Facebook continues to make significant changes in the news feed. This time Facebook has decreased the importance (technically the "weight") of status updates. With these changes occurring so rapidly in the news feed, many brand managers want to know how to stay on top of it all.
We dug deep into the data to see what the latest change was and wanted to introduce a philosophy to stay ahead of the constant changes. We analyze and monitor this type of data for thousands of Facebook pages with a tool called EdgeRank Checker.
On Jan. 21, Facebook released a blog post explaining that status updates from pages are less engaging than status updates from friends. In other words, status updates were going to lose exposure in the news feed.
The change was implemented nearly immediately, as we saw organic reach begin to dip rapidly. In the graph below, you'll see a ~40% decrease from the two weeks after Jan. 21, as compared to the two weeks before:
While frustrating for many brands, status updates aren't displayed nearly as often as links and photos, as they typically don't provide as much value to the business. Status updates are typically used for gathering general opinions or quick message updates, whereas links can drive actual traffic.
During this change, the other content types were not significantly impacted. Most experienced a very moderate decrease, which is most likely due to normal fluctuations. Interestingly, videos have now become the strongest performer in the news feed. Our sample size for posts with videos is less than optimal, but our historical data shows a similar pattern. For brands that have the capability to deliver engaging videos, it should be considered as an interesting content outlet in the future.
How does a brand stay ahead?
As we study each change in the news feed, a common theme begins to appear. Content that creates value tends to bubble to the top. Google has a similar approach with search results. We see Facebook slowly becoming similar to Google in that capacity. When we examine the brands that are less impacted by negative changes, they tend to have strong engagement—specifically shares. Why is this? We think we can explain this phenomenon with a concept called Content Originator.
Content Originator
Brands that actually create the content (thus, Content Originators) are the ones that experience the most value in the news feed. We've seen Google take a similar approach with examining inbound links. Content Originators actually have less to do with Facebook specifically, as compared to the maturation of any social network. Twitter most likely experiences similar results, which you can see as a Tweet propagates across the world—the Content Originator gets more exposure.
The reason that Content Originators are able to succeed with an onslaught of changes is that they are able to utilize natural distribution networks such as shares. While Facebook's algorithms may not weigh their initial post as heavily as before, strong engagement and shares are strong signals to distribute the content further.
The news feed is filled with increasing competition that boasts larger and larger budgets to gain exposure within the feed. Being a Content Originator helps slice through the noise created by so many pages re-reporting news. The re-reporting of news is something that Facebook is attempting to decrease through these changes. It is also possible that brands will begin to gain additional exposure through the "Trending" section if they're the Content Originator of a new and trending topic.
In an example below, you can see the local value that Facebook provides in the trending result. A story that was shared on Facebook 2,000+ times from CarolinaLive (not quite a Content Originator, but as close as you can get in a situation like this, as compared to a CNN-type news source) is given the extra exposure. The next object listed is from Fox Carolina News, again more of a Content Originator than the national brand of Fox News.
The example above is meant to illustrate how Facebook perceives Content Originators elsewhere in their platform. We use things like this as clues to better understand how the news feed works.
Conclusion
Facebook decreased organic reach of status updates by ~40% on Jan. 21. For most brands, this doesn't have a large impact on their strategy, as they are mostly using links and photos to further increase their brand. Using a concept called Content Originator might help craft a content strategy that stays ahead of news feed changes. Facebook may be placing additional value on content originators in the news feed, and is surely valuing brands with strong engagement—especially ones with high share levels.
Methodology
We studied roughly 50,000 posts from 800 different pages for the two weeks before and after Jan. 21. For most metrics, we examined the median of each page's average performance over the time period analyzed. Engagement is defined as likes + comments + shares for this study.
Chad, thanks for the interesting post -- I had just had a couple questions for clarification.
When you say "original content" in the context of Facebook, what does that mean? Some or all of the following:
Would love to hear your thoughts -- thanks again!
The post by Chad is very interesting though, these questions from you made it more exciting. :)
Am also waiting for his reply.
In regards to the video, I believe if it's on a video channel aka YouTube, it'll be quite easy to determine if it's an original share or not.
I'd like to start this reply by saying that Content Originator is a working theory. In general, the concept is to be applied to content as an essence (sorry, trying not to get too philosophical!) as compared to a hard programmatic approach. However, Facebook definitely has the ability to address this issue (as does Google) programmatically.
Their largest challenge is how to take a nationwide or global story and attempt to understand an originator. The most sensible approach from Facebook's perspective is to look at it individually using something like Affinity.
Interestingly enough, Facebook made an announcement yesterday that plays into this notion. Check out their blog post or check out my take on it.
I realize I basically didn't answer your specific questions, but I hope this helps a bit explain where my head is at. Please let me know if this isn't sufficient!
Sounds just like Google!
I'm currently working with a company where we create original content and they also saw a drop in reach.
I think keeping focused on giving fans what they want is better than having to keep jumping through hoops every time Facebook or Google make a change. Even I wonder are they making these changes to make us all start paying for advertising.
Yes, I think you're right Christina. They are making these changes so that everyone will start paying for FB ads. Our company saw the drop in our organic growth and had a discussion today to see if it's worth taking a look in to trying out paid FB ads. Maybe try it out for a month or so to see what kind of results we can achieve with paid ads. Not sure if it's worth it or not but it will depend on the business and why you need the "following" and what do you do with your audience after your growth. I agree that providing valuable content and services should be every company's main focus.
"Content towards FB must be more than 100 words" - I like It
Facebook was bound to change tact at some point, but the use of Links & Photos has been something that has been increasing in popularity for some time now. I try to make a habit of doing this myself and when posting an update related to a page, I will post a photo (of the page, or something related), a description, and then a link through to that page within the description.
Engagement has always been higher than just posting a link, but it does help to mix it up a bit from time to time.
-Andy
I agree Andy. I've been following a similar strategy and have seen great results!
That was a nice read. Sites like sociota can help in increasing the reach of status updates on Facebook
Interesting this one, I dont use facebook but I get as many bot visits from them as google when I post new content. Just how do they know when I am posting?
Some similarities to Google's handling of content, yes, but many more differences. My biggest peeve with FB is that their monetization strategy limits the reach of a page or profile, even to those who have 'liked'/friended the page/profile.
Thanks for a great post Chad, makes perfect sense when you think about it!
No doubt original content is always given preference , be it for Facebook or Google. Fake contents anybody can make and post but an individual can only survive if it is genuine!!!!! Of-course the algorithms for any search engine or social networking site changes frequently and you have to update everything accordingly.
Of-course we work for the users and not for Google or so. If your content is rich enough, you can automatically reach at the top on any search engine or social networking site!!!!!!
But what is original content?
https://www.bladonmore.com/our-thinking/post/the-unoriginal-idea
This might refer to Facebook being building their own search engine in near future.
Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul.
interesting post... :) Thanks for the post!!!
Yah seems so.... :P
Someone from our social department mentioned the drop by "~40% visibility since" just yesterday, and found it hard to avoid suggesting that it was likely a "profit" led initiative. Is this type of cynicism really rife within the Social Media/Facebook industry then? Conversely they were much more positive about Twitter...
Very interesting article Chad and it sparks the conversation to a bunch of topics related to Facebook's web presence and how it helps control a site's SEO, for instance. Since Facebook started, it's obvious how much it has evolved in what information it makes more prevalent - such as videos and images over simple text status updates. I, for one, have certainly noticed the mass amount of videos that seem to inhabit my timeline, but it seems that I see so of simple text updates - I feel like I miss these a lot more often, unless I were to visit any particular page and scroll through.
Additionally, Yair Spolter brings up a very good point with the troubles he's been experiencing. For instance, whenever creating a Facebook page for a business, it seems that it's a lot more difficult to get noticed when you're not paying for their "boost" services.
I also agree with Yair on his motion towards focusing on quality content for users. A big part of this whole web movement - whether it's from Facebook, Twitter, or Google - is fueled by a notion to decrease spamming and increase quality content. I think that, when it comes to affordability, it's probably best to take Yair's advice and just focus on giving your users the quality content they deserve - brainstorming for unique and interesting things to post, applicable images and videos, and actually using your business' social media page to interact with customers, not just entertain them.
Additionally, with the huge increase in tablets and e-readers, with it's accessibility and prevalence among portable media devices, Facebook big shadow will probably continue to loom over web traffic for some time to come.
[off-topic link removed]
I do always love when studies show that Yes, making compelling and/or interesting original content does trump re-posting of things that everyone and their dog have seen 400 times on social media outlets already.
Thanks for sharing this useful insight Chad. Samuel, I think by original content he meant something which has a unique description giving a bit info of the link or video being shared. Just like before buying any novel we go for preview at the back which consists of some short, crisp & unique description of what the content inside is all about. I think the same concept goes for Facebook updates too. Certain users have a behavior of sharing links from popular sites which can be spammy for other users who already have been through them. So end result of this update from Facebook is to promote user engagement with posts which seem original and lucrative & also adding value to users who see them. Also, Facebook has restricted the organic reach of posts recently which is a way it plans to monetize the sharing business.
Curious how the ties in with a large picture as I know Bing uses Facebook and how this can help rankings through Bing.
Thanks for the post.
Good to know about his tool but as google information that the social networking sites will not effect your google ranking ... so it is only for maintain your brand impression now you have to work hard ..
Thanks for this thought-provoking post, Chad, but our page has had results that contradict what you are suggesting.
We are a content originator, and we are posting links and photos - and we had the same 40% drop in reach at the same time as other brands across the globe. Isn't it plainly obvious that FB is sending a message to companies: "Fork up the dough!"?
I'm all for predicting algorithms and staying ahead of the game, but I don't think there's any "outsmarting" to be done here. How long are we going to try and dance to FB's new tune and jump through hoops for a few more Likes and Shares, and then start all over again when the song changes?
Our experience is that you have to find what works for you and stick to it. Give your fans the content they want and ride the waves of FB's financial (and other) considerations.
Would love to hear what others think.
Original content seems always to be the key :)
Great post! Thanks for sharing this. Looking forward to see more from your Blogs. :)
Original content was always main factor to be visible in any search engine but I didn't know that boost reaches on facebook. That's logical - original = good but not always...
Original+Interesting content
Yes, Chad this is the useful info and the people who are working with these types of media they must have to be aware about this. Facebook is also seems like google now cause of too much violation of content and fake users.