Facebook has updated its newsfeed with a new algorithm that means users will see more text updates from their friends and less from brands.
The move could have a major effect on brands that make regular posts on Facebook, as their messages will reach less fans- unless they incorporate more images and videos.
Facebook announced the change to its algorithm in a post aimed mainly at owners of “Pages,” which are generally created for companies and public figures rather than individuals.
Facebook’s News Feed Ranking Product Manager Chris Turitzin said that users tend to engage more with text-based social content that comes from people in their networks, but not necessarily from company Pages.
As a result, the social network is adjusting its ranking system to give people more of the content they want and less of the posts they don’t respond to as well.
In this case, it means brands’ status updates will get less airtime if they only feature text, but more visibility if they use other types of media.
View a sample of how Facebook suggests brands communicate on Facebook below:
Facebook dedicated much of its post encouraging Page owners to share links in a way that includes photo or video, as these visual posts “get more engagement” compared with simply embedding a link in a text-only status update.
Facebook stopped short of dictating how Pages should share content as a rule, saying, “It depends on who your audience is and what they want to see.”
Facebook echoed that sentiment in closing its post: “In general, we recommend that you use the story type that best fits the message that you want to tell — whether that’s a status, photo, link or video.”
Our view
The move once again shows that Facebook wants its users to be highly engaged with the site, which in turn boosts its attractiveness to advertisers and therefore to investors. Anything that drives down engagement will be analysed and likely changed- so brands looking to get organic enegagement on Facebook need to think about multi-media content with every new post.
Read the blog post here