Your Page and Facebook's Algorithm Change -

Your Page and Facebook’s Algorithm Change

7 May 2015

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On April 21, Facebook announced that they would be making three changes to their algorithm in order to improve user experience on the social media platform. The main catalyst for Facebook’s algorithm change was user feedback asking for improvements in the news feed. The algo was changed in order to promote friend content over page content (emphasis on the SOCIAL in social media. The three changes were to 1) improve the experience for people who don’t have a lot of content available to see, 2) attempt to ensure that content posted directly by the friends you care about will be higher up in News Feed so you are less likely to miss it and 3) make stories about your friends liking or commenting on a post appear lower down in News Feed or not at all. Sounds cool, right? Keep reading.

In the announcement, Facebook also mentioned that the algorithm could also negatively impact post reach and referral traffic for business pages…

…Which sparked a major freakout from businesses. The main concern was that unless pages started using paid ads and boosts, nobody would see their posts. While Facebook does reward businesses that do use these features, there is no need to panic about having to use them every time you post. We’re here to tell you how to navigate Facebook post-algo change as a business. SUCCESSFULLY.

As CNBC perfectly puts it: Facebook’s ultimate goal is for EVERY single post in EVERY single feed to be the perfect one at the perfect time. It is important to always keep that in mind when creating and posting content on the platform. Who is going to engage with your content and why? Can’t answer that? Don’t post it.

This could potentially impact businesses by decreasing post reach to the “fake fans” (or those that don’t engage at all with your content), but by following Facebook best practices, the algo shouldn’t negatively impact reach to “true fans.”

Here’s what you as a business need to make sure to do from now on to avoid negative impacts from Facebook’s Algorithm Change:

–Post at the right TIMES– It is extremely important to do your demographic research on your audience instead of posting blindly and hoping users engage. Find out when they visit your page the most, any trends throughout the day that they follow, and what days and times that your posts do the best. Analytics are critical with any social media management, but with Facebook outright telling users that they want content catered to the audience at the right time, it is now essential to abide by that so your audience continues to see your posts.
–Post quality CONTENT– This goes for any business- If you’re posting fluff, fans aren’t going to want to see it, and with the new algo in place they won’t see it. For EVERY SINGLE POST YOU SHARE, be able to answer “Who is going to engage with this content and why?” before you post. If you share great information that your audience wants to see (think demographics, psychographics, and industry related news) you’ll be fine. Always share content FOR your audience.
–Post RELEVANT content– Like we have consistently seen, inserting yourselves into relevant trending topics and sharing ALWAYS pays off. Why? Because trending content (be sure that most trending content shared is relevant to your industry, not just viral content) is usually interesting, informative, different, timely and entertaining.

On top of these three tips, don’t forget to brush up on Facebook’s Page Best Practices which includes the following tips for Businesses:

Post Frequently
Target Posts
Keep Post Images and Text Fresh
Boost Important Posts
Publicize Exclusive Discounts and Promotions with Ads
Connect with Words and Pictures
REVIEW post performance

Facebook’s algorithm change isn’t “evil” but it WILL hold you accountable for posting content that your audience finds important at the right time.You HAVE to remember as a business page that you need to work on distributing great content to the RIGHT people at the right time (and don’t forget about the benefits of paid ads and boosts). This algorithm should purge your “fake fans” from seeing posts that they normally wouldn’t engage with anyway. Not much more. Are you up for the challenge?

About Morgan Jones

Morgan is a graduate from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BA in Communication Studies and a minor in journalism. She brings to the table a vivacious spirit and unique creative energy that she uses in all things SayItSocial. When she isn't being an awesome Digital Account Executive, you can find her running the Wrightsville Beach loop with her dog Grizzly, out on the beach, or on her front porch reading her nook.