Oh yeah, we’re still talking about the new FB algorithm. You know the one—the “meaningful interactions” update that prioritizes posts that create meaningful conversations, especially those from family and friends. Brands might call this the ol’ bait and switch since, originally, they were convinced by Facebook itself to come hang out on the platform. (“The free organic reach is great over here, guys!”) Now, businesses will reach a much smaller percentage of their audience.
Wipe the sweat from your brow, folks. Buffer is here with everything you need to know about how the Facebook algorithm works, plus what marketers and brands can do to thrive on Facebook in 2018.
We’re gonna jump past how it works, so we can get right to the top ranking factors and actionable takeaways for brands.
Top Ranking Factors in the Facebook Algorithm:
So long the days of clicking and watching. Facebook wants active interactions, favoring commenting, sharing, and reacting (in that order).
- Commenting: AKA, page posts that generate conversation between people will show higher in News Feed. But! Don’t use “engagement bait” to goad people into commenting—posts will be demoted in the News Feeds as a result.
- Sharing: There are 2 types of sharing: People sharing links and content within Messenger and engagement with a publisher post shared by a friend. It’s important to understand that it’s no longer enough just to have someone share your posts. FB will now favor shared posts that create conversations among friends.
- Reacting: While not as strong as comments or shares, reactions remain a form of “active engagement” that will help brands’ posts reach more people within the News Feed.
What Brands Can Do to Succeed on Facebook:
- Focus on content that connects people. Instead of creating content for your brand, start creating content for the people that will spark enough emotion to generate a comment or share.
- Post content that naturally creates meaningful interactions. Keep in mine Facebook Live videos perform better than everything!
- Activate niche communities through Facebook Groups. Groups are the perfect way to build an active and engaged community around topics, issues, and causes that they care about.
There is so much more where that came from. Definitely worth the read.
