Brand Pages Tumble Further Down Facebook’s News Feed — But There’s Hope

Facebook’s News Feed is shaking thing up again.

The all-powerful algorithm is always tweaking, adjusting, and evolving how it ranks the things you see, in ways both big and small. And recently Facebook’s engineers announced yet another major change: this time, to put even higher priority on the friends and family in your feed.

Facebook made a similar adjustment just last spring in order to improve the overall balance between posts from friends and posts from Pages, but that didn’t satisfy many users who were still worried about missing updates from the people closest to them. So this time Facebook is cranking it up another notch so that posts from friends and family get pushed higher up the News Feed.

While this is welcome news for the individual who wants to be sure they’re seeing every single one of Uncle Bob’s political ramblings, it’s not necessarily great news for businesses. Facebook acknowledged that “this update may cause reach and referral traffic to decline for some Pages.” So if your traffic comes mainly through your Page posts — and not post interaction like shares, comments, and likes — you’re fairly likely to see a dip in engagement.

This may sound discouraging, but don’t despair. There are still some ways to help tip the algorithm in your favor, and get your Page in front of more eyes.

Post more video. With its recent launch of Live for live video streaming, plus the meteoric rise of video across all digital platforms, Facebook knows which side its content bread is buttered on. Video is always going to pull more weight in a News Feed, in turn helping you earn more views and engagement.

Make sure to post links. Like video, links are another high-performing form of content on Facebook. And while you would never want to post mostly links on your Page, regularly sharing useful articles by reputable sources can both inform your audience (think helpful tips or relevant product news) and help break up your other Page content. And the links don’t always have to be serious, either: a funny essay, video, or meme that suits your brand persona can be a great way to connect with your audience — and maybe earn a few extra shares, too.

Advertise. While posting consistently high-quality, impactful, creative, and entertaining organic content will always help your Page get more views, the truth is that organic is not enough. Making room in your marketing budget for a few Facebook ads is the best way to ensure that your posts are seen not only by your existing audience, but by new audiences you want to target, too. Plus, these days Facebook makes it easier on marketers by enabling them to build and test campaigns around specific goals.

Use Insights to your advantage. If you’re not already doing this, it’s definitely time to start! Facebook Insights helps you track Page performance and post engagement, enabling you to learn things like what types of content your audience likes best and what times of day your audience tends to be online. And since Facebook’s algorithm changes should start rolling out right about now, it’s a very good time to narrow your focus down on the specific posts that your audience wants to see the most.

While the new algorithm may make it more difficult for your business Page to be seen, all is not lost. A carefully balanced mix of paid and organic posts that include video and links can help you get out in front of the changes, and stay out in front of them.

How have you managed to optimize your Facebook reach?