Facebook’s News Feed algorithm is changing to show less public content, which means page reach may decrease
Facebook announced today that it is changing the News Feed to focus more on human interaction, and it will be making updates to ranking so people have more opportunities to interact with the people they care about. This means public pages will likely see a decrease in the reach they get, as Facebook will prioritize people over businesses.
Up to this point, Facebook has used signals like reactions, comments, and shared posts to determine how high posts appear in the News Feed. With this update, Facebook will now be prioritizing posts that initiate conversations and meaningful interactions.
Factors of posts that Facebook prioritizes:
- How many reactions did it receive?
- How many comments did it get?
- How many times was it shared?
- How many conversations did it spark?
- How meaningful was the interaction?
- Is it’s a friend or family member's post?
Facebook says it will do this by predicting which posts you might want to interact with and showing these posts higher in the feed. These are posts that encourage discussions, like posts seeking advice, looking for recommendations, or news articles that will receive back-and-forth conversation.
This update also means posts from friends and family will be prioritized over public content and pages.
“Because space in News Feed is limited, showing more posts from friends and family and updates that spark conversation means we’ll show less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers or businesses.” – Facebook’s News Announcement
If you aren’t getting reactions, comments, or shares, you could see a drastic decrease in reach.
This means businesses will need to change their strategy to get reach on the platform. It’s important that you continue posting to your page as normal. Your public News Feed will not go away, and if people choose, they can use the “See First” feature to see posts they care about. This means they could continue to see your business posts.
But, you can no longer rely on Facebook to reach your whole and complete audience. Methods like “set it and forget it” or choosing to pay a company that uses the same posts 99 other companies use, will be a waste of time, money, and effort.
Instead, you’ll need to understand these changes, set a good Facebook ad budget, and ensure you have a good website and email drip campaign. You can also use Facebook Groups for your business to grow an audience around a common purpose or passion.
Right now, you need to:
- Be aware of what’s happening.
- Grow social media ambassadors through your team, by networking and collaboration.
- Set an ad budget, even if it’s as little as a dollar a day.
- Have a GOOD website and a way to grow your tribe via email.
- Relationship marketing is a MUST moving into the future. Be human and grow real relationships, so your pages work more like a magnet, where people are being attracted to you, versus relying on bullhorn methods.
- Use Facebook Groups for your business to grow an audience around a common purpose or passion.
- Start using video in your social posts.
- Take a deep breath because NOW Marketing Group is here if you need anything.
So, what types of posts will show higher in the News Feed?
Facebook says live videos often get as much as six times the interaction as regular videos and create lots of conversation. Local businesses can also share updates about their business and community-oriented information or events. And sharing news also gets good interaction and creates a rousing comment section.
What kinds of posts to create:
- Live videos
- Use Facebook Business Groups, where people can interact with public content
- Post relevant updates about communities
- Create events
- Share local and regional news
- MOST importantly, create timely, relevant, engaging content focused on your audience
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