View this email in your browser

Hi Friends,

Our digital world has expanded and contracted in so many ways over the years since the birth of the internet.

Part of dealing with an increasingly larger amount of information has been for that information to become very personalized and curated. The internet now brings exactly the information we didn’t even know we wanted to our fingertips!

This month we are taking a closer look at algorithms and how they work for us, how they filter what we see - and how we can lean in with our marketing to work with the algorithm.

Be Well, Nicole, Jane, Patti, Ben, Owen, Sam, and Matt

Algorithms: Targeting Audiences or Filtering Content?

The next time you’re scrolling through your social media platform of choice, take note of the posts you see first, the users from whom you see multiple posts, and the ads that slide in there.

And notice what is missing from your timelines. Are you seeing an abundance of those addicting cat videos but no updates about Myanmar or fundraising efforts for the COVID crisis in India?

That’s not an accident, that’s an algorithm.

What is an Algorithm?

What is missing from your social media feeds says as much about your interests as what shows up steadily. So how does social media determine the content you see (or don’t see) on your feed?

It’s all in the algorithm. Merriam-Webster defines this term as “broadly : a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end”.

In this case, the algorithm is the process your social media platforms use to collect data and curate the content you see in your feed - what is shown first, and what will keep you scrolling and engaging.

What helps determine your algorithm might be what videos you watch (and how long), what links you click on, what companies you follow, and much much more. Your Netflix suggestions, your recommended to you products on Amazon, and other places also use your preferences to try to give you more of what you want, and less of what you don’t.

How To Work With the Algorithm To Curate Your Feed

The general idea across social media platforms is that the more you engage with content, the more they will serve you similar content - and filter out the rest. What this means is when you react to, comment, or click on a post or ad, that counts as a “signal” and the data is entered into the algorithm for your personal social media feed.

If you don’t like a post, simply give it a thumbs down or scroll past without engaging and similar posts will automatically begin to filter out in the future.

If you like a post and want to see more like it, give it a thumbs up or a heart, comment, watch the full video, share the post, and the algorithm will take note.

In time, your timeline or feed will reflect your preferences quite closely.

There is a danger in this, you could end up personalizing your social media and internet searches too much. As we clear out information sources we don’t like, or disagree with, we are also filtering the range of opinions and news sources that we see regularly, therefore we can unintentionally create a silo consisting of ONLY content we want to see. We run the risk of developing intolerance for differing viewpoints or closing our minds to different perspectives.

Nicole speaks in this BEC Blog Video about what she noticed with her personal social media accounts and how she changed her algorithms to provide a more well rounded online experience.

How To Work With the Algorithm For Your Business

Understanding how you can work with the algorithm to curate your own timeline can help you to create content that reaches your target audience’s feeds. Here are some common signals for social media algorithms:

Type of PostText, graphic, photo, video, live, etc. - audiences and algorithms like a variety of media. Creating your content in an assortment of ways will increase your chances of reaching a wider audience. Many platforms in particular prioritize video content, with Facebook having a separate video tab and whole platforms like TikTok emerging with video only content. So if you haven’t yet, consider video!

TimelinessMost social media platforms show the most recent content first. So users will see content that has been posted most recently, or since the last time they logged into their timeline. This means, posting more often will increase your chances of your posts showing up.

EngagementThe more users engage with your posts/ads, the higher up on the timelines you will appear. Content that encourages reactions, comments, sharing, etc. will increase your visibility to not only your followers, but to potentially new customers who engage with similar content. Interactive features like polling and creating content that directly solicits feedback/discussion are ways you can tell your social media followers you want engagement.

To learn more about the specifics of social media algorithms, these sources are a great place to start: Hootsuite: Facebook, Buffer: Instagram, Wired: TikTok.

 “Our goal is to find balance between suggesting content that's relevant to you while also helping you find content and creators that encourage you to explore experiences you might not otherwise see,”-TikTok 

From The BEC Blog

Why RSS Feeds Rock

RSS feeds are a great tool whether you read online or have business website and social media accounts you need to stay on top of. Guest James Nobles talks with us about RSS feeds and some tricks he’s found with the paid version of Feedly. (Feedly, you should sponsor him.)

Read the BEC Blog About RSS Feeds

Creating Better DIY Marketing Content

So you are doing some of your own marketing out of love or necessity. How do you get better, faster? Week One involves three tips and week two involves three more. You can do this, we can help.

Read the BEC Blog about Better DIY Content

Celebrating Client Victories

Gather Financial Planning - A client of BEC for over a decade, Michael Goldman always has great ideas to improve his business. His firm, Gather Financial Planning, a fee-only financial firm with offices in Portland and Bangor, Maine is in the process of using a learning management system (LMS) to help onboard and orient clients to their financial planning services. From helping plan the content to moving it into the LMS, Breaking Even Communications takes an educational and technical approach to improve accessibility for their clients, many of whom are learning to use online tools for the first time.

Have an idea for your business that feels out of reach? Talk to us about what you’d like to do and we might be able to help!

Did You Know?

Did you know that sharks have a natural built in GPS? They have electrosensory organs, or Ampullae of Lorenzini, that can sense the Earth’s magnetic field and direct sharks much like a compass.

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons, D Ross Robertson)

For Your Entertainment

When a grouse wants to be your BFF…

A wild grouse befriended a man in Connecticut, and follows him around like a besotted pet.

This feathered friend greets him in the morning and when he comes home. While the family is away, he stands watch on the porch awaiting their return.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has this very interesting video about “tame grouse” behavior.

Copyright (C) . All rights reserved.

Unsubscribe