How to use social media to promote your company

Learn how to use the top seven social media platforms to your advantage.

Social media is an important part of your company’s public image to establish partnerships with influencers and create genuine connections with consumers. Every aspect of social media can be used to build your company’s brand. 

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Each social media platform uses a different algorithm, and understanding each algorithm will increase your company’s visibility to current consumers and unreached target audiences. The top seven social media platforms are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest. Here’s how you can use their algorithms to your company’s advantage.

1. Facebook

Facebook is the largest social media platform to date with 2.95 billion monthly active users. According to Hootsuite, there are three key factors to consider when determining how to use Facebook:

1. The type of content users see on their feed is determined by content they interact with (Reels, photos, etc.).
2. Users are more likely to see content from accounts they interact with.
3. The algorithm will prioritize content that already has more engagement. 

A high priority should be getting your content to users who are connected with your account. The content that appears in their feed will be influenced by ads related to their accounts and suggest content pulled from their frequent account activities. 

Facebook’s algorithm will also use data collected from users’ accounts and activity to make predictions about what content they will want to see the most. The more relevant your content (more backlinks, keywords, and helpful information) is to your target audience, the higher Facebook will rate your post's relevance and the better the chance users will view your content.

2. Instagram

Instagram has over 2.35 billion monthly active users. The Instagram algorithm varies per in-feed post, story post, Reel, and explore page content. The feed algorithm is determined by engagement per post (likes, comments, shares, and saves), information within the post, and the person who posted (if you’re following them or not). The story algorithm is determined by the stories users have viewed or engaged with previously. The explore page algorithm is determined by users' activity within the page, such as likes, comments, and shares on specific posts, as well as their engagement with specific accounts/users who are posting. Lastly, the Reels algorithm is determined by users' activity within Reels.

Again, the likes, comments, and shares of users on Reels help determine which Reels will be shown to them. This means that your company needs to promote and create content that is relevant to what its target audience wants to see. That’s how it gets on their social media feeds!

3. LinkedIn

LinkedIn has over 930 million members within its social network. The LinkedIn algorithm first determines whether what you’re posting is spam or not by checking your hashtags and the quality of your post. Then, they push your content to just a handful of users. If your content gains more and more engagement, LinkedIn will push it to more people and so on. If people don’t engage with it, LinkedIn will stop pushing it to them. To get the most engagement, try to post when your followers are on the platform, respond to any comments or questions they ask you, prompt their engagement with a question, and post consistently.

4. X (formerly Twitter)

X has 528.3 million active users. We're all still trying to figure out X after its rebrand, but because it has millions of active users, we can’t just ditch the platform. To get the algorithm to work in your favor, your content needs relevance, recency, diversity, and media files. X’s algorithm prioritizes recent and relevant content to its users. Have a good idea of what your target audience wants to see based on research and post it frequently. Posts with visual elements also tend to have higher engagement, so be sure to include photos, videos, gifs, memes, etc. 

5. YouTube

YouTube currently has over 2.7 billion active users, deeming it the platform with the most active users. Grab viewers' attention with a catchy and clever title/thumbnail. This draws more users to your video over other displayed results. You should also be using keywords to list higher on search rankings. Have a well-informed video description loaded with these same keywords. Lastly, it’s important to post consistently (daily, if possible, or at least weekly) with relevant content to max out the number of times your videos can be viewed and grow your following. This helps establish your company’s account as relevant and authentic within the algorithm.  

6. TikTok

TikTok has approximately 1 billion monthly active users across the globe. The TikTok algorithm prioritizes engagement, user interactions, and video information. The more likes, shares, saves, and comments your TikTok videos get, the more likely they’ll be shown to other users. Another factor is the type of content users are interacting with; the more content they interact with similar to yours, the more likely your content will pop up in their feed. 

There are also technical elements of the video that allow it to be seen, meaning the algorithm prefers videos that were natively created on TikTok and contain trending tags or information regarding trending topics either within the video or in the caption. Numerous companies have reached a viral status due to the trending sounds used over their videos or participating in trends in general. For example, several companies were jumping on the trend with the “Dog Days Are Over” audio that featured people running away from the camera. 

7. Pinterest

Pinterest has around 463 million monthly active users on the platform. To make the platform’s algorithm work for you, focus on keywords, create visuals, add content, stay active, pin a fresh pin every day, and embrace quality over quantity. Like other platforms’ algorithms, using appropriate keywords can help get your content in front of users. Visuals are what draw users to your content over other content. Make sure your visuals include high-quality images, descriptive text, and a call-to-action. 

Actively make new content to update your page frequently and interact with users. You could also pin one new pin every day rather than adding a batch of pins for one post within a day. If you batch your pins, the algorithm may detect you as spam. Lastly, embrace quality over quantity. If you produce content every day but aren’t generating relevant, consistent, and keyword-loaded content specifically aimed at your target audience, it won’t help your company. Aim to produce the best possible content you can for your company and its target audience, and then focus on more posts when you can. 

It’s essential your brand has a social media presence to connect with your target audience. We understand managing multiple social media accounts on different platforms can be challenging. Make sure to utilize the platform you can find your target audience on and use the tips above to use its algorithm to your advantage! 

For more help managing your social media, check out our Essential Social Media Management Guide.

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