Battling Facebook’s Algorithm
Thursday, March 29th, 2018
Facebook’s algorithm change earlier this year sent shockwaves through the businesses and organizations that count on that medium as a way to reach their target audiences. Facebook’s prioritizing of posts from family and friends over public content left business owners and marketers wondering what to do to combat this setback.
According to Facebook, the algorithm will prioritize posts that prompt meaningful conversations between friends, as well as highly shareable posts. Simply put, Facebook’s algorithm is rearranging the way you see posts according to ones you would be more likely to interact with. Posts that spark conversation and get the most authentic reactions, comments and shares will rank much better. It’s not enough just get those post likes, you need to get post shares and comments to broaden your post reach. If you’re seeing a big decline in your Facebook post engagement, it might be time to enlist the help of a social media marketing agency.
Five tips for getting a higher organic Facebook reach
-
Post meaningful content, questions and items that encourage opinions.
Spark conversation among your followers with relevant content. Post questions that will evoke emotion and encourage authentic conversation between audience members. When content induces a strong emotion, it is much more likely to get shares and interaction. To do this successfully, you must first understand your audience and what motivates them. It’s all about creating the right mix to appeal to your fans. What exactly is meaningful content? It’s content that educates or informs your audience or is very timely or relevant. This may mean a social media strategy shift to more posts targeted at individual audience groups rather than a “one size fits all” approach to posting.
-
Think video.
Video naturally gets better engagement and Facebook Live videos perform even better than regular videos. Facebook Live enables you to interact with your viewers in real time. Facebook Live videos are likely to appear higher in news feed when the videos are actually live. It’s always best to let your audience know in advance when you will be going live to be sure people tune in. Facebook also alerts your audience when you are going live. FB Live videos can be up to 30 minutes long. Once the live broadcast has ended, the video will be saved on your timeline for anyone to watch in the future. Facebook views these live videos as the ultimate authentic experience. Tap to learn how to go live.
-
Engage customers with Facebook Groups & Facebook Stories.
See a common theme here? It’s all about Facebook and its products. Facebook Groups are a great way to build a more engaged community around common interests or causes. This can be anything from groups of people who are passionate about animals to people who love travel, parenting groups, clubs, people who support a particular non-profit organization or people who love to cook and try new recipes. Is there a group that can be formed to tie into your brand, products and services? It’s worth exploring to make closer connections with your audience. Facebook Stories is another visual way to share your story and reach your audience. You can create a story through the Facebook app on your mobile phone. Simply go to your business page and scroll down and tap Create Story to begin. You can take or upload photos or video from your camera, add text and filters.
-
Be sure your photos stand out.
The more interesting and engaging the photo, the more reaction it will get. If you’re taking a photo, try working with different camera or phone angles to get a more dramatic effect. Action shots are always great. Keep it simple, not overly complicated. Photographing product? Arrange it into a unique type of design and color selection. There are also many high quality and enticing stock photos available online to purchase for social media sharing. That may be the better option for some. Think cute, mischievous puppies and stunning scenery. Whatever photo you use, it should be relatable and authentic. You’ll also need a great caption that ties into the photo and immediately grabs attention. Time spent on finding an appropriate photo and developing an interesting caption is time well spent.
-
Don’t be shy about reaching out to your fans for help.
This can be instrumental in combatting Facebook’s algorithm. Ask your followers to go to your Facebook business page, click on following and then click on see first to insure they see your posts. If your content is consistently compelling and useful, your fans will already realize the value and won’t want to miss it. As a result, they will want to do this!
Don’t get caught in the engagement bait trap
Encouraging users to like, comment or share just to boost your engagement could be considered engagement baiting and it could work against you. Businesses that regularly engage in baiting tactics to get a greater reach on their news will quickly see a decrease on their post reach. There are five forms of engagement baiting: Tag baiting, comment baiting, vote baiting, react baiting and share baiting. Posts such as like and share if you like ice cream, share to win movie tickets or comment if you love that the Eagles won the Super Bowl are all forms of engagement baiting.
To overcome the changes of Facebook’s algorithm, your goal should always be to have an authentic connection with your audience. To accomplish that, you need to concentrate on consistently creating content of interest. This content should on its own encourage people to share, because they found value.
Leverage the power of your employees in the battle against Facebook’s algorithm
The involvement of your staff can help you instantly strengthen your Facebook reach. Perhaps feature your team members in certain posts. If they buy in with active participation in the form of likes, shares and comments, more people will see your posts. Encourage your staff to get involved and share. In addition, make it as easy as possible for them to share. Email them links to the post and ideas for captions when sharing. The easier it is for the employee, the more chance they will actually do it. The greater the social media outreach for a business, the better it is for the entire team.
Always be unique and relevant on social media
Remember, Facebook is one big community and the more buzz you can create within that community, the better. Your post goal in overcoming Facebook’s algorithm is to get people talking. You want comments, likes and shares. Therefore, be sure to be unique and not post the same content over and over. If you’re posting product photos, change up the captions or pose questions regarding use of the product. Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes content based on the value it brings to the individual user.
Facebook ads may be for you
In conclusion, while you always want to focus on improving your organic reach, Facebook ads are a cost-effective way to build engagement and get a positive ROI. Boosting posts and running Facebook ads can definitely work in conjunction with your organic efforts. You can set your target audience for your ads based on many factors, including age, geographic location and interests. The social media team at Corcoran Communications helps clients to strategically develop a mix of enticing social media posts and Facebook ads to enhance their social media efforts and get results.
Need help with your social media initiatives, contact us for a free consultation. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for helpful marketing tips, social media strategy updates and our informative blogs.
Tags: Corcoran Communications, engagement bait, enticing social media posts, Facebook ads, Facebook business page, Facebook Groups, Facebook Live videos, Facebook post engagement, Facebook Stories, Facebook's algorithm, Facebook's prioritizing of posts, FB Live videos, higher organic Facebook reach, informative blogs, marketing tips, meaningful content, organic Facebook reach, social media, social media efforts, social media initiatives, social media marketing agency, social media strategy, social media team