The best platform for women influencers can help promote and get the word out about the brands they are working with

Getting back to basics the best platform for women influencers, the algorithm for a social media feed refers to the actual code that determines which posts are seen by which users, and in what order. Long gone are the days of chronological feeds where posts appear in the order they were published—and good riddance, frankly, considering this organization structure doesn’t scale well when you follow hundreds of accounts.

So, social media channels use algorithms to give you a more fulfilling experience, where you see more posts you actually like, and less of the irrelevant ones from your weird aunt. But don’t pat these channels on the back for their altruism the algorithm also gives them more control over their advertising ventures.

As you can imagine, this isn’t an exact science, so each social media channel has to shoot in the dark a little when determining the right criteria for the best platform for women influencers on which to organize their feeds. Therein lies the difference between marketing on Facebook versus marketing on Instagram.

So what does Instagram’s algorithm do better for marketing? The actual algorithms are unknown trade secrets, but Alfred Lua of Buffer researched both the algorithms for Facebook and Instagram and came up with some speculations that proved the best platform for women influencers accurate when tested. These are the factors that determine a single (non-advertisement) post’s rank.

Instagram’s Algorithm:

(a) Engagement: How many hearts and comments are on each post.

(b) Relevancy: Are the post’s genres relevant to the user.

(c) Relationships: Posts from accounts that the user interacts with more frequently are ranked higher.

(d) Timeliness: More recent posts are ranked higher.

(e) Profile searches: Posts from accounts that users search for regularly are ranked higher

(f) Direct shares: Posts from accounts the user directly shares with others are ranked higher, and the person who receives the shared posts gets a rank boost on their posts.

(g) Time spent on the post: The time spent looking at a post (not scrolling).

Facebook’s new algorithm:

(a) Friends and family: Posts from people the user knows personally are ranked higher. This is important because it means posts from brands are demoted.

(b) Engagement: How many likes, comments, and shares the post receives, factoring in time.

(c) Encouraging engagement: Posts likely to start a conversation are ranked higher.

(d) Images and videos: Visual posts are ranked higher and text-only posts are ranked lower.

(e) Bait is demoted: Posts that aggressively bait for likes, shares, comments, votes, or tags are ranked lower.

(f) Promotional posts are demoted: Posts trying to push people into buying a product/service or joining a contest are demoted. Also, Facebook checks text against known advertisements and demotes unofficial ads.

The goal of the update was to prevent fraudulent news stories by encouraging more personal conversations, but the consequence is less exposure to brands and public content.

It seems like a coordinated strategy with Facebook compartmentalizing its two channels. Minimizing third-party exposure on Facebook will return the channel to its more personal social roots with friends and family, while simultaneously drumming up business for its advertising (it’s not harder for brand posts to be seen for free). But social media marketers can still promote their brand on Instagram for free, and with even better results, as long as the content is sound.

Marketing effectiveness:

Instagram is better for direct marketing like engaging with customers, spreading awareness, showcasing new products/services, comparison shopping, and influencer marketing. Furthermore, Instagram is a powerhouse for the under 30 demographic, especially teens.

Facebook, on the other hand, remains the best for visibility with older age groups, as long as you’re using paid advertisements. It’s also worth noting Facebook makes it easier to funnel users to a third-party site like an online store. Instagram prohibits link sharing in posts and comments, and any outside links appear in your bio only; the extra steps required to visit your site make it harder to generate traffic.

A lot of it boils down to the motives of each person using each site. In principle, Facebook tries to be more about personal interactions and sharing content with people you know. As such, 40% approx. of Facebook users don’t like engaging with companies at all, preferring more intimate connections.

Instagram, though, places more emphasis on discovery and observation, and less on interaction although ironically their engagement rate is the much higher and best platform for women influencers. Particularly for Millennials, Instagram is seen as a style resource, an ideal place for learning new trends and discovering new artists, as well as keeping up with their favorite celebrities.