Social MediaModule 1: From social networks to recommendation feedsLesson 1 of 16
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15 min lesson · Updated August 2026
What is social media?
Social media is a group of platforms where people publish, discover, discuss and share content through networks, communities and personalized recommendation systems.
What you will learn
By the end, you will understand:
Explain social graphs and recommendation feeds
Separate publishing, community and distribution
Choose a business role for social media
Visual explainer
See the idea clearly.
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A business publishes one useful idea, followers receive it through their network, new people discover it through recommendations, and conversations return customer questions to the business.
Social media combines several behaviors
People use social platforms to keep up with friends, follow creators, join communities, search for answers, watch entertainment, message businesses and discover products. A platform is not one audience or one behavior.
For a business, social media can support awareness, education, trust, service, community, recruitment, partnerships or sales. It rarely performs every job equally well at the same time.
Social graph and interest graph
Social graph
Distribution based strongly on relationships: friends, followers, connections, groups and accounts a person chose.
Interest graph
Distribution based strongly on predicted interest, even when the person does not follow the creator.
Modern feeds mix both systems
Many feeds combine followed content, recommended content, advertising and platform features. Recommendation systems use signals such as viewing, skipping, searching, sharing, satisfaction and topic patterns differently by platform.
There is no single “social media algorithm.” Each surface can rank content differently, and systems change. Focus on what people choose and value rather than tricks claimed to control an algorithm.
Publishing is only one part of the work
01
Listen to customers
02
Choose a useful idea
03
Create for the platform
04
Publish and distribute
05
Respond and moderate
06
Measure audience behavior
07
Improve the next piece
Owned, earned and paid distribution
Type
Example
Owned presence
The business profile, channel, posts and community processes it manages.
Earned response
Voluntary shares, mentions, recommendations, creator discussion and word of mouth.
Paid distribution
Advertising or paid partnerships used to reach selected opportunities.
Social media is rented space
A business does not control a platform’s rules, reach, interface or continued existence. Build direct assets too: a useful website, customer database with permission, product experience and documented content files.
Never rely on follower count as the only customer relationship. Account restriction, algorithm changes or lost access can interrupt distribution.
Choose one clear purpose
Who needs to understand or feel something?
What behavior do they already use the platform for?
What useful content can the business sustain?
What role will conversation and support play?
What action belongs after the content?
Which metric reflects that purpose?
How will the business protect people, rights and account access?
Real-world example
Example: a neighbourhood bakery
Example
Instagram shows products and preparation, Stories communicate daily availability, Google Business Profile handles local discovery, and WhatsApp receives orders. The bakery does not call every Reel a sales campaign; it assigns each channel a job and checks orders, repeat customers and questions.
Try this
Give each platform one job
List every active social account. Beside each, write its audience behavior, business purpose, core format and meaningful outcome. Pause or rethink any account with no distinct reason to exist.
Common questions
Questions beginners ask.
Is social media only for entertainment?
No. People also learn, search, shop, join communities, contact businesses and build professional relationships.
What is a social graph?
The network of relationships such as follows, friends and connections that helps shape distribution.
What is an interest graph?
A model of topics and content a person may enjoy, allowing discovery beyond followed accounts.
Does every follower see every post?
No. Feeds are ranked and personalized, and followers use platforms at different times.
Is organic social free?
There may be no media fee, but strategy, production, moderation, tools and staff time have costs.
Should every business use every platform?
No. Choose platforms where audience behavior, content ability and business purpose align.
Can social media replace a website?
Sometimes it can support a simple presence, but a business has less control and may need a website for depth, ownership, search, transactions or accessibility.
