The Interest Graph (And-Game)
Platforms now match content to interests, not followers, so post every topic that's true to you.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 83%
Gary Vaynerchuk describes the 'TikTok-ification' of social media: every platform is adopting the For You page's interest-graph DNA, matching content to users by interest rather than by follow relationship. Because feeds now serve unlimited relevant content instead of just what your followers post, the old game of amassing a big following matters less than being relevant to many interest pools. He argues this makes niching down a trap, if you know sneakers and bourbon, post both. It is an 'and' game where covering more topics true to you unlocks more distinct audiences.
Origin
Vaynerchuk built his edge on underpriced attention (email in the late 1990s, then social followings), and in his book Day Trading Attention he codified the interest-graph shift he saw coming, once predicting Tumblr would beat Facebook and Twitter because of it.
Core principles
- 01Platforms have shifted from prioritizing engagement probability to prioritizing interest relevancy.
- 02The interest graph matches each piece of content to users based on what they care about, not who they follow.
- 03The feed, not your follower grid, is where reach is won.
- 04Multiple topics is an 'and' game: cover more subjects true to you to reach more distinct audiences.
How to run it
- 1
Understand the shift to interest relevancy
Recognize that platforms now prioritize matching content to user interests over the probability that followers will engage.
Pro tip Post specific, educational content on a topic so the platform can classify and match it to the right interest pools.
- 2
Play the feed, not the grid
Stop optimizing your profile grid and focus on the feed, where the vast majority of consumption and reach actually happens.
Pro tip The grid can be roughly 5% of consumption; the feed is the whole game.
- 3
Turn niche into an 'and'
Instead of picking one lane, post every topic you genuinely know and care about so the algorithm can find multiple audiences for you.
Pro tip If you know a lot about sneakers and a lot about bourbon, post both.
Watch out Niching into a single corner limits how big you can get under an interest-graph algorithm.
In the wild
Gary points out his own feed jumps between Jets videos, garage-sale content, keynotes, and boardroom clips, confusing people who expect a single tidy niche.
→ By ignoring the grid and being relevant to as many different people as possible, he maximizes reach across many interest audiences.
Common mistakes
Optimizing the grid over the feed
Curating a pretty on-brand profile grid misallocates effort because the feed drives the overwhelming majority of consumption.
Niching into a corner
Restricting yourself to one topic starves the algorithm of the variety it needs to match you to more audiences.
Is it for you?
Best for
Creators and personal brands who know several subjects and want to maximize total reach.
Not ideal for
Brands that must maintain a single tightly-controlled category message with no room to wander.
From the transcript
“they're prioritizing interest relevancy over engagement probability”
“the grid is like 5% of the consumption the feed is the whole game”
From the episode
Hook Your Audience in 8 Seconds and Stand Out Online