Facebook currently maintains 2.41 billion monthly users. On top of this, nearly three-quarters of these users log in daily.
This makes Facebook retain its title as the number one social media platform for overall traffic. But if there are so many people active online, why are you getting such a small amount of traffic on your posts?
Well, it all comes down to the Facebook algorithm.
With the ultimate goal of delivering relevant content, Facebook is constantly evolving and changing its algorithm rules to create the best experience for users. Unfortunately, if you aren’t up to date with the latest update, you could be suffering penalties for your activity.
Luckily for you, we’ve got the secrets you need to work your way through the Facebook algorithm in 2020. Follow along to discover the key changes you need to know and how you can outsmart the system.
What Is the Facebook Algorithm?
Social algorithms work to filter out spammy content and deliver the most relevant and reliable posts to users. Similar to how Google decides rank on webpages, Facebook observes your page and posts to gauge the amount of traffic they deserve.
A set of definitive ‘rules’ will help artificial intelligence decide if your content is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and who you will be exposed to. The important factor to note with this is that the amount of followers or likes your business has does not necessarily translate into your audience.
In fact, on average only 6.4% of your followers will even see your organic posts. This makes it incredibly difficult to gain traction with the platform, but there are measures you can take to improve this number.
How Does the Facebook Algorithm Work?
The Facebook algorithm breaks down into two categories. Content ranking, and ad ranking. These two sets of rules do crossover but there is a difference between visibility from organic posts and paid advertisements.
Content Ranking
When you publish a post, Facebook only shows your content to a very small amount of your followers. In order to reach more of your audience, the first test group must prove to the platform that your content is of high quality.
The primary measure it uses to determine this is public engagements. Engagements are determined by factors like comments, shares, clicks, and more. If your content tests well with the first group of viewers, Facebook will release it to a few more, and so on and so forth.
If you don’t receive enough engagements from the initial audience, your post will be penalized. You then won’t reach any further followers.
Beyond this, Facebook will also forecast your content quality by gathering insights on your past posts. If you haven’t been receiving interactions on other posts, it will assume that your content is of poor quality and release you to even fewer viewers.
On the other hand, well-performing posts can increase your chances of a larger initial audience.
The platform will also use indicators like how a user’s friends tend to interact with posts, and if the content is about a relevant or trending topic. However, It is important to note that these elements affect your reach to your current followers, not new leads.
While high-performing posts will slightly increase your reach, the overall impact of organic reach is quite low and difficult to see growth with.
Ad Ranking
As mentioned before, there is a crossover between content and ad ranking. This means that your ads can impact your organic content ranking and vice versa.
The primary difference with ad ranking is the weight Facebook places on ad quality. In fact, up until recently, there was actually a penalty applied for ads that contained images with more than 20% text content. Thankfully the Facebook algorithm 2021 update has eradicated this rule.
While ad spending is done on a bidding basis and guarantees eyes on your business, there are factors that can bump your viewership up or down according to preference.
Using tactics like clickbait or engagement-bait posts will cue the algorithm to reduce your reach. Rearranging your approach to feature conversation-starting questions before links can be a workaround.
You’ll also want to watch out for spammy links, frequently reported posts, and overly-promotional ads.
All of these factors impact your ad quality score and hurt your success. Facebook will raise bidding amounts for poor quality content and reduce overall reach. On the other hand, turning out engaging, well-performing ads will have the opposite effect.
Based on positive past performance, you’ll have a leg up on the competition. Facebook will see you as a quality advertiser and want to promote your content to its users.
Overall Impact
With social marketing and the Facebook Algorithm 2020 rules, businesses are seeing a return on investment for ads. With the use of a variety of video ads, carousel ads, and more these campaigns are turning out reliable results.
Using your ad spending properly can ensure a much higher reach than organic posts alone and higher brand authority for your business. Utilizing algorithm rules like SEO does not have nearly the same impact on social sites, but can still be helpful in your crossover scoring.
It is important to note that boosting your post does not have the same effect as a paid advertisement. Save your dollars on this ineffective strategy and start composing intentional ad campaigns.
Mastering the Facebook Algorithm
Now that you understand how the Facebook algorithm works and how to appeal to it, you can set out to improve your reach, generate leads, and accelerate growth. Use these key elements to tailor your content and ads for success and watch your sales and conversion rates soar.
Ready to develop a worthwhile Facebook marketing approach that actually works? Get in touch with us today to find out how you can take your business page to the next level and make a digital marketing splash.
