Twitter is one of the most dynamic social media platforms. It’s hard to predict how Twitter is going to change. However, with more than 350 million monthly active users, you and your brand have plenty of opportunities.
The platform’s algorithm will be released to the public in April 2023. It will focus on community building, authority, niche topics, and trusted content.
We’ll look at the Twitter algorithm and give tips to help you use it for your brand.
What is Twitter’s algorithm?
Twitter’s latest algorithm is based on a mix of signals, including recency, virality, and relevance. It also takes into account geographical location and personal interests. In many ways, this new set of ranking criteria combines several algorithms.
Twitter’s internal workings are now more transparent, and the algorithm is no longer a “black box” (secret). Elon Musk made a decision towards the end of March 2023 that will allow the platform to reach its full marketing potential.
Twitter’s CEO conducted a poll a while ago and found that most respondents wanted the algorithm to be more transparent. Anyone who wants to see what’s happening behind the scenes on Twitter can do it by visiting GitHub.
Twitter’s apparent efforts to improve transparency are only sometimes embraced. Many top developers have said that some parts of the code are vague and sometimes lack context.
Here’s what we know about the Twitter algorithm, despite the polarization over its transparency:
Data Aggregation: Your Tweets, followers, and personal activity are used to collect critical data. The new algorithmic data aggregation, as described in AakashGupta’sSubstack, curates insights based on your followers. Even more interesting is that the data aggregation parameter also considers ‘likes’ and ‘bookmarks.’ This can lead to a 30x boost in content. The algorithm collects insights from visual media. This can give your content an increase of up to 20x.
Formation: After the platform has curated the data, these insights will be transformed into ‘feature buckets,’ which include relevant segments of tweets and users, the probability that people will interact with your content, and trust, safety, and platform violation checks. This granular approach allows content to be analyzed according to its likelihood of creating positive interactions, taking into consideration the tweet author, the potential recipient, and the tweet. The algorithm’s ‘SimClusters feature bucket’ also groups (or clusters) tweets and users using AI capabilities.
Mixing is the third and final stage of the process. This is where all your content will be compiled on your feed. Twitter uses a concept known as ‘HeavyRanker,’ to determine the ranking of each Tweet you could receive based on its likelihood to lead to positive action for both yourself and Twitter. Based on his scholarly research, Aakash Gupta believes HeavyRanker’s probabilistic framework is the most influential ranking signal. The algorithm will boost your content by 75x if it thinks the target user will engage and reply positively to your tweet.
Twitter ranking & algorithmic functions essential
We’ll now look at the features of Twitter and its ranking signals.
The functions
Twitter’s algorithm has led to these key platform features focused on achieving better content reach.
Every like generates 30 times the reach of a previous like
The reach boost is 20 times greater for each retweet.
Every reply will earn you a reach boost of just 1x.
Ranking signals
Here are some ranking factors to consider based on the new algorithm rules and processes:
Staying within your network bubble, main topic lane, or critical area of expertise (or staying in) could result in a more enormous reach boost and/or a more pronounced reach penalty.
External links may only harm your reach if you’re a recognized expert in your industry or niche. You must check the source of external links before using them in your content.
Now, your ‘followers-to-follow’ ratio is a good indicator of trustworthiness.
The more people that have marked your account as spam or muted, the lower your reach will be.
Poor grammar and misspellings will negatively affect your authority, brand recognition, and success.
Clear cases of fake news and misinformation are immediately slowed down if flagged.
