Have you ever wondered why 2 posts on the same Fanpage have very different reach, one is so high and the other is so low? Have you ever wondered what is the mechanism behind how Facebook distributes content to users?

The answer is the Facebook algorithm or Facebook algorithm, the following article SanMedia will answer for you the criteria for distributing Facebook's content and how to take advantage of the Facebook algorithm to optimize the reach of your articles. . Let's find out together!

1. What is the Facebook algorithm?

The simplest definition is:

The Facebook algorithm is a method that uses criteria based on needs and interests to deliver content to users.

Like Google's SEO ranking algorithms, the purpose of the Facebook algorithm is to bring the most valuable content to users. Thereby keeping them on the platform as long as possible.

Understanding Facebook's content distribution mechanism will help you "circle" to reach content to more people. And the important thing is that it's free.

After all, we pay to run ads also to reach many target users.

The Facebook algorithm is a method of allocating content to users

2. History of Facebook Algorithm

History always provides a broad and extensive view, understanding history will help us shorten many years of experience of the past.

Here is a brief history of the formation and development of the Facebook algorithm

2009: Facebook launches its first algorithm based on likes to get posts to the top of the feed.

2015: Facebook begins to rank Pages that post excessively advertising content. They introduced a "See first" feature to allow users to see their preferred Page posts to the top of the Feed.

2016: Facebook added a ranking signal "time spent" to measure the value of a post based on how much time users spent on that post, even if they didn't like, comment, or share.

2017: Facebook begins to consider emotional expressions (e.g. heart drop or angry face) more than classic likes. Another ranking signal added to the video is: completion rate. In other words, videos that keep people watching to the end will be shown to more people.

2018: Facebook's new algorithm prioritizes "posts that spark meaningful conversations and interactions". Posts from friends, family, and groups you follow will take precedence over content from Pages (including business pages). In other words, businesses will have a harder time reaching organic content to users unless the content is truly valuable.

2019: Facebook prioritizes content as "original, high-quality video" that keeps viewers watching for longer than 1 minute, especially attention-grabbing videos longer than 3 minutes. Facebook also started aggregating content from "close friends": the people with whom people interacted the most. The “Why am I seeing this post” tool is introduced.

2020: Facebook reveals some details of its algorithm to help users understand how it serves content and to allow users to control their data to give better feedback to the algorithm. The algorithm begins to evaluate the credibility and quality of articles to promote well-founded news rather than misinformation.

2021: Facebook releases new insights into its algorithm and gives people better access to their data.

3. How does the Facebook algorithm work?

Although the Facebook algorithm changes and is updated regularly, it is still based on the following 4 factors:

Inventory

Inventory is the term used to refer to the amount of inventory, here is all the posts that are likely to appear in a user's Feed, including from friends, groups and businesses.

Signals

Signals are understood as signals that help Facebook understand that “This is a valuable post, need to allocate more to users”. These signals are divided into 2 groups:

Active signals: Includes interactions such as like, share, comment.
Passive signals: Includes factors such as time spent, time of posting, type of content,...

Facebook uses active signals and passive signals as content attribution signals

Predictions

Facebook will rely on your personal profile, past activities, friends list, ... to predict what content is right for you.

Relevancy Score

Relevancy Score is a criterion that Facebook uses the relevance of a post to distribute content, the higher the relevance score will be prioritized to display.

4. Tips for taking advantage of Facebook's algorithm to increase post reach

Content diversification

In fact, the trend of users' content consumption as well as consumption of other types such as food, drinks, entertainment, ... If you only post a single type of content, it will lead to boredom. bored. The content interaction also decreased.

>>>Watch now: How to Write Attractive Content - "Knock Down" All Customers

You can diversify the content including: articles, images, videos, or you can flexibly combine all 3 to keep your content fresh.

Content diversification helps you make better use of the Facebook algorithm

Update new features of Facebook

Facebook will always favor content distribution for its new feature. Recently the Facebook Reels feature launched so you can post some short videos of this type that will definitely increase your reach

Use popular content formats

The Facebook algorithm evaluates the “value” of a post based on how users interact with it. Posts with higher engagement will be prioritized to be displayed. Therefore, investing in engaging content to create more interactions will help the article reach customers more easily.

But how do you know which content generates good engagement?

In addition to evaluating past content to see which content gets the most engagement, you can observe your competitors or Pages and Groups with similar topics. See what types of content they are doing, which ones get the most interaction, which ones don't, and then experiment with their content.

>>>See more: 8 Social Media Marketing Strategies to Increase Sales for Bakeries

Conclude

If you're using Facebook as your primary communication channel, it's important to understand how the Facebook algorithm works. If I play on its platform, knowing how it works will make it easier for me to play.