Facebook: Are Your Fans Getting The Message?

Congratulations!  Your business is on Facebook.  You’re now just like most other businesses out there that are ‘on Facebook’ but have no idea what to do next.  If you didn’t think about your Facebook content strategy, you’re not alone – the reality is that the majority of businesses on Facebook are not doing a good job at creating engaging communities.

Part of the problem is that businesses don’t realize the commitment that consistent social media participation requires.  With so many competing priorities and a lack of senior leadership buy-in, updating Facebook is often assigned to a junior role in the organization.

Another problem is a lack of understanding on how Facebook works.  Simply posting your content is no guarantee that your fans will even see it.  In fact, 90% of your fans won’t visit your page to interact with your brand.  Instead, your updates are viewed in their own NewsFeed.  That is, IF Facebook decides to display them.

What Do You Mean, “IF”…?!

Wait what? I know what you’re thinking “I put all this effort into coming up with stuff to post and Facebook might not even display them to my fans?”

Just like Google has an algorithm to determine which pages are displayed when an individual searches for something, Facebook has a formula to determine which updates are shown in each individual’s NewsFeed.  Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm attempts to deliver only the most compelling content to an individual’s NewsFeed.  If your posts lack value, they won’t get seen – it’s that simple.  So, what type of posts are deemed “valuable” by Facebook?

Cracking The EdgeRank Code

EdgeRank is made up of 3 components: weight x affinity x 1/time decay.

• Weight is dependent on the type of content you are posting and is dictated by Facebook.  The current hierarchy for weight has ‘Questions’ as most valuable, then ‘Video updates’, ‘Picture updates’, ‘Links’, and finally the lowly ‘Status update’.
• Affinity is a measure of how popular your post is.  Posts with lots of comments and likes have a higher affinity score.
• Time decay – In social media, you’re only as memorable as your last post.  And if your last post was 4 days ago, you’re old news.  Recent updates are more important than stale ones; another reason to update frequently.

Understanding how Facebook works is a good first step in planning out your content strategy.  A variety of different types of content posted frequently, designed to engage your fans is the best way to grow your community.