Facebook Algorithm 2021: How Can It Help Your Online Reach

Facebook is one of the most popular social media outlets to ever exist. With over 2.8 billion active users in 2021, it is vital that you use its algorithm to increase your online reach. If you can grasp an idea of how it works, then this will be hugely beneficial for your social media presence and attract more engagement in your social posts, whilst also gaining followers and online reputation with the more time that passes. Read on below to find out how you can use Facebook Analytics to increase your online reach. What Exactly Is The Facebook Algorithm? In essence, the Facebook algorithm decides what posts people see, and the order that these posts are viewed in your Facebook home feed. Obviously, if you are an aspiring business, new to Facebook then you would like to rank your posts as high as possible to increase the level of engagement in your online business. Facebook ‘predicts’ which posts are the most valuable and useful to a user and so ranks these higher. They apply this filtering system to every single user’s Facebook feed, meaning it is vital that your posts align with their criteria as otherwise it will be lost in the almost 3 billion shuffles of active users! The more engagement you receive on your social posts, the higher Facebook will rank you in user’s feeds. How Does it Work in 2021? In 2021, the algorithm works as mentioned above, predicting how posts will rank and scores them accordingly based on how recent the post is, the content of the post, and how relevant they perceive it to be. Alternatively, the posts that Facebook determines as irrelevant and unhelpful will be demoted in social feeds, this includes posts containing inappropriate content, spam, repetitive clickbait, and any other post that Facebook deems unnecessary. For the remaining posts, the Facebook algorithm runs a thorough assessment and scores them accordingly to what they see fit for an individual’s Facebook feed. Everyone’s feed is different because not everyone enjoys the same topics. For example, they would not recommend a butcher to a vegetarian! However, Facebook will ensure that there is variety in social feeds as this provides an overall greater user experience and increases attention and engagement. Tips for Optimising Facebook’s Algorithm When it comes to using the Facebook algorithm to increase your online reach then they are a few tips to follow. These are great for newer and older businesses to increase their online reach and their overall social presence. Some of the tips include: Try and encourage conversation. If your post causes debate or discussion in the comments section, then this will increase your engagement. The occasional open-ended question or conversation starter will spike your comments. You may also get friends of these users seeing your post through ‘action-bumping logic’ as they may get it recommended to them. You can also directly skip the algorithm through Facebook Stories. As they are not part of the news feed and are placed above it, they cannot be governed or filtered by the algorithm. It was also found by Facebook that 58% of users find a company or brand using stories. Meaning these are great for increasing your social and online reach. Stick with trends. If it is a certain time of the year, Christmas for example. Try and cater your posts around that theme, use related hashtags as well as implementing keywords that are associated with Christmas. This will increase your engagement and attract new eyes to your business, therefore raising your social and online reach.

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