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Feed Frenzy: Facebook’s Algorithm Changes Will Have Fans Coming Back For Seconds

By Snap Agency January 24, 2014

Suprise! Facebook has switched things up on us – again. If the vein in your forehead is about to burst, relax. We’ll get through this together.

Just days ago, Facebook applied a new algorithm change to its News Feed, which will show fewer text-based (and more image-based) status updates from Pages, while showing more text-based status updates from friends. This has social media marketing agencies worried about visibility and engagement – but thankfully, this tweak is a good thing and will likely be a boon for your company’s Facebook presence.

So take a deep breath, and let’s sort out the details of this algorithm update. Remember, having a well-managed social media marketing strategy will help ensure your success tremendously.

Why Is Facebook Doing This To Us?

In a recent blog post, Facebook product manager Chris Turitzin explained the update, noting that they found users engaged more when they saw text updates from friends, but that text updates from Pages did not inspire any comparable enthusiasm.

“We are learning that posts from Pages behave differently to posts from friends and we are working to do a better job of differentiating between the two types,” he wrote. “This will help us show people more content they want to see.”

At this juncture in Facebook’s long history of algorithm updates for Pages, the data shows that text-only posts from those Pages are just not getting much engagement. Luckily, though – we can adjust. Most Pages users are used to embedding links directly into their statuses, but that is no longer effective. Now, with this new change Facebook says they will start to push more “link-share” posts from Pages into the news Feeds of fans.

Don’t know how to create a link-share? Well, it’s actually quite simple.

Add a link to a status update – the image, title and description will automatically be featured in the post (thus creating the “link-share”). Then, before pressing “post,” delete the link in the status update box, since the image and description are now clickable. Pretty easy, huh?

Why Is This A Good Thing?

The best aspect of the algorithm shift is that Page owners will now be able to take up more room in consumers’ News Feeds due to the increase in image use, which will subsequently be more eye-catching than a dull post full of text.

Facebook explains it like this, “We’ve found that, as compared to sharing links by embedding in status updates, link-share posts get more engagement (more likes, comments, shares and clicks) and they provide a more visual and compelling experience for people seeing them in their feeds.”

Overall, it seems as though Facebook, along with all of us, is following the trend of providing better quality content, delivered not as a static piece of marketing but a dynamic and visual story.

Can’t Quite Reach Your Target On Facebook?

Contact us, Snap Agency, the leader in Facebook services among the Twin Cities’ social media marketing agencies. We have a team of digital marketing experts ready to help you improve your company’s social media strategy. Call us today to get started: 763-220-8686.