Every social media platform runs on an algorithm — the invisible hand that decides who sees your content and when. For creators, brands and businesses, understanding these algorithms is the key to boosting visibility and engagement. So, read along as Saads Abrahams from media update breaks down how to master each platform's algorithm.
In 2025, your social media content is not just fighting for a spot against other creators; you are up against artificial machine learning models that have the ability to decide in a single second whether you are worth having a spot on someone's feed.
AKA, the algorithm.
There is more than likes and hashtags to get your post seen by the masses — factors such as when you post, the quality of your post, the type of content you post and even dwell time all play a role in how the algorithm chooses to place your content.
But fear not; once you have figured out how the algorithm works for each social media platform, you will be able to ensure your content is in its favour.
Facebook
Our social media giant, with around 3.07 billion monthly active users worldwide, remains a favourite among both businesses and everyday users alike. If you want to master Facebook's algorithm, you first need to understand how it works.
Facebook prioritises content from your friends and family over that from businesses. It places a strong emphasis on content from individuals you actively engage with, i.e., those whose posts you like or comment on, or whom you message.
The algorithm also considers the number and length of comments, alongside the number and variety of reactions. You'll find both recent updates from your closest friends and highly engaging content from those you may not interact with as frequently.
Additionally, the types of content you engage with most often will appear more regularly in your feed. For instance, if you tend to engage with videos more, you can expect to see a larger selection of video content.
Tips for mastering Facebook's algorithm is by:
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setting your posts to 'public' to aid in gaining traction
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asking your followers questions to boost engagement
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creating content that encourages long and significant comments
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using Facebook groups, and
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sharing reels and going 'Live'.
What damages your reach on Facebook is:
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Instagram
Instagram is also quite popular, with around 2 billion active users globally. Instagram's social media algorithm has several significant features that you need to be aware of if you want to understand how it works.
Instagram prioritises posts that receive the highest number of likes, and it tends to favour very recent posts, specifically those created just minutes before a user logs in. Posts from profiles that users typically engage with are given a higher priority, and it will also highlight posts from hashtags that the user follows.
From time to time, it showcases posts with significant engagement from profiles, even if the user does not follow those hashtags. Interestingly, it is believed to treat content from brands and consumers equally. You can also 'Favourite' users and creators to ensure you never miss their updates.
Tips for mastering Instagram's algorithm is by:
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posting consistently and at optimal times
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using niche hashtags correctly
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content that encourages shares and saves, and
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sharing diverse content (Reels, Stories and Carousels).
What damages your reach on Instagram is by:
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not creating video content
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not posting consistently
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having captions that do not encourage engagement, and
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not engaging with your audience.
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TikTok
Currently one of the most popular social media apps, with around 2 billion active users across the globe, the TikTok algorithm has become increasingly sophisticated, utilising deeper signals, advanced artificial intelligence and contextual relevance to ensure that the right videos are shown to the right audience at the perfect moment.
When you share a video on TikTok, it initially gets showcased to a select group of a few hundred viewers for testing. The platform assesses whether these viewers lose interest and scroll past, watch your video through to the end, or even revisit it multiple times.
Once your video demonstrates strong performance in this initial phase, TikTok expands its reach to larger audiences. If it continues to excel across various metrics, it may be featured on the 'For You' page. TikTok has disclosed the following insights regarding its algorithm:
Tips for mastering TikTok's algorithm is by:
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jam-packing your content with value
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using trending sounds
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hoping on a current trend
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adding keywords that are being searched into your caption, and
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creating high-quality content.
What damages your reach on TikTok is by:
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creating poor-quality videos
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content that is not immediately engaging
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not posting consistently, and
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posting at low engagement times.
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X (Twitter)
Call it X, call it Twitter; no matter how you feel about this platform, it still has about 330 million monthly active users — making it a very useful platform for creators and brands alike.
When it comes to social media algorithms, Twitter / X really shines in prioritising recency more than any other platform. However, there are a few other interesting characteristics to note as well.
For starters, it gives preference to recent content — especially from the last 24 hours — that has generated a lot of engagement from the accounts you follow. It also tends to favour posts that have been shared just minutes ago. Plus, you'll find that content with retweets and comments is given a higher priority compared to those with just likes.
Tips for mastering X's algorithm are:
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tweeting between two to eight times a day
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using all 280 characters for informative posts (when it makes sense)
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asking questions to spark conversation
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creating a Twitter (X) poll once a month, and
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making sure to reply to all comments within the first few hours of your tweet going live.
What damages your reach on X is by:
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LinkedIn
Our career-focused professional platform has over 1.15 billion active monthly users worldwide. It might not be the 'fun' platform, but it still has an algorithm that creators and businesses need to know about.
The LinkedIn algorithm works like this:
It shows you posts from people you've interacted with before and who post regularly. It also highlights content from users who get lots of engagement, even if you don't usually like or comment on their content.
Long comments are favoured over lots of reactions, so aim to get as many comments in the first couple of hours to boost your post's visibility. The more you engage with others' posts, the more yours will be seen, so be sure to interact and add value!
It prefers original content like text posts, images with text and videos with text. Mix up your posts and include personal stories or lessons learnt, as this is what LinkedIn users really enjoy!
Lastly, posts from personal accounts are prioritised over business pages. You can take advantage of this by incorporating employee advocacy into your content strategy.
Tips for mastering LinkedIn's algorithm are:
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posting a variety of content
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consistency
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posting external links, and
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creating content that sparks conversations.
What damages your reach on LinkedIn is by:
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*Image courtesy of Unsplash