Social media platforms like Facebook allow users to share posts and updates with their network of friends and followers. When you make a post, it may not always be seen by every single person who is connected to you. Understanding how news feed algorithms work and the factors that impact the visibility of posts can help social media users reach their intended audience.
What is a News Feed?
On social networks like Facebook, the news feed is the constantly updating list of stories, posts, videos, photos and more from people and pages you follow. It shows the most recent updates at the top. With hundreds of potential posts coming in from your network, the news feed has to curate and select which ones to display.
Facebook’s news feed algorithm determines the ranking and order of the posts. It aims to show you the content it thinks you would most want to see at the top, based on factors like relevance, interests, interactions, timeliness and more. Not everything you are connected to will show up in your news feed.
News Feed Algorithm
Facebook is constantly tweaking their news feed algorithm to improve the user experience. They look at signals and data points to determine the content you are most likely to be interested in and receptive to at any given time. Some of the key factors that impact post ranking include:
- How recently the post was shared
- Type of content – video, photo, text status, etc.
- Popularity and engagement on the post
- If you have interacted with the person or page posting before
- How often you interact with the type of content being posted
- Relevance to your interests, demographic info, location, etc.
Higher quality content that gets more likes, comments, shares and clicks will be ranked higher. Posts from friends and connections you frequently interact with are also prioritized. The algorithm balances these factors to curate your personalized feed.
Reach and Visibility
When someone shares an update, how many people can potentially see it in their news feed is referred to as its reach. But just because a post has a high reach does not guarantee it will be actually seen by those who could access it. Visibility refers to how many people did view your post.
Getting your content to appear on people’s screens and capturing attention takes good visibility. Some ways to maximize visibility include:
- Post at optimal high traffic times when audience is active
- Use visuals like images and video that catch the eye
- Write an engaging caption that makes people curious to click
- Leverage hashtags to reach a wider interested audience
- Ask questions and encourage comments to boost engagement
- Share content ideal for news feed – useful, entertaining, informative
- Interact consistently with your audience to stay top of mind
Why Some Posts Get Less Visibility
There are a variety of reasons why your content may have lower visibility despite having decent reach. Some causes include:
- Too many posts flooding the news feed – space is limited
- Content is not relevant or interesting to audience
- Low engagement and shares
- Competing with posts that are performing better
- Few connections with people who see the post
- Page has lower visibility ranking if you don’t follow it
Facebook tends to show posts higher in feed from friends and active connections first. Pages and businesses may get lower priority. Timing when audience is less active online also diminishes visibility.
How to Check Your Post Reach and Visibility
Facebook provides metrics on each post so you can see how it performed and how many saw it. To find this info:
- Go to your Page or profile
- Click on your post
- Select View Insights below the text
- This will show Reach and Visibility data
Reach shows you how many people the post was served to. Visibility indicates how many actually saw it on screen based on clicks and impressions. Compare these to assess how well your post resonated.
Boosting Visibility With Paid Promotion
Pages and businesses wanting more guaranteed visibility can use Facebook’s advertising tools to boost posts. This pays to display your content higher in more news feeds. Options include:
- Boost Post – Make an existing post a sponsored ad
- Page Post Ads – Create a new post specifically as an ad
- Instant Experience Ads – Promote posts with multiple images/video
When boosting, you can target a demographic or amplify reach. This gets your content in front of more of your ideal audience. Promoted posts must follow Facebook’s advertising policies.
Optimizing Your News Feed Presence
To make the most of your news feed presence, focus on creating engaging content your audience responds to. Use analytics to see what posts resonate best. Build connections and interact consistently with your community. Experiment with different formats, posting times and messaging to see what gets the best visibility.
Consider promoted posts to supplement your strategy when you need a boost. Stay on top of news feed algorithm changes and how other similar pages are getting visibility. With the right mix of content, community building and promotion, you can increase the visibility of your page and posts.
Conclusion
The news feed algorithm determines which of the many possible posts individual users see at any given time. Reach indicates the potential audience that had access to the post. Actual visibility depends on how compelling and relevant the content is to the target audience. Pages and profiles can optimize their news feed presence by understanding these key factors and what drives engagement on their posts based on analytics. Using this data to refine posting strategy and connecting with your audience community are key to improving visibility in the competitive news feed environment.