Don’t expect a free lunch if you promote your business on Facebook
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
Monday, March 4, 2013, 2 a.m. — For years now, the Nelson County Gazette has been using social media — Facebook and Twitter — to alert readers when stories are updated or posted. Like other Facebook users, I have experienced a love/hate relationship with the many changes the site throws in our collective laps. Some of the changes make little sense, and some are just annoying. Frequent change is a part of the life of the average Facebook user.
Last fall, Facebook introduced changes that substantially changed how your posts and those of your friends show up in the News Feed. Have you ever wondered why someone’s post didn’t show up in your News Feed? Or why someone told you of a friend’s post they saw that you didn’t?
The reason is due to EdgeRank, an algorithm Facebook launched last fall to modify the results of your News Feed.
There’s no conspiracy theory at work here; the algorithm is designed to try to make your Facebook News Feed more relevant by displaying items it has calculated will interest you.
How does the algorithm do this? It examines several factors of a post to determine if it is displayed in your News Feed. These factors include:
1. Your previous interaction with the author: If you interacted with an individual before, they are more likely to show up in your News Feed;
2. If other people ignore a post or complain about it, it is unlikely to show up in your News Feed;
3. Your interaction with similar types of posts.
BAD NEWS FOR BUSINESS. If you use Facebook to promote your business, you may want to reconsider how effective that plan truly is in light of last fall’s changes.
When you post an update Facebook only shows it to a limited number of people, NOT all of the people who are subscribed to your page updates. To get your post in the News Feeds of more people, Facebook suggests you click the “Promote” link, which in my case tells me that for $5 (and up, in five dollar increments), I can get my Facebook post seen by more people.
The minimum $5 will get your post out to everyone who likes your Facebook page; you can also have your post show up in the News Feeds of the Facebook friends of people who like your page. Sounds nice — until you realize the fee to promote is only for a single post. Additional posts require additional funds. And if you have doubts you are getting your money’s worth, Facebook tells you how many additional people your post will reach at each financial level.
The simple truth is that Facebook is business concerned with creating revenue; your business page’s visibility is limited to the general Facebook community by how much you can afford to pay Facebook to help promote it. Promoted posts on Facebook will show up at the top of your News Feed and will display longer than non-promoted items.
Chances are you see fewer “free” posts in your Facebook News Feed in the future in an effort to give incentive to use the “promote” feature. I don’t expect Facebook will eliminate free updates, but at least you know why you may be seeing fewer updates in your News Feed.
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