Maximize Your Reach on Twitter: Latest Algorithm Insights Uncovered in 3 Minutes

Over the weekend, I dove into the inner workings of the Twitter algorithm to uncover some key insights. Aptly named “The Algorithm” Twitter’s algorithm can be found on two different GitHub repositories: twitter/the-algorithm-ml and twitter/the-algorithm.

Sharing it with the public was a smart move on Twitter’s part as the platform wants users to create better content and is expecting more trust from users, which can possibly increase the number of users on the platform.

Here are some of my key takeaways about how the Twitter algorithm works:

1. Your following-to-follower ratio?matters.

Twitter’s Tweepcred i.e an algorithm derived from Google’s famous PageRank algorithm is used to rank web pages.

It reduces the page rank of users who have a low number of followers but a high number of followings & calculates a division factor based on the ratio of followings to followers.

I already included this in my “Twitter Growth Playbook” which was launched last year.

The final score, on a scale of 0 to 100, is the Tweepcred score, which represents the user’s reputation on Twitter.

2. Twitter Blue subscribers get a boost in the algorithm.

As a Twitter Blue member, you receive a four-fold increase in algorithmic priority if you belong to the same network as the tweet author, and a two-fold increase if you do not.

3. Creating engaging content is much more important than likes/retweets.

The algorithm assesses multiple characteristics of both the user and the tweet to generate binary forecasts on the user's engagement with the tweet.

It determines user actions and associated sentiments using weights. If a user clicks on your tweet and remains there for over two minutes, it is assigned a weight 22 times greater than if they simply liked your tweet. Similarly, if a user replies to your tweet and you engage with their response, the weight assigned is 150 times more significant than a like.. (Source)

4. Getting blocked/muted/reported is bad and reduces your “reputation score” on?Twitter.

5. The Government can interfere with the algorithm.

When needed, the government can intervene with the Twitter algorithm.

During election events, the algorithm can recommend election candidates to follow and suppress misinformation.

6. Images & Videos are good for the algorithm.

Tweets with images & videos seem to get a nice 2x boost in the current light ranking model.

7. The algorithm will feature more of your tweets if you have a high Tweepcred.

If your Tweepcred is high enough, more of your tweets will be considered by the ranking algorithm.

If your Tweepcred is lesser than 65, the maximum number of tweets that will be considered by the ranking algorithm is limited to 3.

8. Your Tweets’ relevancy decreases over?time.

Like most social media platforms, older Tweets on Twitter become less relevant over time.

Tweets have a half-life of 360 minutes, which means that a Tweet’s relevancy score will decrease by 50% every 360 minutes.

9. Some of the new developments happening soon on?Twitter

1. A better Twitter analytics platform for creators with more information on reach & engagement.

2. More transparency into any safety labels applied to your Tweets/accounts.

3. More visibility into why Tweets appear on your timeline.

4. Bookmark will soon weigh as much as a like on the platform.

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