Understanding Facebook's Algorithm and How to Increase Your Exposure & Interaction

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Wondering why your Facebook posts aren't getting seen? Well wonder no more because this article will get you caught up.

What a lot of people don't know is Facebook upgraded their Edgerank algorithm to a much more complex "News Feed" algorithm in late 2013. Most people still refer to it as Edgerank, however.

The news feed algorithm includes more than 100,000 different weighted factors that determine who sees your posts (also called reach) and how long they are displayed.

When you post something, Facebook shows it to a very small percentage of your fans to test engagement. If a large percentage of them interact (like, comment or share) then they will show it to more fans.

If your post gets very little engagement, then it will not show to many of your fans and drop off the radar. Facebook wants people who cannot drum up enough organic engagement to buy ads. Plain and simple.

Below is an infographic I created to help you understand Facebook's algorithm, and it provides tips for improving your reach and engagement.

Click here to TWEET this page and infographic.

An Example of a Post With a Relevant Saying

Just in case you need clarification on tip #6, here is an example.

I posted the following message on Facebook and it received over 100 Likes...

This post actually used 2 of the tips above:

1) A large image with contrasting background and text colors

2) An image with a relevant saying that many of my followers can relate to

You probably guessed that a status update like this does nothing for traffic or income, but it's good to mix it up with some post variety.

Speaking of mixing it up, the post below about a random thought I had regarding a TV show got excellent engagement (over 100 comments and a reach of over 50%).

Why? Because it was playful, relatable and dealt with a pop culture topic.

Don't be afraid to share something fun and different from your norm every now and then. Fun posts like this also help with overall engagement.

Why The Algorithm Keeps Changing

Facebook's PR team would probably tell you this is purely about helping you see the content that matters to you the most.

That is a very warm and fuzzy answer, and while it is partially true, the real reason the algorithm continues to make it more difficult to get exposure is to increase Facebook's advertising revenue. Their #1 goal is pleasing their shareholders.

By minimizing status update exposure, it forces people to use the "Promote Your Post" feature to reach more of their fans. Recently the price to promote your posts has increased.

So at the end of the day, it's all about Facebook's bottom line... increasing ad revenue. The good news is you can still follow the tips above to get great exposure without spending money.

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