$ man content-wiki/algorithm-literacy

Every major social platform runs an ML model that decides how widely to distribute your content. The model is trained on what keeps users on platform longest and coming back most often. When your content produces those outcomes, the algorithm distributes it more. When it doesn't, distribution stops. Understanding this changes how you think about posting. You're not trying to trick the algorithm. You're trying to produce content that genuinely keeps people engaged ... which turns out to be the same thing as producing good content. The overlap between "what algorithms reward" and "what audiences actually want" is larger than most creators think.

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LinkedIn's distribution model weights these signals in roughly this order: Dwell time: how long someone stops scrolling on your post. A 600-word post with a strong hook that people read fully beats a 100-word post that people scroll past in two seconds. LinkedIn can detect when someone pauses versus when they skip. Early engagement velocity: comments in the first 60-90 minutes after posting have outsized impact. LinkedIn interprets early engagement as a quality signal and widens distribution in response. This is why posting when your audience is online matters more than most other timing advice. Comment depth: replies to comments (threaded discussions) signal richer engagement than single comments. Responding to every comment in your first hour isn't just good manners ... it's algorithmic fuel. Posting cadence: LinkedIn rewards accounts that post consistently. Going from 3x per week to 1x per week signals lower priority and distribution drops. Going from 0 to 3x signals new activity and can get an early boost.

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X's algorithm changed significantly with the Elon-era changes but the core engagement signals remain: engagement rate relative to follower count, reply thread depth, retweet and quote velocity, and topic relevance to follower interests. X rewards accounts that generate conversation, not just consumption. A tweet with 50 replies and 20 retweets on an account with 2K followers will get broader distribution than a tweet with 200 likes and 5 replies on an account with 10K followers. The ratio matters more than the raw number. X also rewards Premium subscribers with additional distribution ... this is a documented algorithmic boost, not speculation. Long-form posts (the "article" format) are being pushed by X as a platform feature and get algorithmic support as a result. Engagement rate on your last 10-20 posts affects how the next post is initially seeded. Consistent 2%+ engagement keeps the baseline distribution high.

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TikTok's algorithm is the most transparent in terms of what it rewards: watch time percentage. If people watch 80% of your video on average, TikTok distributes it aggressively. If they watch 20%, distribution stops after the initial seed. The critical difference from every other platform: TikTok does not care about your follower count for initial distribution. Every video gets seeded to a test group of 200-500 users regardless of whether you have 100 or 100,000 followers. Watch time in that test group determines whether it gets pushed to a larger pool. Replay rate is the second-biggest signal. Videos people rewatch signal high value. This is why short, dense, replayable content does well on TikTok even when longer videos perform better on LinkedIn. Shares push TikTok distribution harder than any other interaction. A video shared to someone's DMs counts. A video saved to a collection counts. These off-platform signals tell TikTok the content has real value beyond passive entertainment.

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Reddit's algorithm is the most anti-manipulation system of the major platforms. It weights upvote/downvote ratio, comment velocity, community karma, and account age ... but it also actively penalizes suspected bot behavior and cross-posting patterns that look like coordinated promotion. Reddit users, not the algorithm, are the primary gatekeepers. Post something that feels promotional or AI-generated in a subreddit and the downvotes come fast. The algorithm then deprioritizes the post and sometimes the account. This is different from every other platform where bad content just doesn't get distribution ... on Reddit, bad content can actively hurt your standing. The account age and karma system means you can't just create an account and start posting self-promotional content. Subreddits track account age and karma minimums. r/entrepreneur requires 30+ days account age and positive karma to post. Building Reddit presence is a 3-6 month project, not a week.

Your Favikon score and category ranking change weekly based on engagement trends. Treating it as a weekly check-in creates a feedback loop: post, check score movement, identify what changed, adjust. Score dropped? Look at your engagement rate from the past two weeks. Usually it's a dip in comment volume or posting frequency. Score rose? Find which posts drove above-average engagement and look for the pattern ... was it the format, the topic, the time of day? Favikon also shows your engagement rate trend over time, not just the current number. A rising engagement rate even at lower follower count signals to both the algorithm and the Favikon score that your content is improving. That's the metric worth tracking more than follower count in the first 6-12 months.

Q: Should I use pods (engagement groups) to boost early engagement? A: Pods can trigger the early engagement signal on LinkedIn but the quality signal matters too. Irrelevant comments from pod members don't generate replies or dwell time, which limits the downstream boost. Genuine peer networks where members actually read and comment are more effective and lower risk. Q: Do platform-native formats actually get algorithmic boosts? A: Yes, documented on LinkedIn (newsletters, document posts) and TikTok (trending sounds, duet/stitch). Platforms want adoption of new features and reward early users with distribution. Not permanent, but real. Q: How often should I post to each platform? A: LinkedIn: 3-5x per week for growth, 1-2x to maintain. X: daily or near-daily. TikTok: 5-7x per week minimum for growth phase. Reddit: 2-3x per week per relevant subreddit, never pure self-promotion. Q: Does posting time matter? A: Less than consistency, more than most people think. LinkedIn peaks 7-9am and 12-1pm in your audience's primary timezone. TikTok is more forgiving because of how it seeds content to test groups. Reddit varies heavily by subreddit.