How to pitch an algorithm

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there are some specific practices that communications professionals should follow in creating influence in a world in which people increasingly get their news via Facebook and other social media. Design/methodology/approach – The article examines how social media deliver news items to members to determine whether that process can be influenced by aspects of content design. Findings – There appears to be evidence that adopting specific sharing strategies, focusing on visual design and constructing narratives that feed into people’s existing beliefs increases the likelihood that one’s content becomes influential. Research limitations/implications – While the evidence seems compelling that certain strategies do have an impact on degree of influence, there are few hard metrics to prove causation. Practical implications – By adopting the strategies proposed in the article, communications professionals will have a set of guidelines for creating content that becomes influential in social media. Originality/value – While the literature already contains studies on sharing strategies, this article is one of the first to consider the implications for advocacy of the fact that in social media, algorithms are responsible for selecting what people see in their news feeds.