Let’s Talk Facebook and Its Revised EdgeRank Algorithm

Let’s talk about Facebook. (Photo courtesy Thos003/Flickr)

Those of us who manage websites and social media pages are all griping about how our views on Facebook have dropped. The more I talk to folks, from my team at the radio stations where I work to editors at other companies, I realize we haven’t quite been sure why this is happening. But hopefully now I can share some of my new found insights.

The blog social@Ogilvy in its post “Facebook Algorithmic Change to Decrease Reach on Brand Page Posts” explained in September that Facebook’s new algorithm “decides what a user sees on their newsfeed…in an effort to de-clutter the amount of posts served up to mobile and tablet users by brands.”

Another blog you should see is Geek Wire. In its post “How Facebook is boosting revenue and frustrating some of its biggest users,” the site states that “the EdgeRank algorithm has reduced the organic (unpaid) exposure received by Facebook posts from companies.” The post goes on to comment on how the change is more than just a minor tweak, and many of these changes coincide with Facebook’s IPO (Initial Public Offering).

Finally, Tarte Creative Marketing, a company back in my beloved Cincinnati, recently posted an article titled “So now what do we do with our Facebook pages?” It offers some insights I thought you might be able to implement (if you’re not already), particularly in regard to its tips about what we can all do now that Facebook changed its algorithm.

Whether or not the advice here works for the long haul on Facebook remains to be seen. The social media giant may (and likely will, according to some experts) change its algorithm again and we’ll be left guessing about what to do next. Still, these articles will hopefully give everyone at least a glimpse behind Zuckerberg’s curtain so we can begin to understand what the Facebook wizards are up to and why they have frustrated us to no end.