Introduction
Ever wondered how Twitter Algorithm works and how is it always spot on? If so, grab a seat, you’re at the right place.
What are the obvious facts about Twitter?
It’s a great platform to spill our thoughts and voice our opinions. It could be anything, maybe for a social cause or a recent pop sensation, we express our support and distaste in the form of hashtags and the Twitter Algorithm takes care of the rest.
In fact, hashtags have now become an integral part of our life. For example, the Black Lives Matter campaign and the Stop Asian Campaign are two campaigns that came to light only through Twitter Hashtags.
Every important event happening around the world has its own set of Specific Twitter Hashtags. Ever wondered how a set of specific hashtags make their way to the trending section? Then this post is especially for you.
So without any further ado, let’s enter the world of Twitter algorithms.
- Twitter Algorithm History
- How is the timeline displayed
- Where the algorithm comes into play
- How to beat the algorithm
Twitter Algorithm History
When Twitter was launched first in 2016, It wasn’t as effective as how it is today. Most users were displeased as they wanted a hub to see “What’s Relevant” and not “What’s New”.
On understanding this, in 2017, Twitter replaced the 2016 “While You Were Away” algorithm with the new “In Case You Missed It” Algorithm. This instantly became a huge hit and attracted a lot of users. Till today the “In Case You Missed it” plays a major role in how a user’s timeline is displayed.
How The Timeline is Displayed
Your Twitter timeline consists of 3 major parts.
- Ranked Tweets
- The “In case you missed it” Section
- Remaining tweets
Let’s consider a case where the user is a fan of k -pop. The ranked tweets section displays the tweets that are of interest to the user. In our case, it may be a recent tweet from the user’s favorite K – pop group.
Scrolling down, the user comes to the “In Case You Missed It” section. Let’s say the user has been inactive for a week. So, this section shows the user, the tweets from the previous week that may be of interest to him/ her.
Finally, all the remaining tweets that are less important according to the user’s content preference are shown. This is how Twitter customizes and displays a timeline for each and every user.
How Does The Twitter Algorithm Work?
The Twitter algorithm is one that decides which tweets make it to the top of the user’s timeline and which tweets come at the bottom.
The three major factors that the algorithm considers in a tweet is,
- The user
- The tweet’s author
- The tweet
As we have talked about in the previous section, the tweets that the user has found engaging are given the most preference. This means, if you like a particular influencer and want their tweets to be displayed at the top of your feed, you have to engage more with the author of the tweet.
This brings us to our second consideration parameter: The tweet’s author. The tweet’s creator to whom the user has interacted with a lot will be displayed on your home screen once you open Twitter.
Finally, the tweets that are similar to the tweets that you have engaged with in the past are displayed.
Apart from this, The Twitter algorithm has four major parameters which rank posts based on priority. They are:
- Timeliness
- Engagement
- Media
- Activity
The tweets that are fresh and the tweets with a high number of retweets and comments are given top priority compared to older tweets, even if they are from the same author.
Adding on to that, the tweets with rich media contents like Gifs and Videos and the content creators’ Twitter usage activity are also taken into consideration.
Beating the Twitter Algorithm
Here are a few tips that may help you boost your Twitter game and beat the algorithm.
- Engage with your followers – most of the big accounts interact regularly with their followers and retweet some of their follower’s tweets. This attracts many people
- Tweet regularly – as we have seen, the creators with regular usage activities are given more preference compared to inactive users. So if you want to boost your Twitter game, be active and tweet at least once a week.
- Include Graphics – Visually appealing tweets can take you a long way. To increase your views use pictures and other graphic content.
Conclusion
When used right, the Twitter algorithm may help you reach a lot of people. Twitter is a simple yet effective tool for finding like-minded people. The more your tweets get upvoted, the more is your chance of becoming a Twitter influencer. You can also use Twitter in an effective manner to grow your business. You can post images of products and use relevant hashtags to make them discoverable and upvoted by a lot of people.
Have you already made your presence on Twitter and trying to find out your post’s performance? Use Twitter Analytics!
#Let’s_beat_the_algorithm!