Pick three social platforms your brand is active on (or could be active on). For each, document the primary ranking signals the algorithm uses, the native formats that currently receive preferential reach, and how reach and impressions metrics behave differently. Produce a Platform Comparison Report that would let a new content creator understand what they are optimizing for on each platform before publishing their first post.
Building the comparison table: Start with each platform's official creator documentation — LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok all publish some version of their ranking factors. Fill in the table from first-party sources before reaching for third-party analysis.
Writing the platform profiles: Imagine you are onboarding a new social media manager who has used social media personally but never managed a brand account. The profile should answer: 'What is the one thing I absolutely need to understand about this algorithm before I post?'
The 48-hour data experiment: Publish at the same time of day on all three platforms if possible. The goal is to control for posting time variance so the performance differences are attributable to platform mechanics, not timing.
Platform Comparison Table (excerpt):
| TikTok | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary ranking signals | Dwell time, early comments, shares | Saves, shares, watch time on Reels | Completion rate, replay rate, shares |
| Preferred native format | Document posts (carousels) | Reels | Vertical video |
| Key engagement metric | Engagement rate (comments weighted) | Saves + shares | Completion rate |
| Audience peak window | Tue–Thu 8–10am local | Mon/Wed/Fri 6–9pm | Varies; evening performs 15% above average |
Platform profile — LinkedIn: LinkedIn's algorithm heavily weights early comment activity and dwell time, which means posts that prompt genuine professional discussion outperform viral-style hooks. Write for a 300-word scroll-stop, not a 10-second hook.