If you search how many people use social media in the US, you will get a rough figure of 302.35 million. And to put things into context, that’s approximately 90% of the total US population.

Billions of posts are made across different social media channels daily! Imagine you’re bombarded with even a tiny percentage of them all at once. 

Needless to say, it will spoil your social media experience and unnecessarily spam the entire feed. A social media algorithm is needed to filter out unwanted content and select what will hold user attention. 

Facebook Algorithm

With 3.03 billion monthly active users, Facebook is still the undisputed king of social media! While you might not find it to be the favorite Gen Z hangout spot, it still gets sufficient traffic from users aged 25 to 34. 

The Facebook algorithm determines what non-sponsored content will be pushed to your feed, in the order of user interest and relevancy. The algorithm changes very frequently, thus requiring marketers and creators to change their plans quite often. 

Key Components to Know About Facebook Algorithm 

Facebook algorithm is an amalgamation of different factors that help judge a user’s interest in the content. 

• Inventory: All content from groups, pages, users, and friends is collectively termed as inventory. Depending on the user’s interest, Facebook picks the top choices for you.
• Signals: Facebook uses different signals to identify content relevancy, like keywords, and hashtags. 
• Predictions on Engagement History: Based on what you have liked and interacted with in the past, Facebook makes predictions and collects appropriate content pieces for you. 

Facebook Algorithm Updates for 2024 

Back in the early days of Facebook, the social media algorithm was all about likes and comments. With time and more features being launched, algorithm changes are pretty common. Here’s what you should keep in mind for 2024: 

• Posts with more and different types of reactions are going to perform well. 
• Along with the number of comments, the length of comments is also going to be in consideration. 
• Rather than promoting content from business pages, Facebook is now preferring content from friends and family accounts. 
• Accounts with credibility get more visibility. Therefore, it is crucial to keep the profile optimized. 
• Posts in Groups and Events are more prioritized. 

Instagram Algorithm

There’s plenty of chatter about Instagram relying on multiple social media algorithms to nail its content recommendation game. Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, confirmed the same and mentioned various algorithms and ranking processes at play. 

For different content formats, Instagram has a different social media algorithm. For example, stories are ranked based on how likely you are to reply, tap, or react to them. Similarly, the feed consists of videos and image posts that you might comment on, share, or save. 

How is Instagram Explore Page Ranked? 

Did you know that more than 50% of Instagram’s user base is checking the Explore page regularly? The explore section includes content from accounts you don’t follow but might be interested in. The algorithm recommends different types of posts based on what you’ve liked in the past and then ranks them in the order of interest. 

Here are a few important signals considered by the Instagram algorithm before recommending a post to you: 

• Post Information: The social media algorithm considers how quickly is the post gaining user traction and what content it includes.
• Past Activity: Different types of posts liked by you on the explore page previously. 
• Interaction History: How often have you interacted with the user in the past and reacted to their posts?
• Creator Information: Number of times you have come across similar content in the last few weeks. 

What’s New for 2024?

The consensus around Instagram’s favorability is that the platform promotes content from business profiles and popular creators more. However, you can let go of that notion in 2024. Instagram has officially confirmed that all accounts are equally preferred! 

Here are a few other things to keep in mind: 

• Embrace new features as they roll out! Instagram prefers early adopters and is more likely to give them a much-needed nudge. One such way is to use AI-generated stickers in your stories. 
• Comments carry a great deal of significance and can help rank your content on the Explore page. Add relevant CTAs or captions to get the desired results. 
• Stay a step ahead of your competitors by reaching the favorites feed! Instagram allows users to select the top 50 creators. Ask your followers to add you to their favorites. 

To best utilize the platform, you must also be aware of the new features launched recently. Head to New Instagram Features and Ways to Use Them to know the same!

LinkedIn Algorithm

Unlike Instagram or Facebook, LinkedIn doesn’t simply promote content that is gaining a huge amount of user traction. Instead, it shows posts that you’re likely to find relevant and engage with. Here, the main goal is to expand your professional network and bring forward people who work in the same industry. 

As per the LinkedIn algorithm update, posts related to “knowledge and insights” are more likely to make their way to your feed. In plain words, the social media platform is preferring productivity over entertainment. 

How Does the LinkedIn Algorithm Work? 

Usually, we consider posting frequency to be a crucial factor for social media success. However, LinkedIn doesn’t follow the same pattern and is all about quality over quantity. Here are a few other important points to note: 

• User History: If you’ve interacted with the creator’s posts before, you’re more likely to see their content pop up in the feed again. 
• Engagement in Golden Hour: Golden hour refers to the first hour after you’ve just posted on LinkedIn. If you’re able to gain substantial engagement during this timeframe, the post will be shown to more users. 
• Post Categorization: LinkedIn segregates content into three separate boxes: spam, low-quality, and high-quality. To avoid landing in the spam section, you should focus on grammar and limit the amount of tags and links. 

To make the most out of the golden hour, you need to find the best posting time on LinkedIn. With Vaizle, you can find the best posting times for the entire week and pre-schedule content. 

How to Ace the LinkedIn Game in 2024? 

• Stay relevant to your niche and focus on posting valuable content for your audience. 
• Avoid posting more than 5 hashtags, especially the ones that don’t relate to your content field. 
• The social media algorithm now prefers long-form text content and short-form videos. 
• Build a vast network as content from 1st connections shows up in the feed more often. 

Pinterest Algorithm

Pinterest is what you get by combining a social media platform and a visual search engine. However, even with 465 million monthly active users, it is still not used correctly by a huge number of marketers! 

Pinterest is designed in a way to help users discover new ideas and products by utilizing the charm of visual content. Here, the social media algorithm gives priority to new user-specific keywords rather than branded ones. As a result, running campaigns on Pinterest is less about brand promotion and more about the actual concept. 

The Pinterest algorithm is focused on showing pins similar to the ones the user has saved or looked up in the past. Additional factors impacting the search results are: 

• Domain Quality: If your website is deemed safe for user visits, Pinterest is bound to rank the pins coming from your domain higher. 
• Pin Quality: Based on the user reaction, Pinterest determines the actual quality of your pin and its popularity level. 
• Context: After analyzing the hashtags and keywords, Pinterest determines topic relevancy and pushes your content to more people. 

How to Grow on Pinterest in 2024? 

Apart from being a digital mood board, Pinterest is an ideal platform to ignite consumer interest and drive traffic to your website. Before moving ahead, keep in mind these points about the Pinterest algorithm. 

• Be consistent! And no, we’re not talking about posting once a day. Pinterest is all about pushing more content to the trending feed and some bloggers suggest going for as many as 10 pins per day. 
• Create an attractive ‘About You’ section. It will help build authority for your profile and will bring in more followers. 
• Engagement with fellow pinners is a must. Find pins in your niche and leave a comment to start a dialogue between both profiles. The more you interact, the more you’re likely to be visible. 

YouTube Algorithm

YouTube is dependent on its algorithm for almost 70% of the total views. As one would expect, the platform has been mysterious about its algorithm. But what we do know is that they began using Machine Learning and Neural Networks in 2016 to create their dynamic recommendation system.  

If we’re to believe YouTube engineers, their algorithm is currently one of the “largest scale and most sophisticated industrial recommendation systems in existence.” Let’s have a brief look at the working system of the YouTube algorithm known as of now. 

• Search Results: YouTube works like a search engine and considers your past search history and interactions to cherry-pick suitable videos for your profile. 
• Homepage: The primary goal of the homepage is to push a user down the YouTube rabbit hole! The algorithm does that by judging your interests, any new creators followed, and topics searched. 
• Suggested Videos: YouTube queues up videos in the recommended playlist by checking the viewing habits of someone with similar interests as yours.
• Shorts: The YouTube shorts algorithm checks your previous watch history and decides which shorts will hold your attention most. To know more, check out: How YouTube shorts algorithm works?

How Will YouTube Change in 2024? 

Creators are going to have a gala time with all the new exciting features like AI-powered music search assistant and Dream screen. Simultaneously, you can expect the algorithm to stop prioritizing the subscriber count and focus on the quality of subscribers instead. People must understand what your channel is about and indulge in the content often. 

Conclusion 

2024 seems to be the year of changes for most social media platforms. With the advent of new AI features and ever-increasing competition, the algorithm game is only going to get more advanced. However, with these updates at your fingertips, you’ll be able to overcome any social media challenges.