Is pleasing the algorithm the only way? 🤔

Remember the good old days? 🤔

The days when you were known only because of your content and weren't really at the mercy of the algorithm gods! Well, we all miss those days. Today, creators juggle many things and struggle with imposter syndrome, landing sponsorships or brand deals, and tackling the ever-changing algorithm.

If we talk about Instagram alone, did you know around 500M users clock the platform daily? Creators and social media managers may hustle to cater to a fraction of these users, but on most days, instead of relying on content, we rely on tips and tricks.

"Why don't you post something on the feed right before an IG Live? The algorithm will recommend the post to the Live participants." — a hack many social media managers rely on is perhaps inaccurate. But we do what we have to do to feature in Explore feeds, to go viral, and to be loved by more than just our users.

It's what the algorithm makes us do.

And that brings me to today's conversation: Can creators monetize only if they please the algorithm?

👉 Check out: How Instagram algorithm can work in 2024 by Later

Social media algorithms: Foe or friend?

Don't you think it's a bit of both? 🤷🏼‍♀️

While most creators (including us) argue that the LinkedIn algorithm is quite spot on, many say the Instagram algorithm is broken. The fact that it changes its priorities way too often confuses creators — what do you focus on? Reels or carousels?

At the start of 2023, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, took to Instagram and said they prioritized Reels abundantly in 2022 and that changes are approaching. 👇

mosseri

View more on Instagram

Earlier this year, we published a piece, 'Are musicians chasing virality on social media' because success on social media is perceived as success outside social media. In this, we discuss how platforms say the algorithm is crafted to serve creators and its users best — but if we're honest, the algorithm serves its platform

Digiday says, "As the social media landscapes continue to evolve, with platforms' ever-shifting focus, the continuing pivot-to-and-from-video, the algorithm and audience changes, social media content creators have been caught in the middle. They say dealing with the constant jostling is time-consuming and difficult to manage. A few years ago, content creators could use only one social media platform to establish content strategies. But the deluge of social media platforms — and the fragmented marketplace — have made it difficult to keep up with where the audience is going.

Read the entire piece. 👇

We hear creators often say the algorithm made us do it. From jumping onto trends that sometimes don't make sense to changing content plans drastically whenever the content doesn't go viral — creators are under pressure and how.

Are we at the mercy of algorithms? Or will our 1000 true fans change this?

Read the entire post on our blog. 👇

That’s it for this week! We’ll be back with another story next Tuesday. 👋🏼

While you're at it, check out our new stuff on YouTube and Instagram.

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