How the Facebook Ad Algorithm Works

Since February 2018, Facebook has decided to change its News Feed algorithm. Users will see more posts from friends and family, rather than public posts. CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained, “As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. Moreover, the public content you see more will account to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.” He attributed the reason for the change to the need for Facebook to make their services not only “fun to use, but also good for people’s well-being.” The implication of this is that businesses and other public pages would have to do more to be in their potential customers’ faces.

As expected, a lot of brands, businesses, and public outfits were apprehensive following the announcement. This announcement is due to the lack of adequate information on the details involved in the shift. The algorithm changing could, in effect, force many to change up their social marketing strategy.

Before now, Facebook’s priority was how much time users spent on the platform. That has changed now. Facebook has switched focus to how much real interaction users have. Some interactions are being ranked higher over others. Actions, like commenting and sharing of posts, are considered more critical views and likes. Facebook wants their users to be fully engaged regardless of the amount of time they choose to spend on the platform.

Facebook is trying to return to being the go-to platform to keep family and friends connected.

Here are the factors that determine the success of your posts.

Commenting on Facebook

If you have a Facebook page and you put up posts that people don’t leave comments on, you are likely to experience reduced engagement with users. If you want to keep your current level of engagement, or possibly see an increase in distribution, you need to craft content that will make people talk, thereby putting up comments in reaction to the original post. You would want to craft your post in a way that would compel people to post comments. You can include questions, or talk about trending issues that are sure to draw reactions from users. In summary, the more engaging your posts are, the more people will see them, mainly because their family, friends, and acquaintances are posting comments on them.

Commenting man women smartphone “man and woman holding smartphones” by rawpixel on Unsplash

Replies to comments are also as important; possibly as valuable as the comments themselves. It shows that whatever content or post is added up has sparked a conversation among users. Better still if people are tagging their friends, their friends check out your content and react to their comments: it’s a chain reaction. The whole point here is to drive conversations; make people talk.

Reactions on Facebook

Although not as useful as commenting, responses also affect how many users will see your posts. If people like your posts, the content gets a little boost in your feed. Better still if they use any of the other emoticons; love, haha, wow, or angry, the post will get a slightly better boost. Facebook prefers them.

Sharing on Facebook Messenger

Sharing on Messanger

If your post will go through the Facebook messenger, it is considered a meaningful interaction by the Facebook Ad algorithm. It is assumed that since someone likes your post enough to show it to his or her friend, the content must be engaging.

Sharing your Post

Sharing your Post “woman holding phone” by rawpixel on Unsplash

Another way your content gets in people’s faces is by sharing. If a person shares your post on their wall, they’re showing their friends and followers. That’s good, but it’s not even the real deal. The catch here is when people comment on and react to shared posts. This action gives some significant boost to your content.