How does the Facebook algorithm work?
Facebook is used to share content more than email or any other social media network. It is the most share-friendly platform, allowing you to quickly scale and grow your audience. However, when you look at your news feed, Facebook will only show you so much content. Your main feed is limited to the best-performing posts from your closest friends and pages you’ve opted in to. The algorithms weigh content to ensure that users’ social feeds are filled with what interests them. If your content does not resonate, it will only be shown to a small part of your audience. On the other hand, if it performs well, it will reach a vast majority of your followers, giving you the potential to get the content shared and gain organic growth.
Facebook is one of the easiest social media platforms on which to grow a large following. It is focused around the concept of sharing, but even with many followers, the content you post will only reach on average between 2 and 5 percent of your audience. Content is the most critical factor when it comes to growing and engaging with your Facebook followers and the best way to learn what works best is to test and measure how people are responding to your content in real time. There are sixty billion messages sent out on digital platforms each day, so to share compelling content, you need to find something that makes you stand out, grabs your audience’s attention and leaves them interested to see more. Understanding the basics of the Facebook algorithm can help you get your content noticed and maximise your chances to grow your audience and engagement:
The Facebook algorithm basics
Friends and family come first and their posts will always be shown first
Facebook aims to deliver posts and stories that the individual wants to see based on their previous actions and interests
Authentic communication has priority and genuine conversations get more visibility than promotional posts
You control your experiences through features such as ‘unfollow’ and ‘see first’ to customise your own feed
Facebook continuously collects feedback to improve, meaning there is constant iteration based on the audience’s preferences
Facebook also has a ‘ranking signal’ which considers the usual post the individual user interacts with, the type of content and post popularity
How to improve your posts visibility
Start conversations that get people talking, without seeking controversy
Timing is a significant factor, so post when your audience is online
On average, B2B brand posts perform best between 9am and 2pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (Source: Hootsuite)
On average, B2C brand posts perform best at noon on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (Source: Hootsuite)
Make video content the cornerstone of your marketing strategy
Drive traffic from other sources
Post regularly and consistently
Leverage Facebook groups that are meaningful to your audience
Empower your team to become your Facebook advocates
Test your content consistently and pivot accordingly
Use Facebook stories
Use posts to ask questions that might spark a discussion
Add a call to action, such as ‘shop now’ or ‘book now’
Prioritise images over external links
Re-post popular content with different descriptions or captions
What not to do
Posting disinformation or misleading your followers
Using engagement baits
Not checking your grammar before posting
Focusing solely on self-promotional posts
Ignoring posts on your page or responding unprofessionally
Broadcasting instead of engaging