Early 2016, Facebook has announced that it is adjusting its algorithm to allocate significantly less traffic to posts which link out of the Facebook ecosystem. This movement means that your content will not appear in users’ news feeds (even when they have liked their page) the vast majority of the time.
So, what exactly is the Facebook Algorithm again – and how exactly can we beat it?
What Is The Facebook Algorithm?
The algorithm has been initiated since there was an influx of posts – as much as 1,500 posts daily. Whereas, the average users sees only 300 per day.
To tackle this situation, Facebook decided to update their algorithm to move even further away from a time based feed. Instead trying to decide what posts every user most wants to see.
This means, from now on, users will be able to see what mostly are in relevant to them first. So they don’t miss important stuff from their friends and family (or miss what paying companies are dying for them to see).
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The Impacts
1. Number of Views per Post drops
This, of course, will take place when the posts for “friends and family” get top ranking. The possibility for your business’s content to show up can only really increase once one of their friends engages with your post through a like, comment, or share.
However, liking and commenting do not guarantee the presence. So, content creators are expected to see less and less traffic.
2. Advertising Spend Is Up
Due to the declining reach, content creators are more inclined to purchase Facebook ads and boost their organic content. Facebook is taking advantage of this, by increasing the cost of running ads meaning the growth of demand has triggered the increasing supply-side costs.
In 2016, in the United States alone, Facebook ad revenue reached $10.29 billion USD. That number is predicted to increase by approximately $2 billion in 2017 and 2018, as 12.68 and 14.89 respectively (eMarketer.com).
3. Native Advertising Could Be Affected
Facebook’s new rules require an advertising post to tag a brand if it shares the branded content. This ruins the nature of native advertising advertisement. Where the goal is to appear natural, tagging Coca-Cola in a video doesn’t help.
On the positive for companies, doing so allows brands to access all the insight information of the post – including how much traffic gained by the paid ads rather than the organic reach. The publisher’s honest audience will be far more known to companies than ever.
Beating the Algorithm
Here are the tricks that can be used to overcome this situation. But first, below is the list of what we KNOW Facebook’s algorithm doesn’t like. This list includes:
- Clickbait and like-baiting content
- Content reproduction
- Text content (without any rich media)
- Posts that contain the particular words (like, comment, and share)
- Posts that are repeatedly negatively reported
Nonetheless, overcoming this algorithm is more than avoiding the list. Indeed, it requires content creators to take proactive steps to improve their posts. Not just reactive steps to change what Facebook says they hate.
1. Create original, quality content
The most obvious approach to improve engagement, is creating good content. This technique is easier-said-than-done, but some best practice tips are provided below.
- Ensure that shared posts are interesting enough that they engage your readers
- Try to be as informative as you can
- All media (e.g. images and videos) should be aimed to resonate with your audiences
- Do not reuse contents from other Facebook Pages. In other words, do not copy exactly what worked elsewhere (originality is always a good thing!)
2. Be Timely
It was revealed that sharing posts related to trending topics is a factor within the Facebook algorithm. This can happen only if your headline or first few sentences contains some words that match the current trend.
So, I suggest, for marketers, it’s not necessary for your page just to have only content about marketing. Probably you should every now and then try some timely topics with your own spin, so that your Facebook page may captivate your fans in more areas!
3. Avoid publishing text posts
Messages written only in text are not only boring, but they also get a negative mark in Facebook’s algorithm. Your posts, should place attention on using rich medias, such as images and video.
Images are great and videos are even better. In addition to the normal videos, Facebook has offered live video as a function.
Live video tends to turn up higher in the News Feed. To attain more live audience, don’t forget to indicate the time in advance, when you are going to do the live broadcast. Also try and broadcast for a longer period of time to reach more viewers.
What has been your experience with the updated algorithm? Share your thoughts with us and let us know how any of these tips work for you.
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