Don't Fear The Algorithm

March 6, 2018

At the end of my previous blog post, I mentioned how Facebook recently changed their algorithm (yes, again), affecting businesses and consumers alike. If you’re a brand, band, or company- you’re going to want to listen up. And if you’re an avid user of Facebook, read on - we may have some good news for you. I’m going to dive into a few of the important things that are changing with Facebook’s latest algorithm update.

1. Facebook wants you to spend less time on Facebook

No, you’re not reading that incorrectly – Facebook has recently announced that they want their users to spend less time on their site. Why? Mark Zuckerberg and his team think that too many of us are just mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, consuming what they referred to as “junk food” and not getting any real value or return from the site. They want us to stop scrolling and actually engage with the people that matter the most to us – our friends and family (sorry, brands, bands, and companies). But in order to do that, they need to get rid of the “junk food” that’s taking up so much space in our News Feeds.

2. Getting rid of the clutter

There are a lot of things that are going into effect to make this happen. For example, you know when a post or meme becomes really popular, and for a week or so, that’s ALL you see in yours News Feed is the SAME post over and over again, shared by 10 different friends? Facebook wants to put an end to that. They also want to eliminate posts from pages that include “sketchy” links. And you can’t forget the dreaded clickbait. If you’re one of those pages whose posts always include “LIKE if you agree”, “Comment below”, or “Share this post to win!” (by the way, did you know that that last one is actually illegal and can get you kicked off of Facebook? I’ll touch on that in another post). The bottom line from consumers’ mouths – don’t be annoying!

3. The algorithm has likes and dislikes

We’ve mentioned the algorithm up above, but did you know that it has likes and dislikes? This constantly changes, and Facebook is infamous for modifying their algorithms on a regular basis. Besides the things mentioned above, the algorithm is going to be looking at a handful of other items to see if your content is more or less worth a user’s time.

Is your post topical or related to a current event? Good.

Are you using a photo in your post? Good.

If you’re sharing a video, is it uploaded directly to Facebook and not a link to an outside website like YouTube? Good.

Are you posting a text-only status from your business page? NOT good.

Are you asking your followers for likes, comments, or shares? NOT good.

Are you using clickbait or “sketchy” links? NOT good.

You can see how things are starting to get trickier with every like and dislike of the algorithm.

So what can your brand, band, or company page do to ensure that your posts are still reaching your target market?

Increase your Facebook ad budget – It’s no secret that more and more companies are advertising on Facebook – and why not? It’s affordable, and you can target that post to reach your perfect customer. It’s also no secret that Facebook has made changes in the past to business pages that show their posts less to followers (even if they like the page), and they do this on purpose. Facebook wants you to pay for boosted posts and sponsored advertisements. With these algorithm changes, it’s going to be harder and harder to organically get your message in front of your target audience, so be prepared to increase your Facebook ad budget. Otherwise, expect your posts to reach a very small percentage of your actual audience.

Stay current – Pay attention to what’s going on in the world. Was there a significant event happening today that directly or indirectly relates to or affects your business? Talk about it! Facebook wants to see original content from business pages, meaning they want to see YOU being YOU, and not just sharing the same links everyone else is.

Don’t rely solely on Facebook – This is something we would tell our clients regardless of Facebook algorithm changes. What’s the old saying? “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”? Make sure you’re active on other social networks. Not sure which social media platforms your business should be on? I've written a couple of blog posts in the past to help with just that.

Most importantly – reach out for help. We know how hard it is to run a business, let alone find time to market yourselves online. That’s why we’re here to help. We exist to help you thrive. From social media marketing, consultation services, responsive web development, and more – we’ve got your back.