Google has proudly advocated its commitment to serving only the highest quality web content in its search results pages, but the company is not alone in the battle anymore. Facebook recently announced it’s updating its News Feed ranking algorithm to give members more high-quality content. This means marketers might need to pay more attention to the Posts they publish on the site, carefully selecting the updates that provide followers with value rather than pushing every piece of branded content live on the platform.
Facebook gained attention when it shed light on the signals it uses to surface social media content on users’ News Feeds. Brafton covered the update and explained why marketers were under the false assumption that Facebook still used an algorithm called EdgeRank to prioritize some posts, while it let the others fade into obsolescence.
Whether it’s in response to recent criticism that Facebook is also losing traction with social media users or not, the network now promises to deliver more relevant posts. After conducing a survey and determining that users want timely web content, Facebook realized articles that speak to users’ inherent interests drives engagement across the entire network.
Brands shouldn’t expect this algorithm refresh to pull the rug out from under their Facebook marketing strategies, but the network does offer guidance to help them succeed in light of the changes:
1. Make posts relevant and timely
2. Build relationships with audiences that foster trust and authority
3. Consider your audience before sharing
4. Assess the shareability of the content
If marketers are following these guidelines with their regular content creation, chances are they are already seeing ROI and conversions from their efforts. Facebook reported that results surfaced with the new quality-focused algorithm receive more engagement.
