If you’ve been managing your business’s Facebook page for a few years, you’ve likely noticed a decline in the number of people who are viewing, liking, and commenting on your posts. It’s not that your business has gotten less popular – its the Facebook algorithm working against you.
First, this started happening because more people were advertising on the site than before. Facebook execs explained in 2014 that the increase in advertising meant there was more competition for organic posts, so fewer people were seeing your images and videos.
At the start of this year, a new change was announced. In January 2018, according to Facebook’s Head of News Feed Adam Mosseri, Facebook began to “shift ranking to make News Feed more about connecting with people and less about consuming media in isolation.”
This meant Facebook was showing people more posts from friends and family, and fewer posts from brands.
As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to reach even your biggest fans on Facebook without paying for a boost.
It is difficult to control the Facebook algorithm or even to fully understand it. The company is very secretive with what posts get pushed out more to users and which don’t.
Generally, Facebook will keep sending out a post that it deems popular or important to the user. These factors range from using trigger words that indicate important events (e.g., “congratulations”) to whether or not you’ve actually clicked a link in a post before liking it. Facebook rewards the content that produces person to person interactions the best. That includes actions like:
- If the content is shared over Facebook Messenger.
- If the content is Liked or commented on.
- If the content receives multiple replies.
- “Meaningful interactions” between users.
A study from Edgerank Checker found that between February 2012 and March 2014, organic reach for the average Facebook Page dropped from 16% to 6.5%. Other research suggests that for pages with more than 500k likes, organic reach could be as low as 2%.
So how can you beat this nasty algorithm and get your content in front of your hard-earned fans?
First, you can be more intentional with what you post. Facebook is only going to promote the very best content it sees. That’s likely posts with video and images, captions that promote engagement, and posts users might share. Put more time into fewer posts and make sure you are putting your best foot forward on Facebook.
You can try targeting each post to a specific audience – including location, age, gender, etc. This could be helpful in ensuring only those who are more likely to interact with your ad will see it.
You can also ask your super fans to turn on notifications so they never miss a post. This is an especially good idea if you use your Facebook page to post about coupons, new product releases, or other information that is particularly valuable to users.
Remember that people are more likely to take action if something is asked of them. Ask them to interact with your post, and its more likely they will! Adding “Please Like and Share” to your captions could give you a nice boost.
Another way to extend your reach is through paid advertising. Of course, this isn’t ideal, but that’s how Facebook wants you to play the game. Add $20 to boost a few posts that seem the most likely to get engagement. If you start getting more views on your content, Facebook might reward you.
Facebook advertising offers super robust tools and analytics, so it can be well worth your time to put together a strategy and take advantage of what they offer.
Unfortunately, it’s just a matter of time before Facebook’s organic reach is down to zero. So do what you can now to get your audience engaged – and learn to master paid advertising.