A brief history of the Facebook algorithm:
2004 – 2009:
Facebook was born in 2004, but its newsfeed didn’t show up until 2006. The Like button premiered in 2007, but it’s probably safe to say that Facebook didn’t have what we think of as “the algorithm” until 2009, when the platform debuted a new sorting order for newsfeeds based on each post’s popularity. (Goodbye, reverse-chronological order).
2009 – 2019:
A decade of further tinkering behind the curtain created the experience that billions of users now take for granted: personalized feeds created by galaxy-brain software that analyzes tens of thousands of data points in order to maximize the amount of time people spent on the platform. Because more screen time = more ads seen = more money for Facebook’s shareholders.
2015
For instance, in 2015, Facebook introduced the “See First” feature to let users choose which Pages they’d like to see at the top of their feeds. They also started downranking Pages that posted a high volume of overly promotional organic content. (i.e., organic posts with content identical to ads.)
2016
In 2016, Facebook began prioritizing posts from friends and family, as well as “informative” and “entertaining” content. It also started measuring a post’s value based on the amount of time users spent with it, even if they didn’t like or share it. Live video was also prioritized, as it was earning 3x as much watch time, compared to regular video.
2017
In 2017, some big changes included weighing reactions (i.e., hearts or the angry face) more than likes. They also started weighing videos by completion rate.
2018
However, in January 2018, responding in part to widespread criticism, Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook news feed changes that prioritize “posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions.” The change was meant to increase the quality, rather than the quantity, of the time that people spend on Facebook, as well as take more responsibility for how the platform affects its users’ well-being.
In the short term, brands had valid concerns about the fact that their organic content would no longer be prioritized as highly as posts from friends, family, and groups. The algorithm was now set to prioritize posts that earned a lot of high-value engagement (eg., comments, reactions, comment replies—and if a post was shared over Messenger to a friend, that counted too). In other words: to get the reach to earn engagement, brands had to be earning engagement already.
2019
A year later, in March 2019, at least one study found that while engagement had increased 50% year over year, the algorithm changes also increased divisiveness and outrage as it tended to promote posts that got people worked up. (Fox News, whose reporting evokes strong opinions from many, became the top publisher on Facebook by engagement.)
Simultaneously, the algorithm ended up rewarding fringe content (a.k.a. fake news) from unreliable sources that knew how to game the system.
The Facebook algorithm will probably always remain a work-in-progress. So let’s take a look at what matters to brands who want to optimize their organic reach today.
How the Facebook algorithm works in 2020
The algorithm currently ranks the posts each user sees in the order that they’re likely to enjoy them, based on a variety of factors, ranking signal.
Ranking signals are data points about a user’s past behavior, and the behavior of everyone else on the platform, too.
Facebook mentions three major categories of ranking signals:
- Who a user typically interacts with?
- The type of media in the post (eg.- video, link, photo, etc.)
- The popularity of the post.
In March 2019, Facebook introduced a new tool to build more transparency and user control into the newsfeed. The “Why am I seeing this post?” button does exactly as it says: it helps people understand why the algorithm has surfaced that post.
It also lets people tell the algorithm directly what’s important—or not so important, or downright irritating—to them. Meaning they can tell Facebook that they want fewer posts from a particular person, or to see more from a particular Page.
Next, in May 2019, Facebook began directly asking users questions, via survey, to get more context on what content matters to them. The surveys asked users:
- Who their close friends are;
- What posts (links, photos and videos) they find valuable;
- How important a specific Facebook Group that they’ve joined is to them;
- How interested they are in seeing content from specific Pages that they follow.
Facebook used all these answers to update the algorithm with the patterns they extrapolated. For instance, the Pages and Groups that people identified as most meaningful were often the ones that they’d followed for a long time, the ones they engaged with often, and the ones that had a lot of posts and activity.
9 tips for working with the Facebook algorithm
With all this background, what can brands do to make sure their Facebook strategy is aligned with the Facebook algorithm’s priorities?
1. Start conversations that get people talking to each other
According to Facebook, one of the algorithm’s key ranking signals is whether a user has previously engaged with your Page. And while no one is going to interact with your brand Page like they would with their friends’ pages, those likes and shares go a long way towards increasing your reach on future posts.
That means you have to put in the elbow-grease before the algorithm can start to recognize and reward your Page’s value.
And by elbow-grease we do not mean shoddy, obvious engagement-bait. (The algorithm can tell, and it will down-rank your post and maybe also your Page.)
At the end of the day the best way to earn more engagement is to be genuine. Or maybe try curious, funny, interesting, or inspiring. Regardless.
And always remember that you don’t need to seek out controversy to get engagement. Tapping into a strong emotion (cats; baby cats; baby cats uncomfortable; baby cats in danger) will do the trick, too.
2. Post when your audience is online
Recency is another ranking signal that matters as the algorithm selects which posts to show people. Newer is better. Now is best.
But when is your audience online?
B2B brand posts perform best between 9am and 2pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
- B2C brand posts perform best at noon on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Take a look at your Facebook Page Insights or Hootsuite Analytics to test and benchmark the best time for your audience, specifically.
3. Never post content that will get you down-ranked
We know you would never do this anyway. But still, just FYI, here are a few categories of content that Facebook has explicitly stated will get your Page down-ranked immediately:
- Links to sites that use scraped or stolen content with no added value
- Borderline content (a.k.a offensive but not prohibited content)
- Mis information and fake news
- Misleading health information or dangerous “cures”
- “Deep fake videos” or manipulated videos flagged as false by third-party fact-checkers
4. Post high-quality videos longer than 3 minutes
In May 2019, Facebook announced that the newsfeed will increasingly surface quality, original videos. The algorithm is increasing the influence of these three ranking factors:
- Loyalty and intent: videos that people search for and return to;
- Video length and view duration: videos that people watch past the 1-minute mark, and that are longer than 3 minutes;
- Originality: videos that aren’t repurposed from other sources and that have plenty of added value.
If you’re a video creator on Facebook, keep those guidelines in mind so that you’re giving the algorithm exactly the kind of video it wants. (And don’t forget tip #1: baby cats in danger.)
Pro Tip: If you’re a wiz at video, make sure you’re using Facebook live video, which averages six times more engagement than regular video.
5. Post often and consistently
According to Facebook, Pages that post often are more likely to be meaningful to their audience. Therefore, posting frequency is a ranking signal that can affect how high up in the newsfeed your posts are placed.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: a social media content calendar goes a long way towards achieving the kind of consistent quality that will keep your audience engaged and attentive.
Hootsuite’s planning tool takes care of all of that, if you’re inclined to give it a try.
6. Leverage Facebook Groups that are meaningful to your audience
At Facebook’s 2019 F8 conference we heard that Groups continue to be one of the most valuable parts of Facebook, according to user behavior. What’s key for brands here is that Facebook said people “may see more content from Groups in their newsfeed.”
Facebook itself is doing its part to promote the feature with a redesigned Groups tab that shows new activity. As well, by helping people discover new communities with a Suggested Groups sidebar (as well as in other high-vis spots throughout the platform, like the Gaming tab and Marketplace).
With Facebook’s “F5” design refresh devoting significant screen real estate to Groups, and the algorithm prioritizing Groups content, brands should plan to take advantage.
How? Consider starting a new Group based on your brand Page. A Group can be where you foster discussion, education, problem-solving and, yes, solid entertainment about the topics that matter to your audience.
7. Support your organic wins with paid ads
While your brand’s organic content can deepen your relationship with your audience, Facebook ads remain the best way to expand your brand awareness to the 2.4 billion potential customers who use Facebook.
And Facebook’s targeting capabilities may get even more important for advertisers who care about audience data, given Google’s recent announcement that Chrome is phasing out third-party cookies.
As you track your high-performing content, make sure you capitalize on the ability to turn it into low-CPC (a.k.a cheap) advertising for your brand’s voice. With Hootsuite Ads, you can set up, test and analyze an entire funnel’s worth of ads:
8. Let your followers know how to prioritize your content in their newsfeeds
With Facebook’s move towards increased transparency in how the newsfeed ranks content, your audience has more control than ever over what they see.
Let people know that when they follow or like your Page, they can also check the “See First” preference to let the algorithm know that your posts are important to them.
Of course, this tactic works best when you are consistently producing content that resonates with your audience and directly supports your Facebook marketing strategy.
9. Empower your people to advocate for you
The decline of organic reach has savvy marketers turning to tried-and-true tactics like good old word of mouth. Except, you know, at scale.
This is certainly the premise behind influencer marketing, but another, possibly even more authentic way to spread the word is by tapping your brand’s employees.
Whether it’s just you and your dog, or you pay salaries in five different currencies, an employee’s good word is solid gold. (After all, they’re the ones who know the inside scoop on your brand.)
17 Simple Ways to Increase Facebook Engagement
1. Teach, entertain, inform, or inspire
Your Facebook audience is not looking for a sales pitch, and they’re certainly not going to engage with one.
Stuff Dutch People Like does a great job of informing non-Dutch folks (including the Netherlands’ huge expat population) about Dutch culture while also making people laugh.
Check out the engagement numbers on this informative but entertaining post: 1,300 likes and more than 1,000 shares.
2. Get to know your audience
What you find entertaining or inspiring is not relevant.
When you’re seeking engagement, it’s your audience’s wants and needs that matter.
And it’s tricky to understand what those wants and needs are unless you really understand who your audience is.
Facebook Page Insights provides a ton of useful information about your audience. Study this information carefully, and look for any unexpected details that could help you create a more meaningful connection with fans.
Terre Bleu lavender farm used Page Insights to research their audience and determine what kind of content their fans respond to most. They learned that customers liked informative content like recipes, as well as gorgeous photos of the lavender fields. They generally saw less engagement for posts about environmental issues.
Using that knowledge, they used a photo of the lavender field bursting with yellow dandelion blooms to talk about an issue they cared about—the importance of bees. It turned into one of their most-engaging posts, with nearly 1,000 shares.
Creating audience personas can also help you understand your followers better. It’s a great exercise to help ensure you put your followers’ needs front and center, and target your content to their needs.
3. Keep it short
The vast majority of people use Facebook mobile devices—a whopping 88 percent of them.
Facebook’s data shows that people scrolling through News Feed on their mobile devices spend just 1.7 seconds to consume an item of content.
Even people browsing on a computer only spend 2.5 seconds per content item.
Source: Facebook
The good news is that people can recall content after seeing it for just 0.25 seconds. But you need to act fast to get their attention.
4. Focus on quality
With people moving through content quickly, there’s no time for sub-par graphics, videos or text.
If you’re running out of original content to post, content curation can be a great way to share quality, informative content that gets your audience excited.
Quality doesn’t have to be complicated, or expensive. In fact, Facebook recommends keeping things simple with a consistent color scheme and recognizable images.
5. Use (great) images
Facebook posts that include a photo see higher-than-average engagement rates. Simple shots work well. Facebook suggests a product close-up or a customer photo.
You don’t need a fancy camera or photography equipment—your mobile phone is all you need to get started.
Ali Maffucci of Inspiralized uses foam board covered in contact paper to fake the look of a marble countertop for her Facebook photos. She shoots on her mobile phone, with a small tripod.
If you’re not confident in your photography skills, or you’d simply like to use photos taken by professionals, stock photography is a great option. Check out our list of free stock photo sites to find some great photo resources for your next post.
6. Make a video, or broadcast live
Video posts see even higher engagement than photo posts. Like photography, videography can be simple and inexpensive, and you can get started using your mobile phone.
Keep in mind that vertical video gives you the most screen real estate on mobile devices.
Live videos see the highest engagement of all, getting six times more interactions than regular video posts. Can’t think of a reason to go live? Get creative.
The video was viewed 34,000 times. Remember, we’re talking about muesli here. Still think your product’s not interesting enough to promote with a live video?
7. Ask a question
- How do you [complete this action]?
- Why do you [like this event or brand]?
- Do you agree with [a notable statement, event, person, etc.]?
- What’s your favorite [fill in the blank]?
As people answer your question, don’t forget to…
8. Respond to fans
Make sure you have a team in place to monitor and respond to all comments. Sometimes a simple comment back is all that’s needed. Sometimes more action is required. If someone posts a question that requires a customer service response, direct them to your CSR channels or have an appropriate person follow up.
If you use Facebook Messenger for your business, aim to get the Very Responsive badge. This shows fans that you respond quickly to fans’ questions and concerns.
9. Test everything
You know how the saying goes about what happens when you assume. On Facebook, there are ton of opportunities to learn what your fans like, and what they don’t.
The statistics say that video posts get the most engagement, but that might not be true for your particular brand. Or maybe your followers just can’t get enough 360-degree video.
10. Post consistently and at the right times
Since the Facebook News Feed is based on an algorithm, your fans will not necessarily see your content the moment it’s posted. Still, “when was this posted” is one of the signals for the Facebook algorithm. And Facebook itself says that you’re more likely to see engagement if you post when your fans are online.
You can learn when your audience is active on Facebook using Page Insights:
- From your Facebook Page, click Insights at the top of the screen
- In the left column, click Posts
- Click When Your fans Are Online
Times are shown in your local time zone. If your fans all seem to be active in the middle of the night, they’re likely in a different time zone from you. To confirm, click People in the left column, then scroll down to see the countries and cities in which your fans and followers live.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to get up in the middle of the night to post on Facebook. This is a great reason to schedule Facebook posts.
The most important thing is to post consistently, so your audiences comes to expect to see content from you regularly. Testing will help you determine how often you should past to get the best response from fans, but Facebook recommends posting at least two or three times per week.
11. Drive traffic from other sources
People who are already interacting with you on other channels are a great source of potential engagement. Make sure they know where to find you on Facebook.
Try adding a link to your Page on other social networks. Link to Facebook from your website and email signature. Include a Facebook plugin on your blog to highlight your latest posts, or embed a post directly in a blog post, like this:
Fans can like the post without leaving your blog, or click the comment button to transfer over to Facebook to join the conversation.
Don’t forget about offline materials. Include your Facebook page URL on your business cards, posters at events, and packing slips.
12. Get active in Facebook groups
Creating a Facebook group is a great way to get fans involved and engaged. More than 200 million people are members of Facebook groups that they consider to be meaningful. And those meaningful interactions in groups can create brand loyalty and lead to engagement on your Facebook page.
Joining other relevant Facebook groups is also a great way to connect with fellow entrepreneurs and thought leaders in your industry.
13. Use Facebook Stories
Like Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories appear at the very top of the News Feed. That’s great placement for drawing eyeballs to your content.
This informal way of sharing content allows you to post as often as you like, without worrying about overwhelming your fan’s News Feeds. And since people expect production quality to be lower on Stories, you can be more personal and in-the-moment to build a stronger personal connection with followers.
That stronger connection builds desire to see more of your content, making followers more likely to check out—and engage with—the content posted on your page. In an Ipsos survey of stories users commissioned by Facebook IQ, 62 percent of people said they became more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in a story.
14. Add a call-to-action button
A call-to-action button gives people Facebook engagement options beyond liking, sharing, and commenting.
- Your CTA button can ask viewers to:
- Book an appointment
- Contact you (including through Facebook Messenger)
- Watch a video
- Click through to your website
- Shop your products or see your offers
- Download your app or play your game
- Visit and join your Facebook Group
15. Get verified
People want to know who they’re talking to online. This applies to brands, too. A verified badge shows visitors that you’re the real deal and they can feel safe engaging with your posts.
After all, no one wants to be the one to like or share a post from a fake page misrepresenting a brand.
16. Avoid engagement bait
When you’re hoping for likes and shares, it might be tempting ask for likes and shares. Don’t do it! Facebook considers this engagement bait and will penalize you by downranking your posts in the Facebook algorithm.
As mentioned above, it’s fine to ask a genuine question, or ask your followers for their opinion or feedback. You cross the line when you ask for a comment that doesn’t indicate any real thought or consideration. Here’s are some examples of engagement bait:
17. Boost your Facebook posts
- Search Most Engaging Content of Other and Try to Make Engaging Content in Same Niche (Subject)
- Focus on One Niche
- Avoid Engagement Bats
- Voting Bats – Don’t put Emoji on Post Graphics
- React Bats – Don’t ask your friends to like post
- Share bats – Don’t ask your friends to Share post
- Tag Bats – Don’t ask your friends to Tag post
- Comment Bats – Don’t ask your friends to Comment post
- You can ask open handed Questions for engagement.
- Like and Reply to every Comments.
- Post More Video Content and Live (Must Native and Orignal Video)
- Don’t Share YouTube Link
- Remove Spam comments and Nudity Pictures in Comments.
- Don’t Use Auto Liker Software.
- Don’t Put False News, Sensitive Content.
- Don’t Share same content in one Group and Page more than once.
- Don’t Share Own Page Content.
- Only Use Orignal Content
- Make longer videos 3 Min. or more.
- Use relevant Hashtag (#).
- Make Catchy and Engaging Title and thumbnail.
- Grow own Groups for Sharing and Join related and active groups.
- Support your organic wins with paid ads.
- Say people to set your page in first priority in news feed to see your post in first one.
Important Point for increase Engagement –
- Teach, entertain, inform, or inspire – They want to engage with content that will make them smile, make them think, or improve their lives in some way.
- Know your audience – know what your audience like to see .
- Keep your post short and sweet to capture attention quickly and entice users to stop scrolling and engage.
- Focus on quality of content
- Facebook posts that include a photo see higher-than-average engagement rates. Simple shots work well. Facebook suggests a product close-up or a customer photo.
- Make a video, or broadcast live – Video posts see even higher engagement than photo posts. Like photography, videography can be simple and inexpensive. Keep in mind that vertical video gives you the most screen real estate on mobile devices .
- Live videos see the highest engagement of all, getting six times more interactions than regular video posts. Can’t think of a reason to go live?
- Ask a question- An interesting question is a great way to kick off an active comments thread. Here are some ideas to get you started.
- How do you [complete this action]?
- Why do you [like this event or brand]?
- Do you agree with [a notable statement, event, person, etc.]?
- What’s your favorite [fill in the blank]?
- You could also ask fans for information about what kind of content they want to see from you. Then, give them what they ask for. This targeted content will inspire even more engagement.
- Respond to fans – If someone takes the time to comment on one of you posts, make sure to reply. No one likes being ignored, and fans who engage with your posts want you to engage in return
- Test everything – Test for best content which your follower like most .
- Post consistently and at the right times.
- Drive traffic from other sources
- Get active in Facebook groups
- Use Facebook Stories.
- Add a call-to-action button to your page.
- Get verified
- Avoid engagement bait
- Boost your Facebook posts – Boosting a post is a simple form of Facebook advertising that allows you to get your post in front of more people, and thereby increase your chances of engagement.
Instagram Algorithms 2020 Updates Points : –
- Focus on Story + Post + Hashtag
- Relation – make a relation with follower (Reply in Dm, Comments and Story)
- Interest – Find related interest base audience. (Related Hashtag and paid campaign)
- Timeline – Post on Most active time of follower.
- Hashtag – Use 10 and more different and related to post hashtag in every post
- Story – Make min. 4 Story with related Hashtag in a Day.
- The story must be realistic and related to your niche.
- Min. 2 and 3 Post in a Day
- Caption – Every Post must be related caption.
- Tag – Add your tags related to nice in every caption. (music, singer, song, artist
- Don’t Use the Same Hashtag in Every Post