How do social media algorithms work?

01 Tem 01:08

So, if we look at it in the simplest way—whether a post ends up in someone’s feed or not—it all comes down to algorithms that work on a **constantly shifting balance**. Back in the day, they relied mostly on numerical data like "likes" or "follower counts," but now **behavioral metrics** like **engagement time, scroll speed, and time spent on a post** carry serious weight. For example, if a user even watches a post for 10 seconds, the algorithm interprets that as "there’s interest," while quickly scrolling past it gets logged as "no interest." So it’s not just about likes—**whether you actually focus on the content matters too**. But the real issue here is that this data **isn’t transparent**. Platforms are always "pivoting"—meaning one algorithm change can cause a traffic surge, while another tweak can send your reach plummeting. Take Instagram’s 2018 shift to an "interest-based feed instead of followers," for instance. Ultimately, **who sees your post depends entirely on your behavioral patterns on the platform**, but you have **no idea how the algorithm weighs things**. For content creators, this creates a kind of "black box" situation.