EdgeR­ank: What Face­book’s New Al­go­rithm Means For Your Busi­ness Page

To have a good cus­tomer fol­low­ing on­line, you should (hope­fully) know that in­ter­est­ing con­tent and con­sis­tent up­dates are very important.

So­cial me­dia ar­ti­cle writ­ers and blog­gers can­not re­peat this enough.

How­ever, with Facebook’s up­dated news feed al­go­rithm that steers away from their pre­vi­ous EdgeR­ank sys­tem, it’s more im­por­tant than ever be­fore to share the right in­for­ma­tion on­line with your Busi­ness Page.

Oth­er­wise, ac­cord­ing to Facebook’s point of view, every­thing you post that is bor­ing or ir­rel­e­vant is just spam.

Cre­ate in­ter­est­ing con­tent or you can face two dif­fer­ent Busi­ness Page up­date fates: the al­go­rithm pushes your bor­ing up­dates to the bot­tom of the news feed and no one will see it or pay to have be seen (and users will think of it as spam any­ways). So even if a lot of peo­ple fol­low your Busi­ness Page on Face­book, you will have to stay on top of your so­cial me­dia game with each up­date that is written.

Also, you won’t be able to use that much re­cy­cled con­tent – e.g. funny pic­tures or memes. You will have to be more unique and original.

How Are Busi­nesses Fac­ing the New Algorithm? 

With the new al­go­rithm sys­tem, busi­nesses face a whole new rank­ing sys­tem that takes into con­sid­er­a­tion over 100,000 dif­fer­ent in­di­vid­ual weights that ef­fect an update’s news feed rank. The new sys­tem still takes into con­sid­er­a­tion the orig­i­nal EdgeR­ank weights of Affin­ity, Weight, and Time De­cay but clearly the new sys­tem isn’t as simple.

With Face­book tak­ing so many more fac­tors into what turns up in the news feed, busi­nesses are learn­ing that their posts may be con­sid­ered spam if un­ap­peal­ing or too repet­i­tive. To com­bat this, busi­nesses need to post in­ter­est­ing up­dates on a sched­uled ba­sis through­out the week. It means that you need to put more em­pha­sis on orig­i­nal, in­sight­ful and en­gag­ing content.

Will Busi­nesses Have a Stronger Face­book Following? 

To have a good customer following online, you should (hopefully) know that interesting content and consistent updates are very important. Social media article writers and bloggers cannot repeat this enough. However, with Facebook’s updated news feed algorithm that steers away from their previous EdgeRank system, it’s more important than ever before to share the right information online with your Business Page. Otherwise, according to Facebook’s point of view, everything you post that is boring or irrelevant is just spam. Create interesting content or you can face two different Business Page update fates: the algorithm pushes your boring updates to the bottom of the news feed and no one will see it or pay to have be seen (and users will think of it as spam anyways). So even if a lot of people follow your Business Page on Facebook, you will have to stay on top of your social media game with each update that is written. Also, you won’t be able to use that much recycled content – e.g. funny pictures or memes. You will have to be more unique and original. How Are Businesses Facing the New Algorithm? With the new algorithm system, businesses face a whole new ranking system that takes into consideration over 100,000 different individual weights that effect an update’s news feed rank. The new system still takes into consideration the original EdgeRank weights of Affinity, Weight, and Time Decay but clearly the new system isn’t as simple. With Facebook taking so many more factors into what turns up in the news feed, businesses are learning that their posts may be considered spam if unappealing or too repetitive. To combat this, businesses need to post interesting updates on a scheduled basis throughout the week. It means that you need to put more emphasis on original, insightful and engaging content. Will Businesses Have a Stronger Facebook Following? Even though Facebook is cracking down on whether or not Page Followers will be able to see a Business Page’s update, the more interaction that occurs, the better chance there will be a Story Bump. A Story Bump happens every time someone interacts with an update by liking and commenting on it (besides sharing it on their timeline). An update that was posted hours before can be bumped up in the news feed to give viewers an opportunity to read an older update and thus also gives businesses a second chance for more news feed views and potentially more user interaction. To help your business’ online presence grow through social media, sometimes a single small business cannot do it all on its own. Marketing communication can be engaging via social media channels but it’s often not enough. Collaborate with clients or other brands to create related content that can be linked back to everyone. An update does not just have to be entirely about a singular brand, but take notice of what your clients are doing or what is going on in your industry or city that followers would take interest in reading more about. Jeremie Brenton is a post-graduate business student and a part-time freelance writer often covering social media, SEO and online marketing. Jeremie is currently writing for Domo.com: click here to find out more about their business intelligence servicesEven though Face­book is crack­ing down on whether or not Page Fol­low­ers will be able to see a Busi­ness Page’s up­date, the more in­ter­ac­tion that oc­curs, the bet­ter chance there will be a Story Bump.

A Story Bump hap­pens every time some­one in­ter­acts with an up­date by lik­ing and com­ment­ing on it (be­sides shar­ing it on their time­line). An up­date that was posted hours be­fore can be bumped up in the news feed to give view­ers an op­por­tu­nity to read an older up­date and thus also gives busi­nesses a sec­ond chance for more news feed views and po­ten­tially more user interaction.

To help your busi­ness’ on­line pres­ence grow through so­cial me­dia, some­times a sin­gle small busi­ness can­not do it all on its own.

Mar­ket­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tion can be en­gag­ing via so­cial me­dia chan­nels but it’s of­ten not enough. Col­lab­o­rate with clients or other brands to cre­ate re­lated con­tent that can be linked back to everyone.

An up­date does not just have to be en­tirely about a sin­gu­lar brand, but take no­tice of what your clients are do­ing or what is go­ing on in your in­dus­try or city that fol­low­ers would take in­ter­est in read­ing more about.