February may be the month of love, but I’m about to change my status from it’s complicated to single when it comes to ALL the social media algorithms.
As a social media manager for several brands and organizations, the end of this relationship has actually been a long time coming.
When you’re late-night doom scrolling, have you ever found yourself thinking, “I just saw a similar post to this – everything just looks the same…” – SAME. Remember the time when posts used to be chronological? Remember when you had more control over what you wanted to see without a platform tailoring your actions to your account? SAMEEEE.
For the accounts I manage, I no longer feel like:
- I have thoughtful, insightful answers to my clients questions about engagement
- I’m proactively planning content, rather, being more responsive and reactionary – which is not where I want to be
- I’m putting out meaningful content because I’m tailoring my ideas around what we think the algorithm might like
So, a clean break is what I feel we need to restart, reconnect and reestablish our connection to what we really want to publish online.
Don’t get me wrong, not all algorithms are created equal. They have their time and place, especially when they expose civil injustices and connect us to national movements. We want to feel connected and see timely content, but it might not be the most interactive content. And it’s definitely not helping my cause by converting impressions into meaningful engagement or adding to my clients exposure and account growth.
With Instagram’s recent announcement of “over focusing on video in 2022 and going back to static images for this year”, the amount of eyerolls heard around the world were staggering. I’m still recovering. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, has become, admittedly, the last person I want to see in my social news, social feeds or anywhere, really, because then we all know another update is about to shift our strategies. And for TikTok knowing more about you than you know yourself, we’re jumping from one extreme to the other.
Given all of this, I’m closing the door on my typical social process and focusing on one thing only: fun. What is bringing us joy? What content makes us smile and brings out the best in our brands? What is silly and uplifting that might brighten a social feed? That’s it.
If you Google anything related to “how to best represent your brand on social media” you’ll get the same answer over and over again:
- Have a clear brand voice
- Create content that relates to your audience
- Create consistent content that users can learn about you and strengthen trust
And even THOSE comments have been derived from years of studying consumer and algorithm data.
I can feel my brain fog parting as I type and know this will be for the better in the long run.
Are you with me?
To your success,
Taylor Ion
Marketing Director, Charleston AMA
