Facebook announced an update to their “news feed” algorithm this week. This is what determines what gets viewed in their users’ news feeds.
As you’re likely aware, Facebook tries to make an educated guess what you want to see, based on your past behavior, and the performance of a post or brand/individual. Their new update tries to resurface older content you may not have seen (scrolled far enough to read). More from Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/facebookforbusiness/news/News-Feed-FYI-A-Window-Into-News-Feed
You can also read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/06/facebook-news-feed-changes-story-bumping_n_3715815.html
It seems that advertisers need to:
- Make a good first impression with your post. The new “bumping up” of older content means you are less likely to make a second impression with your users.
- Encourage interaction. That could be link clicking, sharing, comments (questions), or likes. Try to motivate your user to do something that tells Facebook they like it (this has been true for a while, but seems increasingly important now).
- DON’T BE BORING! With the old algorithm, Facebook rewarded good content. But with the new changes, there seems to be an impression that the reverse will now happen, and boring content will hurt as much as good content helps. (See: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebooks-news-feed-change-will-punish-boring-advertisers-2013-8)
Thoughts? Am I reading this right? I’d love to know what your seeing.