How does the algorithm actually work when I post different types of content on social media?

The algorithm is extremely sophisticated—platforms like Instagram (really Meta, since it’s one algorithm across platforms) have upwards of 158,000 data points on each of us. When you create a post, the algorithm analyzes what the image is and knows the audience that likes that type of content. What people think happens—that followers come to your profile and scroll through all your images—is not how most people actually use social media. Most social media activity is just scrolling the feed. The algorithm will show your photography content to people who like photography and your music content to people who like music. The only real exposure risk of mixing content types is people who directly visit your profile. So as long as your profile bio clearly communicates what you do (for example: ‘Keyboard Artist and Photographer’), you should be fine mixing content types. This is why you can test mixing content and if you get no negative feedback, you’re good to continue.

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Asked by an artist concerned about mixing content · Answered by Patrick · Art Business Webinar · 2026-08-19