​Getting a ROI From Facebook

In the past, Facebook ranked pages and content on quantity. Making 6 or 7 posts per day made it more likely that your page would feature in the newsfeed of people who have liked you...not anymore.Facebook has updated their EdgeRank algorithm, and renamed it Newsfeed Algorithm, meaning that the way they measure the popularity and engagement of a post has changed.

What did EdgeRank measure? Affinity - likes, comments, shares, clicksWeight - comments, likes (e.g. a like is worth less than a comment)Time Decay - older posts were less likely to be shown on a newsfeed. Newsfeed Algorithm focuses on interactions that fans make with posted content, meaning that Time Decay is no longer an important factor. If an old post regains popularity it will be served to the newsfeed of fans.What does the new algorithm measure? How often they respond to your posts? How often they interact with your posts and how often that posts receive likes, shares, comments (affinity) from them and their friends? How often they have interacted in the past with this type of post? How often they have hidden or reported this kind of post?

Historically people read the top 57% of stories that appeared on their Newsfeed, without scrolling far enough to see the other 43%. When the new algorithm took over, the first consequence was for unread stories to re-emerge and the amount of read stories increased to a significant 70%.What will people see after the changes?Facebook has a rule to not serve multiple pieces of content from one user in a row on a newsfeed. This rule is being relaxed for users who do not have much content to see.

Content from people who users care about (or visit more) will feature more prominently on their newsfeed.Users have complained to Facebook about seeing content related to friends ‘liking’ another post. These will be less prominent or not seen in newsfeeds at all. An example can be seen below.

What does this mean?

Engagement on your page will become more important than ever. Posts will have to work harder to get likes, comments and shares.Posts that encourage fans to take action will work best. They will have to be clear and must avoid click-baiting; this is when a publisher produces exciting headlines and a link without much information for the user about what to expect.

Facebook is working hard to demote click-baiting posts, primarily to prevent the spread of spam.Growing the fan base and encouraging fans to share your content will help to boost the reach.Getting the basics rightKeep your posts short. Posts between 100 and 250 characters get 60% more engagement than posts with over 250 characters.Be visual. Posts with images and videos get up to 180% more engagement. Try posting a link as a photo with the article title and URL in the caption.Post frequently.

96% of your fans will not come back to your page so making regular status updates will consistently reach them and gain interactions.Posts related to, but not directly about your brand perform best.Make sure you post when your audience are the most engaged. Test out different times to find the best time for your customers or have a look at the insights to see when your fans are most online.Ensure that you develop an effective content strategy. Engagement is the key.

Airship provide consultation, management and strategy development for social media. We will work with your marketing teams to ensure you get the maximum ROI from your social media channels.