The Facebook Algorithm
You’ve probably heard of it, you probably hate it or wish it was different but do you understand it?
Facebook remains the number one social media platform and whether you love it or hate it you should be on it. If your small business has customers or clients’ chances are they too are on Facebook, or their staff or on Facebook. Let’s not also forget that Google indexes relevant Facebook information and Facebook itself is a search engine.
So, you want to know what the Facebook algorithm looks like? What is this magical thing and how can you make it work better for you?
Facebook’s number one priority is to have every one of their users see the posts that are the most relevant to them. Facebook captures how people use Facebook and alters their feeds accordingly.
So as a business you are naturally more interesting to some people and it is those people who will see your updates. This is because Facebook wants them to enjoy their experience every time they are logged in to the social platform. The more they enjoy it the more they will return and the more, successful Facebook remains.
Those people who show interest with your posts will continue to see your posts so long as they continue to show and interest. If however, they lose interest then, yep you guessed it, they will stop seeing your posts.
But – It is not just about you. Your customers also follow other businesses, relatives, friends etc. Perhaps within all that, they love photos, or links are irresistible or a funny quote catches their attention every time. This also influences what people see. So content type matters too.
Engagement – This matters and Facebook has been telling everyone this for as long as I can remember. It is also the quality of the engagement that matters. Shares are the best, followed by comments and then likes. You need quality activity on your posts.
Also, newer posts are always the ones shown if they are not relevant to the Facebook user.
Now all these factors combine and Facebook provides each of your posts a score in relation to your followers. So the more important you are to a specific follower the more likely they are to see your post as it has a higher score for them.
Thank you to buffer for this infographic
Furthermore – Facebook has a Feed Quality Program and a Feed Quality Panel and many thousands of surveys too.
Phew – lot’s on information huh!
What can you do?
Be smart with your headlines so they interest your ideal clients.
Don’t just promote, also inform, be funny, be smart, be original, be live.
Experiment to see what works.
Use statistics, Facebook’s insights are amazing and they will help you see what is working with your followers.
If this is all too hard
Maybe it is time to get some help with your strategies or look into outsourcing your social media to someone who understands. If you don’t have a clear idea of your ideal clients – My Sassy Business can help with this and much more.
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