May the odds be ever in your favour.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2018 Algorithm Games on Facebook.
The Facebook algorithm runs the news feed of all users, displaying a computer-generated selection of posts from other users and Facebook pages.
In January 2018, Facebook announced the changes to be made to its algorithm with the purpose of creating a social media platform that encourages more intimate and meaningful interactions rather than mindlessly scrolling through random videos on your news feed.
With such a change to be made, this means that not only will users spend lesser time on Facebook, they are also less likely to see content published by your brand on the platform as a result of the algorithm prioritizing posts from a user’s family and friends.
Aside from the sure possibility of having to purchase more ads, here are some tips to help you work around the new rules of the Algorithm Game on Facebook.
Tip 1: Bring out your weapons
It’s always good to prepare yourself prior to a game. Focusing on measuring and improving your content performance helps you out with pre-match jitters!
To start off, it’s good to do some self-evaluation and find out where your strength lies in your overall social media marketing strategy.
Don’t forget, your strengths are the greatest weapons.
Check out which of your tactics have been playing well in the field of posts. You can view your performance by using the Insights tab on your brand’s Facebook page to discover which post is/has been doing well.
(Source: Entrepreneur.com)
Calculate the Engagement Rate of each post to see which type of content gets the most engagement. You can do so by adding your Total Engagement and dividing it by your Total Reach.
After all, posts with the most engagement will play favorably into the algorithm to get you up the ranks and be known to more users.
Gather this data for your top well-performing posts to find out which post style is the most popular amongst your audience. Post styles vary from a text, video, link or image.
By growing your Custom Engagement Retargeting audiences and having a lower advertising budget on Facebook in the long run, this helps your brand to stay ahead of the game!
Tip 2: Catch your audience’s attention
In the Facebook Algorithm Games, it’s crucial that you stand out amongst the rest of your competitors. After all, the algorithm will only be in your favour if you’re outstanding!
Ways to catch the attention of your audience online would be first, to integrate livestream to be a part of your brand’s social marketing strategy!
According to data given by Facebook, live videos often lead to more engagement (discussions) among viewers on Facebook. On average, live videos get 6 times as many interactions as compared to regular videos.
Don’t know how or what to showcase your brand?
Think about what makes your brand unique, be it the way you make your products or even the products you use! Nothing much about that? Talk about something new and exciting that’s coming up for your brand or in the related industry itself!
Tip 3: Make a scene
Now that you’ve gotten the attention of all those young and old on the social media platform, it’s time to make a (purposeful) scene.
Yes, I’m talking about pulling at those heart strings.
Facebook’s new algorithm ranks your posts based on what you’re interested in. This is determined by how much interaction you have with a particular post by liking, commenting or sharing it.
Therefore, with more people who react, comment and share a certain post, this will lead the post to rise through the ranking! Thus, appearing higher up on the News Feed of individuals.
So how do you get your brand’s post higher up the ranks?
Encourage meaningful conversations on your Facebook posts! You can start the ball rolling by asking questions and referring to other experts or community members.
Meaningful conversations often open the gateway to sentimental, sappy thoughts of users in the form of long comments… which means more engagement to your post!
Tip 4: Get the support of your fans
In an environment with numerous competitors and the Facebook Algorithm itself, you’ll need them to survive the game.
Create and stabilise your fan base by asking your audience to enable the See First feature in News Feed Preferences on your page. This ensures that they’ll be able to see the content you post!
To do this, get them to visit your Facebook Page and mark it as See First by updating their following preferences directly on your page.
Instructions to do so are stated below, with the above image as a reference.
- Under ‘IN YOUR NEWS FEED’, ask them to select ‘See First’.
- Under ‘NOTIFICATIONS’, ask them to select ‘On’ for your events, suggested live videos.
Your posts will definitely get a boost to users who do the above mentioned when you publish any new content.
As a result, this signals to the algorithm that your content is relevant and timely to be shared to a larger audience.
Need a Peeta, Katniss?
Reach out to us at hello@alto.sg for a free consultation. We’ll be glad to help you out! [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]