Aloysius Butler & Clark

Companies use social media as a way to receive feedback, engage with consumers, and market new products or ideas. But they share a common challenge when communicating on such a content-rich platform: It’s hard to stand out.

Until now.

Twitter has introduced a new way to view your timeline by showing you tweets you’re “most likely to care about.” Its new algorithm mirrors Facebook’s “Top Stories” timeline by prioritizing tweets based on relevancy, rather than relying on the signature chronologic feed Twitter users have always known. The feed will vary from user to user, based on who you follow, who you interact with most and your interests.

Other social platforms are known for constantly tweaking and testing their algorithms to enhance user experience, but Twitter has consistently shown the most recent tweets first on your timeline. So why change now? Maybe it has to do with Twitter’s recent loss of users and declining stock price.

Twitter profits from advertisements. Algorithms help to balance and enrich user experience and advertising. And how will this help brands? Twitter’s new algorithm will help brands cut through the clutter. Now a brand’s message will show up on the timelines of users who are most likely to engage with the message. This means companies can target their messages more precisely, with a better chance of reaching the right audience—the main goal of any marketing initiative.

Need help developing a powerful content strategy? Here are two articles I find helpful; a list of best practices and An improved timeline for consumers and brands.