The Human Algorithm: Creating content people want to share
You know the drill. Post at 3:47 PM on Tuesdays. Use exactly 7.3 hashtags. Include a carousel with slides that end in odd numbers. Dance to the trending audio while juggling flaming torches (okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea).
Here's what nobody's telling you: while you're busy trying to crack Instagram's code, there's another algorithm at work. One that's been operating since humans first gathered around fires to share stories. The human algorithm.
What makes people hit share?
Unlike the mysterious black box of social media algorithms, the human algorithm is surprisingly predictable. People share content that makes them look good, feel something, or helps someone they care about.
That's it. Three simple criteria that most businesses completely miss while chasing the latest platform update.
The ‘look good’ factor
Your audience curates their feed like they curate their closet—everything they share reflects who they want to be seen as. Smart. Successful. In-the-know. Your content becomes shareable when it positions them as the person who finds the good stuff first.
This isn't about ego (well, not entirely). It's about social currency. When someone shares your insight about productivity hacks, they're not just passing along information - they're demonstrating their own expertise by association.
The ‘feel something’ rule
Data doesn't get forwarded. Emotions do.
The post that makes someone laugh out loud at their desk gets shared. The story that makes them tear up during lunch gets saved. The insight that makes them slap their forehead and say "why didn't I think of that?" gets screenshotted and sent to their business partner.
Emotion creates motion. If your content doesn't make people feel something—anything—it's digital wallpaper.
The helper's high
Some content gets shared for purely altruistic reasons. Your audience sees something that could genuinely help their friend, colleague, or community, and they can't help but pass it along.
This is gold for service-based businesses. When you solve a problem so clearly that people immediately think "Sarah needs to see this," you've unlocked the human algorithm's most powerful feature: authentic advocacy.
How to optimise for humans, not bots
Stop asking "Will the algorithm like this?" Start asking "Will my actual humans want to share this?"
Before you hit publish, run through this quick checklist:
Does this make my audience look smart/successful/helpful for sharing it?
Will this make someone feel something beyond mild indifference?
Could this genuinely help someone solve a problem or see things differently?
If you can't answer yes to at least one of these, keep refining.
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Here's the plot twist: when you create content the human algorithm loves, the platform algorithms usually follow suit. Engagement breeds engagement. Shares create reach. Comments build community.
The algorithms might be artificial, but the intelligence behind them recognizes authentic human connection. They're programmed to amplify content that people actually want to see.
Your Challenge This Week
Create one piece of content optimised purely for the human algorithm. Don't worry about hashtags or posting times or trending topics. Just focus on creating something your ideal client would genuinely want to share with someone they care about.
Then watch what happens when you prioritize people over platforms.
Because at the end of the day, algorithms change. Platforms rise and fall. But humans sharing stories, insights, and connections? That's been the original social network all along.
What's the last piece of content you shared because it genuinely helped or impressed you?
That's the human algorithm at work.