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If you’ve been using Facebook to try and reach your followers, you may be wondering if Facebook is dead.
I remember when I first started using social media specifically Facebook. Back in the day I would get around 350K page views a month from that medium alone!4
Boy, those days are gone, but are they?
No I don’t get the same amount of traffic I once did from FB, but I do get more than most and this post is going to share with you how I do it and who I learned the amazing tricks that you don’t know about.
Keep reading if you want to prove to others that Facebook is not dead.
You’ve probably seen your reach rate and engagement drop; your posts aren’t being seen by as many of your followers as you’d like and that’s frustrating. After all, people chose to follow you because they like what you offer so Facebook should show them your posts.
But Facebook is first and foremost a business and they want to make money. Lots of money. So instead of your followers seeing your posts organically, Facebook wants you to pay for sponsored posts so that your followers, who want to see your posts, will actually see them.
The Facebook algorithms that determine who sees what you post are changing all the time.
IS FACEBOOK DEAD?
There are some changes that have come about for 2018 that may decrease the number of views your page receives. But if you can understand these changes, you may be able to react in a way that will improve your rankings. Here’s what you need to know:
2018 FACEBOOK ALGORITHM CHANGES
Facebook has said that it will prioritize posts from family and friends and those that create a “meaningful interaction.”
For you, this means that the more friends and family your followers have, the less likely they are to see your posts. But there are some “signals” that can help your content be seen more often.
These signals favor active interactions such as comments and shares. Facebook algorithms take into account:
- The average time a viewer spends viewing your content
- If they share a link over Messenger
- If there are multiple comments and replies to comments on a video
- The overall engagement of a post
- The time it’s posted
- If a follower comments or likes a photo or status update
- If a person engages with a brand post that is shared by a friend
- How informative the post is
So how do you use this information to increase your views?
Simple, we take a look back at what Facebook has said they will prioritize . . . meaningful interactions.
This means that instead of sharing content that is popular and attention-grabbing, it’s more important to focus on content that is personal and starts a conversation. Your goal is for followers to have active interaction with your posts, not passive interaction.
Active interactions include – commenting, sharing, reacting
Passive interactions include – clicking, watching, viewing and hovering without taking further action
One thing to keep in mind though, baiting someone to comment will result in a demotion of your posts. This means avoiding status updates that say “comment YES if you agree” or “tag your friends to share this post.” The comments need to happen organically to grow your reach.
Sharing is another popular interaction with the new algorithms, especially sharing in Messenger and engagement with a post that was shared.
For instance, if Jane follows you and shares your post to Mary in Messenger, Facebook likes that. And if Jane shares your post on her page and Mary, Bob, and Peter all comment on it, Facebook likes that too.
This type of engagement will help your followers see more of your posts.
So, what can you do to increase your views within the new algorithms?
Focus on content that is relevant and connects like-minded people. Share content that readers will not only like but feel a connection to. This will encourage shares and comments naturally. Instead of creating content that promotes your brand, create content that is about the people who follow you.
- What are their challenges and struggles?
- What motivates them?
- What type of post do they interact the most with?
- What issues do they care about?
- What makes them laugh?
- What makes them stop and think?
These are the types of posts that increase interaction, and therefore increase views. And while you can’t ask people to comment specifically, you can ask a question that encourages a comment like “do you agree?” or “what do you think about this?”.
If your content inspires natural interaction, your followers will naturally engage. And the more relevant your content is to your followers, the more engagement you’ll receive.
If your engagement has already started to decrease, it may be more challenging to improve it because fewer people are seeing your posts so fewer people are engaging.
You may find it beneficial to “promote” a few of your posts through Facebook Ads to your followers in order to improve that engagement and get yourself back in their newsfeed.
One thing is certain, and you’ve probably picked up on it while you were reading this article, Facebook is challenging no matter what you do. It can be hard to understand, hard to know what works and what doesn’t, and hard to be successful at growing your audience.
Don’t you just wish someone would create an easy to understand, easy to follow, and easy to implement program that would help you get the best results from your Facebook Page?
Good news, someone has!
The Facebook Strategies Course will teach you everything you need to know to make Facebook easy to use. Here’s what you’ll learn:
The Who:
- The two types of customers you want
- What does Facebook want from you
- Your niche
- Meeting your reader’s needs
The What:
- Understand your page and the different parts
- How to find viral content
- How to schedule your posts so you don’t have to be on Facebook all the time
The How:
- How to fix a broken page
- How to go from 0 to 100K followers
- Two ways to boost content
- How to structure your ads for more engagement
The Point:
- Monetize your Facebook Page (yes, you can!)
- How to use Facebook to make “viral funnels”
- Grow your email list with your Facebook page
- Build a group
All of this and so much more is included in the Facebook Strategies Course. You will FINALLY be able to understand how to use your Facebook page for the biggest reach, engage your followers, get more clicks to your blog, and best of all, all of this will improve your earnings.
CONCLUSION
Is Facebook dead?
No, but it may seem like it. The new algorithms make it harder and harder to reach your followers so you can engage them. Trying to figure it out on your own is so difficult and overwhelming, it seems easier to just give up.
But don’t give in just yet; Facebook is a great tool for building your blog following IF you know how to use it.
