Have you noticed a decrease in engagement and organic reach recently on your Facebook and Instagram business pages? As the Owner/Operator of HeyTurlock, it is important for me to stay up to date on changes made to Facebook and Instagram and spread that knowledge to our local businesses so we can all tackle the beast that is the algorithm! I recently attended a webinar by the Marketing Academy for Small Businesses and learned what changes Facebook has made recently to their algorithm that may be causing your page to not be as visible to your followers.
As the parent company of Instagram, Facebook has a lot of power on who sees your posts on both platforms. With that said, there are things you can do on your page to maximize how many accounts your page reaches and to be on the “good side” of the algorithm. Facebook has made changes to prioritize what posts appear at the top of your followers feed based on what they think your followers want to see.
How does Facebook prioritize your page?
- How long have you been active on Facebook or Instagram? The longer you have had an active business page, the higher Facebook prioritizes it.
- Are you posting consistently? Consistent posting is KEY!
- Are your followers engaging with your post? The more engagement your post receives, the higher up it is prioritized on your follower’s feed.
- Are you engaging with your followers? Make sure to comment and message your followers back!
- Are your followers viewing all your stories? If your followers are viewing your stories rather than swiping/clicking through, then Facebook sees that your followers are enjoying and interested in the content they are being shown.
How do you improve your organic reach?
- Create unique content. Facebook deprioritizes content that has been copied from previous posts or from other accounts.
- Do not use “engagement bait”. Facebook does not like posts that include “like”, “comment”, or “share this post”.
- Include images or videos along with Facebook posts.
- Minimize linking to outside webpages. Facebook wants your followers to spend as much time on the platform as possible.
- Use the Facebook Insights tool to find out when your followers are most engaged and post during those days/times. You can find this under “Posts” in Facebook Insights.
- Ask your friends and family to engage with your posts! The more engagement, the better your post will do and more accounts reached.
Social Media is always changing and evolving, which can make it challenging for small businesses who are just trying to stay afloat. Need assistance with managing your business pages or interested in becoming a HeyFave? Email [email protected]!
Jackie Bill, HeyTurlock Owner/Operator
Follow @heyturlock on Facebook and Instagram to stay informed about local events, deals, and happenings.