Yes, The Algorithm Hates You.
We said it. Someone had to. The algorithm is pure hate and is here to hate you, your content, and your cows…
…and that’s ok.
There is not much we can collectively do about how the algorithm works or how it delivers our content, and that is exactly why we need to change our mentality: stop creating content to please the algorithm.
For Starters, What is The Algorithm?
We talked about the algorithm some time ago (and by “some time,” we mean back in 2023, LOL!), and we went with the plain dictionary definition: a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end. Plain, simple, no feelings involved, just cold processes.
When it comes to social media, the algorithm does one thing: it analyzes your data, your behavior, and your audience’s behavior, then decides what deserves attention and what doesn’t. It’s not based on what’s good, valuable, or even what’s true (yes, the algorithm is partially to blame for all the misinformation we live with every day). It simply selects what keeps people scrolling.
The algorithm is just a machine. Incapable of love.
Why Are We Saying The Algorithm Hates You?
Look, calling it “hate” is a little dramatic; we own that. The algorithm doesn’t have a vendetta against you specifically. It’s not sitting in a little server room somewhere, cackling every time your Reel gets 47 views. It simply… does not care. And somehow that’s worse?
Here’s the real point we want to land: the algorithm is not your audience. It never was. It’s just a middleman — a moody, unpredictable, occasionally petty one — standing between you and the people who actually want to hear from you. And the sooner we stop trying to romance the middleman, the better.
The Problem With “Hacking the Algorithm”
The industry spent years pushing the idea that if you cracked the code (posted at the right time, used the right hashtags, followed the right trends), you’d unlock consistent growth. And sure, some of that can nudge things in your favor. But it’s never been the whole story.
Because here’s what the algorithm actually is: a mirror. It reflects your audience’s behavior back at you: what they click, what they save, what they send to their friend with the caption “omg this is literally us,” what they watch all the way to the end, even though they have somewhere to be.
So when we say “stop creating for the algorithm,” we really mean: create for the actual humans in your audience, not their reflection. Content that resonates with real people tends to do just fine algorithmically anyway, maybe not immediately (there’s a post on our IG that keeps getting likes and shares over a year later, LOL), and maybe not in the way you expected. But content that people genuinely connect with keeps them on the platform, and that’s the algorithm’s only real job.
Here’s where it gets interesting, though: even when you do everything “right” by the algorithm’s standards, there’s still no guarantee. And that’s because the algorithm was never really the obstacle to begin with.
You’re Not Competing With The Algorithm. You’re Competing With Apathy.
The real competition isn’t a piece of code. It’s the blank stare people give their phones at 11pm when they’ve been scrolling for an hour, and nothing has made them feel anything.
You’re competing for attention against ads, trends, breaking news, memes, other creators in your exact niche, AI slop, and shitposts… and the louder everyone gets, the more noise there is to drown in. Posting more doesn’t fix that. Chasing every trend doesn’t fix that. Manufacturing urgency where there is none definitely doesn’t fix that. All of that just makes you part of the noise.
Apathy is defeated by relevance. By specificity. By saying the thing that makes someone feel like you reached through the screen and read their mind. By being so genuinely, unapologetically yourself that your people recognize you instantly, even in a feed full of noise.
That’s it. That’s the whole secret nobody is selling you a course about.
So… What Should You Do?
- Know who you’re actually talking to. Not a demographic. A person. What are they dealing with right now? What do they roll their eyes at? What would make them stop mid-scroll and think “ok, this one gets it”? The more specific your mental image of that person, the more your content will feel like it was made for them… because it was.
- Say the thing people are thinking but not saying. The content that gets saved and shared isn’t usually the most polished or the most produced. It’s the one that names something real. An honest take, a behind-the-scenes moment, a “we tried this, and it didn’t work…” these land because they’re true, not because they’re optimized.
- Play the long game. One post rarely does everything. A body of work does. Show up consistently with content that sounds like you, not like a trend, not like your competitor, not like a version of yourself you think people want to see. Your audience will find you because of the accumulation, not the algorithm.
When your content connects with real people, engagement follows. And when engagement happens, the algorithm works in your favor, not because you “cracked it,” but because you stopped trying to. The algorithm didn’t build your community. You did. And the people who are genuinely meant to find you aren’t going to show up because you used the right hashtags at 9:00 AM on a Tuesday.
They’re going to show up because something you said resonated with them.
So stop writing for a machine that can’t feel anything. Write for the person who’s going to read it, save it, and send it to their group chat at midnight.
That person is who you’re here for.
