What is the Facebook Algorithm?
The posts that appear on the newsfeed of a user and the order of the posts that appear are determined by the Facebook algorithm. Facebook algorithms are applied each time the user refreshes their newsfeed. Facebook has been putting in the effort to make the newsfeed more organized and efficient. So, the Facebook algorithm has been evolving at a rapid pace for the last few years. In 2020, Facebookâs algorithm focuses more on increasing the transparency of the platform for its users. Multiple surveys have been conducted among the users by Facebook for gathering opinions from them.
Ranking Signals
The data points that describe the past behavior of a Facebook user are known as ranking signals. Moreover, ranking signals are a variety of factors that are used by the Facebook algorithm to rank the posts. The posts are ranked so that the order by which each post appears on the newsfeed is determined. In 2020, Facebook declared that its objective is to help its users to gain a better understanding of the algorithms in Facebook. This will further help the millions of users on Facebook to take control of the ranking signals.
Facebook categories its ranking signals into three sections:
- Typical interaction circle of a user
- The type of media used in a post link, text, photo, video, etc. are the types of media
- The popularity of the post on Facebook
Facebook Feed
A new button has been recently added to the Facebook feed, which describes why a post appears on your newsfeed. This also allows the user to specify if the posts are relevant or not. This new tool was introduced in March 2019. Later on, in May 2019, Facebook started conducting direct surveys among its users to get a better perspective of the content that mattered to the users. The survey raised the following inquiries to the user:
- Who are their close friends?
- What are the type of posts that the user finds the most valuable?
- The degree of importance of a specific group on Facebook.
- How interested are the users to view the contents from specific Facebook pages on their newsfeed?
The data thus collected was used for updating the existing Facebook algorithm to serve the users better by offering them relevant and interesting content in their feed. Certain simple strategies can be followed to optimize your content following the updates algorithm of Facebook feed.
Facebook Video
In its updated algorithm, Facebook also encourages high-quality video content. The videos are ranked on three important factors:
- Loyalty and intent of the video that is being posted.
- The total length of the video and the average view duration.
- The originality of the videos. Facebook encourages original, creative, and captivating content.
Like any other platform, posting consistently is key for an increased reach to your audience. Create a daily routine for posting your content. Analytics tools such as Hootsuite can be useful for managing your content.
