Mastering the Facebook Algorithm
I am sure you keep hearing about the “Facebook algorithm updates” and how it
affects our Facebook marketing, so now it’s time to understand how it really works.
Let’s look at all the ranking signals and how to crack the code!
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
What is a Facebook Algorithm?
According to Facebook, the algorithm is simply a formula or a series of particular steps they
follow to solve a problem.
It has been created to help them sort the abundance of available content and its importance and
relevance to every user. It helps them decide what we should all see in our news feeds.
In theory, the Facebook algorithm should help users stay more engaged on Facebook by finding
the right content on their news feeds.
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
How Does the Algorithm Work?
Facebook is explaining the Facebook algorithm as a series of three main steps.
Steps:
1) Inventory: All the posts/content from your friends and Pages
2) Signals: Available information to make decisions (e.g. recency, relevance, device usage,
feedback from community, misleading or hateful content)
3) Predictions: How likely you are to comment or share a story
At the end of these three steps, you end up having a relevance score for each post.
➢ Relevance Score: The score that predicts how likely you are to be interested in a story
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Top Ranking Factors
➢ Engagement (number of comments and reactions)
➢ Shares (and engagement on shares)
➢ Relevance
➢ Credibility
➢ Recency
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Explaining the Top Ranking Factors
➢ Engagement - Facebook prioritizes content that has lots of comments and reactions.
If there is a conversation going on in the comments, that’s even better. It’s not just
about people tagging others, it’s about starting a conversation!
➢ Shares - If a post has many shares and these get additional engagement, then this post
will show up more often in news feeds.
➢ Relevance - Are your posts relevant to your followers?
➢ Credibility - Does your page share quality information or does it get too many reports
for spam and irrelevant posts?
➢ Recency - The chronological order of the posts still has some importance in the
algorithm, but it’s not the main ranking factor.
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Others Ranking Signals
Here are more things to consider:
➢ Time spent on content
➢ How informative the post is
➢ Content type (videos and especially live videos can bring further engagement)
➢ Completeness of a Facebook Page profile
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
How Does The Algorithm Affect Pages?
Facebook’s latest big algorithm change was in January 2018 and it caused a sudden change
in reach for most Pages (i.e. lowered organic reach to under 10%). However, several Pages
managed to recover by adhering to the latest guidelines.
Organic reach is becoming more challenging without boosting your posts, but this doesn’t
mean that it’s impossible to find organic success.
Here are the key things to focus on…
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
The Focus on Engagement
Facebook keeps highlighting the importance of “meaningful interactions”
➢ Comments your posts have
➢ Conversations that take place in your post’s comments section
➢ Reactions your posts are having
➢ Post shares in Facebook Messenger
TIP: Create content that will be engaging for your target audience. Don’t just ask a
question, make sure that you know what will spark a conversation. This can take
weeks of split testing content and tracking via Facebook Page Insights.
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
The Focus on Videos
Video content can be more engaging.
Facebook has been focusing the last few years on making our news feeds skew
toward more video content.
That’s why it’s a good idea to invest more time on video creation.
➢ Keep your videos short and engaging
➢ Involve a call-to-action
➢ Encourage engagement
➢ Host more LIVE videos https://live.fb.com
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
The Focus on Local Content
People want more local news and community information on Facebook.
That’s why the algorithm is prioritizing local posts!
➢ Local businesses can benefit from this
➢ Try to narrow down your audience
➢ Think of what your local community wants to know
➢ Promote local events
➢ Publish local stories
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
How Does it Affect Your Facebook Marketing?
You can’t succeed on Facebook without playing by their rules!
Many Pages have been affected by the constant algorithm changes and therefore have struggled
to reach their audience.
➢ If your Page has been hit by the algorithm, then it’s time to focus on the ranking factors that
can boost your exposure!
➢ If your Page is still performing well, start being more creative to improve your performance
even more!
Learn more about your audience to improve the engagement and the meaningful interactions via
Facebook Page Insights and split testing targeting in Facebook ads.
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
Tips to Beat the Facebook Algorithm
➢ Build a community - Use the power of Groups to boost your Page (link them…
https://www.coursenvy.com/how-to-link-a-facebook-group-to-a-facebook-page)
➢ Be engaging - Create content that will start a conversation without imposing it
➢ Turn your supporters into your advocates
➢ Create more videos
➢ Narrow down your audience with local interests
➢ Make more ‘shareable’ content but don’t ask people to share it in your captions
➢ Combine organic and paid techniques to improve your success
➢ Keep your content native to Facebook - Avoid too many links and videos that lead to
other sites, and make sure to upload your video files to Facebook (no YouTube links)
➢ Read Community Standards and Ad Policies to stay up-to-date
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
Things to Avoid
➢ Engagement bait - Don’t ALWAYS ask for people to like, comment, share (e.g.
“Like if you agree”). Make them do it naturally with high quality content.
➢ Clickbait - Teasing people with exaggerating titles to click on a link does not
work anymore (e.g. “You won’t believe what this man did” or “This is the best
story you’ll read…”
➢ Fake, misleading or harmful information - Focus on quality
➢ Sharing too many memes and content that is not yours - authenticity is
important
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
BEST PRACTICE: Surviving the Algorithm Update
Things to consider when posting on Facebook:
➢ Engagement
➢ Authenticity
➢ Relevance
➢ Quality content
➢ Videos (especially live streams)
➢ Local interest
Copyright 2019 www.Coursenvy.com
