As you look to spread the word about your Blast Radio broadcasts, it can be difficult to navigate and find your footing on the ever-shifting landscape of social media algorithms.
Fortunately, we’ve put together a handy list of tips for optimizing your social media presence to achieve the highest possible organic engagement – which, in turn, will help drive listens and increase your follower count. Below, check out our five suggestions for an updated strategy, ranging from carousel posts to longer captions and beyond.
Carousel posts on Instagram; single images on Facebook:
You can reach a larger portion of your Instagram audience by sharing carousel posts, or posts that consist of more than one image. Followers can take a moment to swipe through and view each photo, or see other facets of your post when a new image is shown each time it appears on their feed.
In 2021, Hootsuite found that carousel posts on Instagram had an engagement rate of 1.01%, making them the most engaging type of post. On Facebook, on the other hand, posts containing multiple images appear to have diminished reach in comparison to those with a single photo – likely a result of the extra clicking involved. We recommend sharing one image per Facebook post for the most immediate impact.
Source: Hootsuite
Increase the length of non-Reels promo videos:
With Instagram and Facebook’s recent pivot to Reels came some important changes to both platforms’ algorithms. Facebook has revealed that slideshows of images, text montages, and looping video are all formats to avoid, and excluding Reels, original videos longer than 3 minutes are most prioritized on followers’ feeds. As a general rule, the longer you can hold your audience’s attention, the better.
As for Instagram, Hootsuite found in 2021 that videos posted by business accounts had a global average engagement rate of 0.61%, making them the least engaging type of post. With that in mind, try leaning in to photo posts that drive more performance, and using Facebook’s algorithm as a guideline for videos – sticking to either Reels for short videos (30 seconds or less) or 3-plus-minute-long videos of original content.
Sources: Facebook, Facebook, Hootsuite
Alternate between tweets with and without links:
Sharing your unique Blast Radio URL (blastradio.com/username) is a great way to drive listeners directly to your profile (if they have the app), or to a dedicated web player that encourages them to download the app and follow you.
That said, it’s a good idea to intersperse tweets that do include the link with some that do not. Hootsuite observed in 2021 that linkless tweets perform better than those with links, most likely due to both Twitter’s algorithm and the more inviting, conversational nature of a tweet sans CTA. To direct more eyes to your Twitter page, we suggest alternating between linking to your Blast Radio profile and tweeting plain text-only previews, possibly boosted by some multimedia content.
Another solid option is to add your Blast Radio link to your bio, and use the phrase “link in bio” after describing your broadcast in a tweet.
Source: Hootsuite
Longer Instagram captions and limited hashtags:
Going against traditional social media wisdom, evidence suggests that, specifically on Instagram, a long caption and a small, select group of hashtags is a winning combination. Try telling a story to your audience in the caption of your next promotional Instagram post – share your broadcast’s date and time, your personal experience with the music you plan to play, a preview of topics and/or tracklists, and any other context you’d like to provide. Complement your caption with a focus on quality over quantity when typing out your hashtags, and you’ll attract more listeners to your Blast Radio profile as a result.
Show your face:
To put your promotional post in the best position for success, use an image that places a face front and center. What’s more, when you create a carousel post on Instagram, try to make sure that the first image is one of a person with their face showing. Whether it’s you, your featured guest, the inspiration behind your broadcast, or anyone else, the algorithm will prioritize a visible face. And while the same information isn’t publicly available about Facebook’s algorithm, its association with Instagram implies a similar preference.
Source: Hootsuite
Check out Broadcaster Tips for more insight on how to grow your following.
