To help ensure you see content you’re most likely to interact with, Facebook uses an algorithm called Edgerank to determine which posts users see by default on their wall. I’ve written previously about the basic mechanics of Edgerank, explaining how it works and how to use it to your advantage, but Facebook continues to routinely tweak their formula:
Changes in recent weeks have resulted in some dramatic shifts in organic reach for some brand pages with many observers quoting losses of up to 50% of their previous reach. As the saying goes “your mileage may vary,” and each page will be affected differently by any algorithmic change. Those who may have sought to game the system by generating artificially high engagement levels may find their reach impacted most heavily; it’s exactly this sort of behaviour that Facebook’s engineers are working so hard to eliminate.
And while Facebook claims its changes are made purely in the interest of improving user experience and overall engagement levels there’s also an underlying monetisation goal at stake with the social network seeking to increase revenue from brands that are eager to increase their overall reach.
Brand managers who maintain Facebook pages for their brands should keep a watchful eye on their Facebook Insights data, particularly their organic reach numbers and continue to test different content strategies to boost these.
Despite all the on-going Edgerank changes, the average post on Facebook is only seen by something in the region of 12% of all fans. Keep this in mind when posting content and set smart goals to try to do better through outstanding content.
If your Facebook page has been affected by the recent changes, please get in touch to share your story.