How Do Brands Play Into Twitter’s Algorithm?
Twitter’s much speculated, admonished and anticipated algorithm is here as a feature users can activate. It’s called “Show me the best Tweets first.” The algorithm selects what Twitter deems to be the best tweets and ensures it is at the top of a user’s Timeline when he or she opens the app.
At the moment, the feature’s opt-in, meaning users need to turn it on in their settings, but one can assume that this won’t be the case for too long. It will likely be turned on automatically, while giving users the ability to turn it off and go back to a real-time, chronological feed of Tweets.
The rollout is clearly slow and deliberate with the intention of alleviating as much angst among existing users as possible. We’re also lacking some key information like what exactly Twitter’s algorithm is looking at to determine the “best Tweets.” We do know a user’s previous interactions and interests will play a role, so if a user has engaged with a certain type of content or author in the past, that content will have a greater likelihood to display. In addition, content that’s receiving high engagement from the Twitter community also has the potential to be displayed more often.
So what can weanticipate as some of the ramifications for marketers? Here are some things we can expect.
Potential for Pay-to-Play
A Twitter algorithm could have the same effect as Facebook’s algorithm. Some users may never have the opportunity to see content in their individual timelines, so there’s reason to think Twitter could give brand’s the opportunity to pay to give their content greater exposure—an extension of already existing Promoted Tweets. This, of course, has pros and cons. The con is obvious. You’re paying for what was once free exposure. The pro is you’re paying for guaranteed exposure. There’s no guarantee a user will be logged in when your brand tweets organically, so it could be buried by a deluge of other tweets before the user has an opportunity to see it. When you pay, that content gets resurfaced for the user. On the other hand, content that earns significant engagement could be rewarded by the algorithm and get even more exposure than it would have before.
The Basics Remain the Same
Engaging, valuable, timely content will still reign supreme on Twitter. This means being as creative and interesting as possible, while making use of Twitter’s multimedia capabilities from GIFs to polls to photos. We also can’t forget that Twitter is about timely content, so the more marketers can tap into trending conversations and cultural events that are on the minds of users, the more likely that content will receive engagement and thus, be rewarded by the algorithm.
An Algorithmic-Driven Experience Means More Users (Maybe)
Twitter’s making this change for one reason: get more users on the platform by making it more approachable. Twitter’s always been attractive for brands, but its user numbers have not satisfied Wall Street. The algorithm is part of a platform shift for Twitter to be more attractive and approachable to casual users. If it works, that means more users on the platform that brands can potentially reach.
Don’t Stop Testing
Content that receives engagement is going to be rewarded with greater organic exposure through the algorithm, so don’t stop testing, learning and optimizing based on what people seem to care about and respond to.
Twitter’s algorithm seems to have more positives than negatives for brands. It gives their content greater opportunity for exposure by rewarding performance over time tweeted. The shift is more of one around how Twitter works, but the impact it should have on brands using Twitter successfully now will be limited.