As social media giants shift towards AI-based content recommendations, learn how to optimize your brand's social media strategy.
The evolution of social media and its increasing reliance on AI-based content recommendations has been a topic of discussion lately, particularly after Facebook's Q1 earnings report. The report revealed that Meta, Facebook's parent company, has been relying more on machine learning to populate user feeds with content, rather than solely on social graphs. Meta's chief, Mark Zuckerberg, previously announced that the company aimed to double the amount of AI recommendations in user feeds, and the company is now on track to achieve that goal.
As of today, more than 20% of the content displayed in people's Facebook feeds is recommended by Meta's AI system, while on Instagram, AI recommendations account for approximately 40% of the content shown. This is a significant shift for Meta, whose market advantage has been based on social graphs and the fact that almost everyone uses Facebook and Instagram.
However, TikTok's algorithm has shifted the approach to recommendations, focusing on each individual post rather than who you're connected to. This is a step away from social media and more towards entertainment, which is why TikTok has referred to itself as an entertainment network. Facebook and Instagram are now moving in this direction by highlighting the top-performing content from topical categories.
So what does this mean for social media strategy and how to maximize reach and resonance on each app? Brands should create good, entertaining content, especially in Reels, as Meta reports that there has been a 24% increase in total time spent on Instagram. By creating topical, thematic content aligned with your audience's interests, you stand a good chance of getting more reach in either app, with its algorithm now looking to showcase more content to people outside your direct audience.
While creating entertaining content is not necessarily easy, the focus of Meta's AI recommendations is to show users more content that they're likely to be interested in based on the content that's generating the most views and time spent within each topic. This presents new opportunities for brands and is worth considering in your approach.
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