Ranking posts on VKontakte: basic recommendations

“Chief editor of the GetGoodRank blog, web analyst, blogger.
When promoting a page in any social network, it is important to consider that the news feed is updated every second. It is physically impossible to show the user everything that he is subscribed to. we offer a list of recommendations from the VKontakte team to improve the ranking of community posts"

In June 2016, the social network VKontakte launched a smart news feed, in which posts are ranked based on many factors of user interaction with publications. The algorithm for determining the display of a specific publication is complex. To understand how to get a post in the field of view of most users, the recommendations of a social network expert and GetGoodRank will help.

Variety of posts

Users react differently to posts in the news feed. The choice depends on many factors: the purpose of visiting the social network, personal preferences, the user's mood at a particular point in time. Therefore, it is important to create a variety of posts: videos, image collections, links to publications on the site, useful short notes. The VKontakte post ranking algorithm determines the novelty of the post for the user. Posts containing new information appear higher in the feed. Conversely, if a post duplicates information from previous posts, it will be shown lower in the feed.

Publication format

There is no single correct indication of which format of publications in social networks is preferable for the audience. The format also depends on the type of information reported, the purpose of the publication, the target audience for which the post is intended.

Images and viral videos get more likes and shares and are the preferred format for social media users.

To choose the optimal post format, it is necessary to analyze the reactions of page subscribers to various publications. What collects more social signals: collection images, short notes, checklists, videos, podcasts.

GetGoodRank Recommendations: if the page is just being launched and you still do not have the opportunity to assess which format is preferable for the target audience, analyze the publications on the site. So, when planning a launch on the social network VKontakte, analyze the publications of the site and see which posts have collected the most reposts / likes on the social network. Such an analysis will show what format of publications will be optimal for a given social network at the initial stage. This does not mean that publications on VKontakte should be limited to these formats only. By publishing different posts, you can track user reactions and understand which post formats do not work and which earn more social signals.

The VKontakte algorithm shows users more posts in the formats they interact with more often.

The quality of media content affects the ranking of posts

Even interesting and useful publications will not receive a proper response among the target audience if the quality leaves much to be desired.

Feedback from users

Comments are a kind of indicator of the interest of the target audience in publications and the page as a whole. Do not close this option. After all, it is in the comments that you can find out what users don’t like, what stops them from buying, why they prefer competitors. Users often name competitors with whom they cooperate and indicate their advantages. No analysis will give you such valuable information as live user responses.

GetGoodRank: comments are the most valuable source of data to improve the site, service, topics for creating blog posts, studying the pains of potential customers.

Don't be afraid of negative comments. The correct reaction to negative reviews will show other users that you are a reliable company that values its reputation and cares about customers.

The main reason for closing comments is the fear of spam, obscene entries. To combat such a negative phenomenon, VKontakte offers a filter for unwanted comments, which is configured in the community management. The filter instantly identifies keywords and removes unwanted posts from the community wall.

Publication frequency

Publication frequency is another determining factor for ranking publications. Posts that are infrequent and interesting to the target audience receive higher coverage, while posts about nothing every 5 minutes are excluded from user feeds.

In addition, frequent uninteresting posts reduce the interest and trust of subscribers to the page. This leads to unsubscribes, reduced reach, and fewer interactions with posts, which in turn affects the visibility of more useful and important posts.

Data relevance

The VKontakte algorithm shows above those publications that are directly related to current events in the world. To increase the ranking of posts in the feed, VKontakte recommends using hashtags.

Reposts

Use VK post promotion tools

Available promotion tools (on a paid basis):

targeted ads - shown to the user in the left sidebar;
record promotion- a function that is guaranteed to show a publication in the user's feed marked "Advertising post";
advertising posts in communities- a tool that allows you to select interesting communities, prepare an advertising post and place it on sites in a few clicks without tedious negotiations and price agreements with page administrators;
special offers in games- an opportunity to get new subscribers and social signals in exchange for bonuses in popular games.

Track community statistics

For business pages, advanced statistics on community posts are available, showing reach, the number of interactions, the number of new and dropped subscribers, and so on. Previously, expanded statistics were available to communities with 10,000 or more subscribers. The threshold has now been lowered to 5,000 subscribers.