Leverage Social Media PR Strategy: Use the Algorithm

The function of public relations, often referred to as PR, has changed over the last decade, and many people are starting to catch on. No longer are PR, marketing, and brand siloed. When executed properly, all three practices work together seamlessly to build a community of people interested in your company. What ties all of these together? The algorithm.

Whether you are a B2C retail brand, B2B enterprise, or your leads are more niche-like potential LPs, social media continues to reign supreme in helping build a community of engaged followers who may be your next customers. Although brands should be active on every social media platform, many smaller companies may not have the capacity to create a lot of video content. In this case, it is important to pick one or two platforms and focus on mastering those by refining your internal content process. Don’t try to bite off more than you can chew. In this case, it is better to be a master of one than a jack of all trades.

What is an “algorithm”?

An algorithm is a set of defined steps designed to perform a specific objective, according to DataCamp. Regarding social media, each algorithm may have different instructions, but they all operate similarly. Think of it as a conveyor belt system that passes through some initial checkpoints. First, did a human post it (it generally can recognize spam bots)? Second, is the piece of content a “native” asset (e.g., a picture or video hosted on the platform), or does a user go to another site after clicking it? Third, are users interacting with the post through “likes” and comments? Certainly, the algorithm is far more technical, but these are the key elements.

Using the algorithm

Like any webpage, social media platforms want users to stay on their site. The longer users stay on their platform, the more revenue they can drive by serving more ads. Therefore, these platforms use the algorithm to reward profiles that post content that retains platform surfing, such as native videos hosted on the platform, versus providing a link that sends users to watch a video on YouTube. The same goes for likes and comments on posts: if people are engaging with your post, versus just scrolling past it, it means people find value in the post, and the algorithm will continue to serve that content to not only your followers but new ones!

How to leverage the algorithm in your PR strategy

PR pros are starting to realize the value of a good social media presence. Don’t get me wrong, many have valued this for the better part of a decade, but making it a key pillar of your PR strategy is increasingly important, and it starts with creating more content. Podcasts, for example, are a great piece of content that exploded onto the scene more than five years ago. Not only can it be used as a single post, but you can also pull short bite-sized clips as evergreen content to use as video. The same goes for media stories: if clients are willing to work with a range of media outlets, you can expand the quantity of content you can post.

But how is it so powerful?

A lot of companies think they need to speak to one or two specific audiences through their content, and they are not wrong. That view, however, is too narrow. Brands should be more focused on building a community through the algorithm by posting content that appeals to more than just their target audience. Doing so will increase engagement from a broader set of users, which will signal to the algorithm to share your piece of content with new users who don’t follow you.

Companies need to stop thinking they are only talking to their next customer on social media. They need to understand that by creating quality content for all audiences, the algorithm will help build a strong community over time and facilitate more organic lead generation than a business development.