Digital marketing agencies and brands alike have noticed an impact of recent changes to Facebook’s algorithm, which puts “meaningful interactions” at the forefront of its News Feed.
In order to remain relevant to followers, brands must interact with their followers. Here are the interactions the updated algorithm would mark as meaningful:
- Conversations Between Users On News Feed Content
- People Responding To Page Posts Shared Through The Messenger App
- Post Shares & Responses To Comments
- Interactions & Comments On A Page’s Facebook Live Videos
In order to master the algorithm, it’s crucial to create content that evokes interaction from your followers. By following these steps, you can make Facebook an effective channel for your content.
Have A Wide Variety Of Post Formats
Our first advice for growing your organic Facebook reach is to test out a mix of post types. If you mainly post images and have seen a decline in your exposure lately, test the performance of video content or link posts on your feed.
As a brand, testing the newest post types like Facebook Stories and 360 Video may have an added benefit if the algorithm prefers new formats. Trying new types of posts gives fresh content to your followers, and prevents your feed from getting stale. Which brings us to our next point, go live!
Go Live
Live video is unique because it creates a candid sense of community in the comments section. Your viewers are all experiencing the same, raw, unedited content, which gives them a common connection.
Facebook has noted that live videos get 6x more interactions than regular video content. More interaction means more credibility in the algorithm to promote more meaningful interactions. Focus on engaging content for your live videos that spark conversations in the comments to ensure that your organic reach will grow.
Post Visually Appealing Images & Videos
It goes without saying that posting low-quality images and pixelated videos can make your feed look unprofessional. With that being said, you don’t need to hire a professional photographer to create strong content – Images shot from smartphones can provide a more natural and casual vibe to your feed. Make sure your images are focused, the audio is understandable, and your lighting is good – you can also make your video content more accessible by adding closed captioning. Piggybacking off of this point, let’s talk about the kind of content that drives engagement.
Prioritize Engagement
Your posts will be eligible for greater exposure if they evoke interactions from users. Content that sparks conversation in the comments section will see increases in organic reach – so how do you encourage users to chat with each other?
This varies by audience, but here are a few suggestions to get you going:
- Share content with strong opinions or emotional traits.
- Post about trending topics and ask your followers to weigh in. Don’t be afraid to ask direct questions at the end of your posts!
- Launch an ‘Ask Me Anything’ thread, or start an interactive poll.
- Start a contest and ask for feedback from your community on your products or open the floor to new recommendations.
Don’t Be Tempted To Bait For Your Engagement
Unfortunately, there is a wrong way to go about gaining engagement on your posts. In 2017, Facebook announced intentions to lower the News Feed ranking of manipulative posts that beg for engagement.
Below we have the 5 types of engagement bait posts that Facebook will penalize. Essentially, you can’t cheat the algorithm by begging for interaction. The only way to grow your organic reach is by creating interesting content.
Source: Facebook
Review Your Engagement Analytics By Time Of Day
The time in which you publish your content is almost as important as the content itself. If you post very late or very early, your post may get lost at the bottom of News Feeds before your audience wakes up. Use your analytics data to your advantage by viewing peak days and times for your page followers in the ‘Posts’ section under your Page Insights tab.
By posting while your followers are actively browsing Facebook, you increase the chances that your content appears in their Feed, giving you a greater organic reach. With that being said, these hours also means higher competition with other businesses using this same tactic. Instead, launch your content 15 minutes before your peak traffic hours to have your content show up first when people open up facebook.
Utilize Your Assets
Many brands spend countless hours strategizing on how to gain engagement on their feeds, but frequently overlook one asset – their employees. Facebook users are more likely to trust content shared by their friends than from brands. Because of this, you should encourage your team to share and interact with your content for additional exposure.
We hope this guide helps spark some ideas for content on your organic feed! If you would like to take things to the next level with paid social advertising, contact our team of digital marketing experts at Wpromote. Let’s talk!