The selected article is titled “As Twitter's Algorithm Evolves, is it Time to Update Your Tweet Marketing Tactics?” The article was written by Andrew Hutchinson and published on the Social Media Today website on 17 September 2017. In the article, it is pointed out that if one has noticed a slow decline in his or her Twitter traffic, a thing that could be affecting it is the shift to what is referred to as "algorithm-defined feed" (Hutchinson). Reportedly, it has been about one and a half years since Twitter brought in their algorithm, and to this end, the outcomes have been favorable for the social media platform (Hutchinson). In that regard, the rates of daily active engagement have been increased.
On the other hand, the shift to this algorithm, while indeed being an excellent initiative for Twitter, it may have as well had some effects on the traditional Twitter strategic moves, especially regarding tweet presentation and volume. Apparently, it is difficult to point out what the impact of this has been, precisely, but a post was published recently regarding alterations to the algorithm and how one can intensify visibility by operating with fresh features. Such notes included re-tweeting and liking one's content; in that case, since Tweeter utilizes retweets and Likes as popularity indicators in the algorithm, one can increase his or her exposure by retweeting and Liking his or her content. Moreover, one can engage with responses to his or her mentions and tweets. On this line, positive actions can improve exposure; in working of the algorithm to display to users more of what they like, there is a higher possibility that it can be exhibited to more users (Hutchinson).
Furthermore, it has been pointed in the article that when the user initially logs on Twitter for the particular day, the algorithm gathers a list of all tweets that might have been missed, categorized by popularity and relevance to one’s interests. Since an increased number of Twitter handles create much engagement, this usually implies that the user ends up viewing a more substantial amount of tweets from particular handles with a group, instead of becoming spaced out, the way the social media administrator would have wanted (Hutchinson).
The possible impact is that users may be turning out to be blind to such tweets. Certainly, the best reaction would be to make sure everything one tweets is exceedingly relevant. Markedly, this is a significant impact of moving away from timelessness to relevance. Usually, Twitter has been centered on real time, on presenting to the user the latest tweets from the users he or she follows. Notably, this meant increased posting frequency was undoubtedly the way to follow. The average duration of a tweet is about eighteen minutes, and after that period elapses, the tweet disappears. Due to this, brands have been advised to tweet more because this is the only way to make sure there is maximum visibility (Hutchinson).
Nevertheless, the algorithm changes the trend, and may as well force an alteration in approach. Perhaps, with the algorithm operating to reveal the best tweets, increased volume is not the best approach any longer. Even though it is not definitive, but one can see the changed order of tweets could reduce the volume priority, and may as well be causing increased tweet volume to be an issue, instead of being a smart tactic. Evidently, this is why it is imperative for one to remain updated about the latest tweet algorithm updates and modifications, and fresh features that are rolled out with the intention of improving the feed (Hutchinson).
Work cited
Hutchinson, Andrew. “As Twitter's Algorithm Evolves, is it Time to Update Your Tweet Marketing Tactics?” Social Media Today, 17 Sep. 2017. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/twitters-algorithm-evolves-it-time-update-your-tweet-marketing-tactics. Accessed 26 Jan. 2018.
