Tiktokification is an ugly and annoying word but it succinctly explains why Meta is shunting aside its social graphs to focus on recommendation algorithms.
In a bid to ape TikTok’s success, Facebook and Instagram are increasingly showing users content they think will keep them engaged, rather than posts from their friends – a shift that has triggered prophecies about the demise of social media as we know it.
Michael Mignano, the former head of talk audio at Spotify, last month offered a sharp analysis of the situation, describing recommendation media as ‘the new standard for content distribution on the internet.’
Mignano says that recommendation algorithms are good for content platforms because they give them more control over what people see. They also give them more control over what people don’t see, which is important as social media companies come under pressure from regulators to better police misinformation and hate speech.
But the picture is more mixed for other participants within the social media economy. Influencer Kylie Jenner has posted about her displeasure with Instagram’s new direction, and no wonder, says Mignano, because ‘her more than 360 million followers are simply worth less in a version of media dominated by algorithms and not followers.’
How do brands stand to fare in a world of recommendation algorithms, then?
James Treen, a social media strategist at Wunderman Thompson, is sceptical about the death of the social graph (he cites the backlash against Instagram's changes as evidence that people want variety, not TikTok clones), but he reckons recommendation algorithms have been a boon for organic brand content.
Treen says that to some extent ‘it'll always be pay to play’ on social media but that ‘the content algorithm gives you a better chance than in the last goodness-knows-how-many-years to succeed with organic.’
A brand might have 10,000 followers on Instagram but will only ever reach a small percentage of that audience with a post, he says, whereas on TikTok, a brand with 40 followers can reach 4 million people – provided the content resonates. ‘Your content has to be bang on in order to win in this new landscape,’ adds Treen.
Of course, most of this used to be true of Facebook and Instagram's social graphs, too. But as social platforms mature they have a habit of tweaking things in a way that makes it harder for organic brand content to spread. And given the control that TikTok has over the distribution of content on its platform, the company would have even less trouble doing so than its predecessors.
TikTokification might be an annoying word but Facebookification is the one brands should dread.
