New Year, New Algorithm

It's a new year which means changes on Facebook. No, I'm not talking about the privacy policy changes or that post about owning your content (STOP SHARING THAT). I'm talking about the dreaded algorithm.

This year is no different. Facebook has rolled out updates that decide what will show up in your news feed. 

What is the algorithm? In simple terms, it is how Facebook picks what content shows up in your News Feed. The algorithm decides the content based on your engagement, who you are friends with, pages you have liked, popularity of posts, and many many other factors.

Facebook adjusts the algorithm slightly throughout the year, but whenever we enter a new calendar year, they tend to make a big change. Sometimes this affects the average user, but typically it is the business that have Pages that suffer from the change.

This year brands and pages have been hit hard. In order to guarantee post views and engagement it's going to take more than just putting great content out there. 

Here are a few tips to help with your post reach:

1.) Post Video

Facebook recently decided to push their video service. Its always been there, people just didn't use it. In an effort to push (force) people to use the service, Facebook made adjustments to the algorithm that gives videos uploaded directly to Facebook priority. 

2.) Multiple Photos

Photos have always done well as posts on Facebook. This year, it's a little different. Instead of just posting one photo, you will need to post multiple photos to each post to get the best reach. Posts with 3-4 photos seem to do the best.

3.) Avoid Promotional Verbage

Unless you plan to "boost"/advertise the post, avoid using promotional verbage. That includes certain call to action words, such as "watch," "tune in," "check out," etc. Instead, focus on telling your story. Make posts conversational. Ask questions!

4.) News & Trending Topics

Last year, the big push from Facebook was to increase the reach of certain links, like news stories or posts related to trending topics. This year is no different. Before you post certain content, do a little research on the way others may be wording a trending topic. Using similar wording, tags and hashtags will increase your reach. 

5.) Avoid "Click, Like, Share Baiting"

Clicks, Likes, Shares, we want them! That's a huge part of our job as social media strategists. But, if you are using wording that encourages people to "click the link to see more" or "Find out what happened..." Facebook is cracking down on your reach. This is part of Facebook's new push to make a better news feed. Your click baits might work, but your audience doesn't really "like" it.

Lastly, remember to always tag other pages if you mention them. This always gives your post an extra boost, plus it's the social thing to do. ;)