Kelsie and I can look at the posts on your social media and tell you exactly why reach and engagement are low. It is because we have studied, played with, succeeded, and failed with the Facebook Algorithm. Everything we are about to share is based on experience. The algorithm is not made public and it is constantly changing and morphing to fit Facebook’s needs and desires.
What we’re about to share with you is based on years of experience and the analysis of thousands of social media posts. For your sake, we will focus mainly on Facebook.
What is the Facebook algorithm and why do we need to know it?
Buckle up.
Do you remember when Mark Zuckerberg went to Capitol Hill, sat in front of the Senate, and had to answer for Facebook’s role in sharing people’s personal data? They were also questioning him on creating a system that allowed foreign and domestic entities to create catered, specific little bits of content that (over time) possibly swayed the minds of many voters during elections.
In short, Mark and Facebook realized the beast they had created had gotten a little out of control. And the mass amount of censorship begins. Facebook starts removing posts and alerting people that content might not be suitable for them. More and more people are getting placed in “Facebook Jail” because of their actions on the platform. And everyone vowed to stop using Facebook or head to another platform.
Facebook laughed and kept rolling.
But those items were the ones you could see and are right in your face. It is what happens behind the scenes that most people don’t consider or even know is taking place. And it is these things that began to heavily limit the reach and impact your business’s page has.
Facebook’s goal is to keep people on their website. It is truly that simple. How do you keep them on the site? Keep people engaged.
In fact, right after Mark goes to Congress, he puts out a written post on Facebook about changes Facebook will be making. In short, Facebook will focus on content that engages people.
Facebook couldn’t possibly hire enough people to analyze and control every post. So the algorithm is in place to help Facebook determine if your post is worthy enough to be shown to more and more people so they will stay engaged and stay on Facebook’s site.
Here is what happens:
- You post something on Facebook.
- The algorithm analyzes the post and, based on certain flags and indicators, determines how many people they will show it to.
- It releases to this group of people (typically a small portion of your following).
- The algorithm determines, based on how that small group of people interacts with the post, how many more people it will show it to.
- It continues to assess and show to more people until it determines that it should not show it anymore.
We have to warn you of something. If you are worried and thinking, “I just need to beat the Facebook algorithm.” You, my friend, will lose.
It knows when you are trying to beat it. Trust us.
We don’t like to lose. We can teach you how to win.
Talk soon,
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