Brands that craft a compelling story around themselves transcend algorithms and connect at a deeper level with their audiences.

We were having a discussion with a client this week and at some point in the conversation she mentioned how she would want her team, and her brand, to be able to know how the algorithms are evolving and how they can keep being at the forefront of the feeds their audiences consult on a daily basis.

Algorithms constantly evolve. That, we know.

How can one stay up to date and keep hacking the system?

By producing better content, not by knowing the new quirk that gets you more reach.

What happens is that algos evolve because they, of course, have a business objective to keep you on the platform and keep you engaged with your news feed, but most social networks do it with the goal of keeping you interested in what you are seeing. They are trying to programmatically figure out what the human wants to see.

What does that mean?

It means that it is trying to surface content that humans want to see, read and watch.

And this is where your brand needs to position itself.

Produce content that humans want, not the content that the algorithms want.

Chasing the algorithms is like being in a hamster wheel. You are moving, you are making the (exercise) needle move, but you are not going forward all that much.

People want to hear stories.

People do want to hear stories about your brand.

Rahul Mudgal, who is Global Marketing Director of DOCOMO Digital, wrote an article about brand storytelling and its impact on a brand. He tells the story of Tesla, and how social media is always trying to adapt to what humans want.

Take a few minutes to read his thoughts on the matter and ask yourself: how can I tell a better story about my brand?

If you would like to discuss this further, contact me, or our team at Toast. Telling brand stories is what we love doing on a daily basis. And we’d love to do it with you.