New Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm

and Its Impact On Brand Pages

Everything you need to know

General Overview of 2016 Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm Changes in detail

First of all we should all understand that the goal of Newsfeed is

to show people the stories that are most relevant to them.

On 29th June, 2016, Adam Mosseri, VP, Product Management,

News Feed announced the biggest change to Facebook’s news

feed. According to Adam, these are aimed at helping you see

more post from friends and families rather than pages.

When we launched News Feed in 2006, it was hard to imagine

the challenge we now face: far too much information for any

one person to consume. In the decade since, more than a billion

people have joined Facebook, and today they share a flood of

stories every day. That’s why stories in News Feed are ranked —

so that people can see what they care about first, and don’t

miss important stuff from their friends. If the ranking is off,

people don’t engage, and leave dissatisfied. So one of our most

important jobs is getting this ranking right.

As part of that process, we often make improvements to News

Feed, and when we do, we rely on a set of core values. These

values — which we’ve been using for years — guide our

thinking, and help us keep the central experience of News Feed

intact as it evolves. In our continued efforts to be transparent

about how we think about News Feed, we want to share those

values with you.

Explaining Facebook Newsfeed Values

According to Facebook , their success is built on getting people

the stories that matter to them most. If you could look through

thousands of stories every day and choose the 10 that were

most important to you, which would they be? The answer

should be your News Feed. It is subjective, personal, and unique

— and defines the spirit of what we hope to achieve.

These values from Facebook are

1. FRIENDS AND FAMILY COME FIRST:

Facebook was built on the idea of connecting

people with their friends and family. That is

still the driving principle of News Feed today.

Our top priority is keeping you connected to

the people, places and things you want to be

connected to — starting with the people you

are friends with on Facebook. That’s why if it’s

from your friends, it’s in your feed, period —

you just have to scroll down. To help make

sure you don’t miss the friends and family

posts you are likely to care about, we put

those posts toward the top of your News Feed.

We learn from you and adapt over time. For

example, if you tend to like photos from your

sister, we’ll start putting her posts closer to

the top of your feed so you won’t miss what

she posted while you were away.

Our research has also shown us that, after

friends and family, people have two other

strong expectations when they come to News

Feed:

Your feed should inform. People expect the

stories in their feed to be meaningful to them

— and we have learned over time that people

value stories that they consider informative.

Something that one person finds informative

or interesting may be different from what

another person finds informative or interesting

— this could be a post about a current event, a

story about your favorite celebrity, a piece of

local news, or a recipe. We’re always working

to better understand what is interesting and

informative to you personally, so those stories

appear higher up in your feed.

Your feed should entertain. We’ve also found

that people enjoy their feeds as a source of

entertainment. For some people, that’s

following a celebrity or athlete; for others it’s

watching Live videos and sharing funny photos

with their friends. We work hard to try to

understand and predict what posts on

Facebook you find entertaining to make sure

you don’t miss out on those.

Explanation: What it means that, Facebook

now put users of their platform (friends and

families) first before publishers and brand

pages. As their main mandate is to connect

family and friends connected not family and

pages/friends and pages, by this new changes,

Facebook will know let post from friends,

friends of your friends appear more on your

newsfeed than from a brand page. Moreover

come to think of it, Facebook’s growth rate

has been made possible by you and I; those

that have created a Facebook account to

connect with their friends and families, see

what their friends are sharing and these make

the platform a great place for people to

continuing using it.

A PLATFORM FOR ALL IDEAS

We are not in the business of picking which

issues the world should read about. We are in

the business of connecting people and ideas —

and matching people with the stories they find

most meaningful. Our integrity depends on

being inclusive of all perspectives and view

points, and using ranking to connect people

with the stories and sources they find the most

meaningful and engaging.

We don’t favor specific kinds of sources — or

ideas. Our aim is to deliver the types of stories

we’ve gotten feedback that an individual

person most wants to see. We do this not only

because we believe it’s the right thing but also

because it’s good for our business. When

people see content they are interested in, they

are more likely to spend time on News Feed

and enjoy their experience.

It’s important to note that while we welcome a

multitude of viewpoints, we also believe

strongly that people should feel — and be —

safe when they use Facebook, and we

therefore have Community Standards that

define the behavior that we think is out-of-

bounds on the platform. We think it’s possible

to be inclusive without making Facebook a

place where people are subjected to attacks,

hate, or other harmful behavior.

EXPLANATION: Facebook is saying that

stories/post that will appear in a user’s

newsfeed will be collections of stories that

user has shown interest in. eg. If you tend to

like photos from your sister, we’ll start putting

her posts closer to the top of your feed so you

won’t miss what she posted while you were

away. And also by a user using various control

tools you can now click on a friend timeline,

whether you want to see his posts first, unhide

posts from your friend etc. (we will discuss it

in the later pages). Facebook also assures all

users that in as much as posts from your

friends/families will appear higher in your

newsfeed, in their quest to make the platform

a family save environment, they are not going

to entertain and let appear certain posts from

your friends that are distasteful eg.

Hate/insulting posts.

AUTHENTIC COMMUNICATION

The strength of our community depends on

authentic communication. The feedback we’ve

gotten tells us that authentic stories are the

ones that resonate most. That’s why we work

hard to understand what type of stories and

posts people consider genuine — so we can

show more of them in News Feed. And we

work to understand what kinds of stories

people find misleading, sensational and

spammy, to make sure people see those less.

EXPLANATION: With this, Facebook with this

new newsfeed changes will not accept

spammy, sensational and misleading contents.

Irrelevant or unsolicited messages by users

with the internet of click baiting, taking your

vital information or advertising a product will

not be accepted. Only genuine stories will play.

How Posts get in to your Newsfeed

(For both pages and Individuals)

Before we share some tips for what content to

post on Facebook, it’s important to first

understand how content is actually appearing

in a user feed.

Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm is being

backed by:

Who posted it (Interest): How close you are

related to the user that posted the content. Eg.

If you like to comment, like, and share one’s

content, facebook is likely to let his post

appear in your newsfeed.

Type of content (Type): Type of post eg.

Status, photos, link, videos

Interactions with Post (Post): Overall

summation of engagement on the post. It

deals with how many likes, comments, shares

on the post. With this, Face book will let posts

with high engagement to appear in one’s

newsfeed.

When it posted: It deals with when (time) the

post got posted. The recent; how new the post

is.

Simple formula to describe the new newsfeed

algorithm is:

How to Control What Appears in Your Newsfeed

As much as Facebook will push posts from

your friends to you more often than brand

pages, Facebook has also given you tools to

help you see first posts from friends/families

you like to, as well as hide posts from certain

friends/families you don’t like to see.

These tools are: “Unfollow, “Hide”, and See

First.

Unfollow: Helps you to unfollow any of your

friends. You will not receive any post from

friend you unfollow;

Hide: This tool will let you hide post from

your friend.

Default: See post as usual from your

friends/brand pages

See First: See new posts from Pages/friends at

the top of your News Feed.

How to Unfollow (For Friends/Families)

If using Facebook on browser, go to your

friends profile, click “Following” button, then

select unfollow.

Image credit: efrennolasco.com

Use the same process for “see first” and

Default.

How to See First Post (For Brand Pages)

1. Go to the Page by clicking its name in

your News Feed or searching for it

2. On the Page's cover photo, hover over

Liked

3. Select Unlike from the dropdown menu

Use the same process for “Default”

IMPACT ON FACEBOOK BRAND PAGES

According to Facebook, “this new changes will

cause reach and referral traffic to decline for

some Pages. The specific impact on your

Page’s distribution and other metrics may vary

depending on the composition of your

audience. For example, if a lot of your referral

traffic is the result of people sharing your

content and their friends liking and

commenting on it, there will be less of an

impact than if the majority of your traffic

comes directly through Page posts”

What this means if your page reach and the

traffic you get from your Facebook is as a

result of your page followers/ hired social

evangelists who share your post and their

friends liking/commenting on them. Reach

and the traffic will reduce, on the basis that,

per the new changes, Facebook will show

posts from friends/families rather than pages.

HOW BRAND PAGES CAN OVERCOME NEW FACEBOOK NEWSFEED ALGORITHM

Having heard from Facebook itself that, they is

going to be reduction in reach and referral

traffic, we have provided these tips to help

your Facebook pages overcome the difficulty

the new Facebook newsfeed algorithm brings.

1. Provide Informative Contents: People

likes post that seek to inform them

about recent events, products updates,

how-to guides. With this, you may hire a

social media agency to develop a

content marketing plan or make an audit

of your current content plan to make

sure that you are feeding your page

audience with the right content.

Moreover, we recommend hiring me to

train your staff on this.

2. Provide Entertaining Contents: As I

always tell first time clients, Facebook

page is not an advertising billboard for

selling. Facebook page is a platform to

provide entertaining content to your

audience. Providing

entertaining/informative content to your

audience will go a long way to build

trust and relationship among your page

audience. The result you cannot

quantify.

3. Story Telling (Authentic Communication)

: Providing genuine information about

your product or an industry related

event also affect how fast your page

audience resonate with your post. Using

real life stories in telling your fans about

your products is highly commended.

4. Empower Your Audience: For pages who

can’t afford to provide to do any of the

above, you may empower your audience

by telling them to click “see first” on

your page to make sure your post reach

them anytime you post.

FACEBOOK PAGE POSTING BEST PRACTICES

Brand Pages may also follow Facebook’s page

posting practices.

1. Post consistently

Being consistent in the quality and types of posts

you create can help people know what kinds of

messages to expect from you and how they tie into

your business.

A content calendar can help you plan ahead and

make sure posts use a similar message each time.

You can:

Schedule posts for when most of your audience is

online

Highlight days for major business events or product

news

Create targeted messages that tell your story

2. Target your posts

Depending on your goals, you may want

to post something that will interest

people in specific ages, genders or

more.

Here's the easiest way to control who

sees a post:

1. At the top of your Page click Settings,

then click Post Targeting and Privacy and

check the box

2. Create a new post on your Page

3. When done, select the target icon in the

bottom left corner and click Add

Targeting

4. Target based on gender, interests, age,

location and more. As you refine your

targeting, you'll see how many people

your post could potentially reach.

5. Click Post

Example: Sophia Forero, a jewelry

eCommerce business, targets posts by

gender and education and tests different

geographic regions based on where her

fans are most engaged.

3. Keep post images and text fresh

The more recent your posts, the more

interesting people will find them. To

keep your posts interesting:

Post timely content. For example, if an

important holiday has just passed, it’s

time to post about the next holiday or

event.

Test which posts work best and review

their performance. Create different posts

with the same objective, but switch the

photos and copy.

Respond quickly to comments on your

posts to let fans know you're listening to

feedback.

Example: Plated tests different images of

menu items, products and individual

employees to tell their story.

. Boost important posts

The best way to reach people who matter to you when

promoting your products or services in your posts is with

Boosted Posts.

Simply click Boost at the bottom of an existing or new post

that's promotional to:

Increase purchases by taking people to your site with link

posts

Reach more people through important posts like new

product or service announcements

Find new customers by targeting new audiences

5. Publicize exclusive discounts and promotions

with ads

If you're looking to inspire more purchases from your

posts, create Facebook Ads with special discounts or

promotions.

Use link ads to drive people to your site, and

include special codes they can use at checkout

Drive urgency with a time prompt like “free

shipping, this weekend only" or "12 hour flash

sale"

Promote only products or services you think your

audience is most interested in

Advertise end-of-year contests and giveaways to

drive customer loyalty and sales

Example: Sierra Trading Post boosts posts about limited

time discounts like "get an extra 30% off clothing this

weekend only!".

6. Connect with words and pictures

The right combination of images and alluring copy that

reflect your business objectives can really get your

audience interested. Keep these tips in mind when writing

posts and ads:

Use high-quality photos that showcase your

business or products, or lifestyle images of people

interacting with them

Keep your sentences short and instructive. Quickly

inform people why they should pay attention.

Avoid promotional phrases such as "buy now" and

"shop now." This language may make it harder for

your posts to reach the people you care about.

Test different photos and messages to see which

ones your audience responds to most

Example: Joseph Nogucci, a jewelry eCommerce business,

promotes new product designs by boosting posts with

discount codes and high-quality images of their bracelets.

7. Review post performance (Facebook Analytics)

You can get a better understanding of who your most

engaged audience is by regularly checking your Page

Insights. It shows you:

Post engagement, such as the number of people

your posts were shown to, likes, comments, shares

and more

People who like your Page and other demographic

information, including their genders, ages and

locations

Once you know who your most engaged audience is, you

can refine your Boosted Posts to appeal to them and

adjust your targeting accordingly.

7 Ways to Help a Complaining Customer into a Complimenting Customer

1. Listen

“To listen closely and reply well is the highest

perfection we are able to attain in the art of

conversation. ” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld

2. Respect

“For us, our most important stakeholder is not

our stockholders, it is our customers. We’re in

business to serve the needs and desires of our

core customer base.” ~ John Mackey

3. Trust

“To keep a customer demands as much skill as to

win one.” -American Proverb

4. Reward

“Customers may forget what you said but they’ll

never forget how you made them feel. “

5. Deliver

“Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They

do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.”

~ Donald Porter

6. Irresistible offers

“Here is a simple but powerful rule: always give

people more than what they expect to get.” ~

Nelson Boswell

7. Relationships

“In the world of Internet Customer Service, it’s

important to remember your competitor is only

one mouse click away. “ ~ Doug Warner

Bernard Kelvin Clive Personal Branding Coach/Brand Strategist at BKC Consulting, Lifestyle Entrepreneur, Amazon bestselling author of twenty-five published books. Ghana's foremost authority on Personal branding and Digital Publishing who hosts the #1 ranked Business & Career Podcast in Ghana/Botswana.

www.BKC.name

Compiled by Gad Ocran

About Gad Ocran: Gad Ocran is a Senior Digital Marketing

Strategists with GO GROUP LTD. He is in charge of bringing out

the best digital strategy to suit business of all kinds. Gad has

trained several companies in the field of digital marketing

(Social Media , S.E.O., Lead Generation, Analytics..)

Email me: gad@getghanaonline.com