Facebook has yet again made updates that will have an effect on what type of content users see as a part of their Facebook experience. This time, updates include three new changes to the News Feed algorithm.
The first update is for users who do not have a lot of content available to see, but want to spend more time on their News Feed. Facebook previously had rules in place to prevent them from seeing multiple posts from the same source in a row. They have now relaxed this rule and users will start to see continuous coverage in their News Feed.
The second update will ensure that content from the friends users care about most will be higher up in their News Feed, so they will be less likely to miss it. This will include photos, videos, status updates, and links from the friends whose content they interact with the most.
The third update will limit stories about friends liking or commenting on a post. With this update, users are more likely to see the actual content from their friends and Pages they have liked, and less of what those Pages and friends choose to interact with.
So, how will this series of updates affect your business? In an article from TechCrunch, they state the following:
According to Zuckerberg’s Law, people share more online every year. Both people and pages are posting more status updates, photos, videos, and links. Meanwhile, people are accumulating more Facebook friendships and Page subscriptions. But they’re not increasing the amount of time on the News Feed nearly fast enough to keep up with the increase in volume of content they might see.
Businesses who rely on referral traffic and sales they receive from their Facebook Page’s News Feed posts could see a reduction in reach as Facebook’s string of recent updates continues to focus on making user to user experience a priority over those who use Facebook for business. Depending on how aggressive Facebook gets with this balancing act, businesses will have to really focus on generating genuinely entertaining content or be willing to buy ads to get their content viewed.
Sources:
TechCrunch
Facebook
