The algorithm is dead. Long live relevance

Learn how personalised social feeds reward relevance, not volume. Improve your social strategy by listening to your audience, building for engagement, and creating content people genuinely love.

We’ve all been there. Wondering if the algorithm is to blame when our content doesn’t hit the mark on social media platforms. I know the feeling, having created both organic and paid feeds. 

“The algorithm’s changed.” 

“The algorithm hates links” etc etc etc... 

But here’s the thing: there isn’t one algorithm anymore. There are thousands of personalised feeds constantly learning what each user finds relevant. That’s the real shift. It’s no longer about “beating the algorithm” - it’s about earning attention.  

Every platform (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook) has one shared goal: to keep people engaged. If your content helps to achieve that, you’ll be rewarded.  

That means that strategy today is about relevance, not just reach. You have to understand what your audience actually cares about – not just what you want to tell them. And that takes empathy, creativity, and real-time awareness.  

The most successful brands aren’t posting the most often – they're listening the hardest. They’re in the comments sections, they're listening to social conversations and trends, they’re adapting fast and showing up with content that feels like they are participating on social – not broadcasting.  

What do you need to do to be relevant on social media? 

• Study your audience – dive into the comment sections and search data to see what people are interested in. 

• Build for engagement – encourage simple actions like ‘saves’, comments, stitches, remixes (those are the signals that tell platforms that your content is relevant). 

• Be creative – find ways to stop the scroll, surprise and delight, or deliver something unexpected to your audience.  

Don’t be hating on the algorithm. Understand that it’s more about relevance and rewarding what people actually love on social media.  

So make something worth loving.  

Source: Bhavika Rambhai, Senior Brand Manager - Social Media at Kiwibank , 20 Nov 2025