Yes, that is true.
This is not new. Back in February, Facebook admitted that typically, about 16% of your fans see your Facebook Page posts.
Yes, that's right. On average, a post you write will be seen by less than 20% of your Facebook fans. Or to put it another way, your post will most likely not be seen by at least 80% of your fans.
Facebook is trying to make sure the best stuff doesn't get crowded out by the stuff that not many people seem to enjoy.
You can tell how many have seen a post by looking at the bottom of your post. In the image below, you'll see an update I posted the other day that has so far been seen by 1824 of my 3400 fans. Of course, this doesn't mean all of those people actually engaged with my post (which is what I really want).
Also see on the right the convenient placement of the "Promote" link which allows you to pay so more people see your post (for Pages with over 400 Likes).
This is a subject that has been talked about extensively in 2012 so I won't rehash it all here. If you're like me, you just want to know the bottom line, like, what does this mean for me and my Page, right?
If you want to know the fine details, google "EdgeRank" and "Facebook News Feed algorithm" and similar things. You'll have no shortage of reading material. Believe me, I've read a lot of it. I'll include a few helpful posts at the end of this post.
The bottom line is, Facebook will gladly show your post to more of your fans if you pay for it via their "Promote" link. We have to remember Facebook is a free service, so personally, I find it sorta funny that we get all uptight about them not doing stuff the way we want them to do it. Sure I wish it was different and it kinda bugs me that I'm given the impression my fans are seeing my stuff and I'm see the stuff of the Pages I've Liked. But hey, it's free. This is one way they pay the bills.
I've been experimenting with this whole thing–trying to find ways to increase exposure of my posts organically (i.e. without paying, although I've tried that too).
To boil it all down, posts that get engagement in the form of Likes, shares, clicks and comments work in your favor. And also, posts that do not get a lot of engagement in the form of Likes, shares, clicks and comments work against you.
Takeaways:
Be thoughtful about what you post and don't just post whatever pops in your brain.
My first tip? Figure out what your fans respond to and write more of those posts. Figure out what your fans don't respond to and don't write those types of posts. An easy way to get a good overview, is to go to facebook.com/insights and click on the "View Insights" link under your Page name. Scroll down until you see your posts listed. The higher the Virality, the better.
Experiment. What works for me isn't going to work for you and what works for you isn't going to work for the next person. Also, experiment with time of day you post, how often you post, days of the week you post, etc.
Here are all my social media tips.
Further Reading:
- How To Take Back Control Of Your Facebook News Feed (marismith.com) – great tutorial to harness the power of lists so you make sure to see all the posts you want to see
- How to Measure Your Facebook Engagement (socialmediaexaminer.com)
- 5 New Ways to Improve Your Facebook EdgeRank (mashable.com)
- Did Facebook Decrease Pages' Reach? (edgerankchecker.com)
- George Takei Fires His Phaser at Facebook (wsj.com)
Good advice…but here is a problem I have. It seems that my followers only interact if my post is not a link to my website. I want people to go to my site from Facebook, so how do I deal with this? Any ideas?
I have the same problem. I found that if I post things differently, they get more interaction. So, sometimes instead of linking directly to my post, I upload an image, then put the link in the image description, so it registers as an image, not a link and gets more views. I do this for giveaways and upload an image of the giveaway package. Sometimes I upload a video and link to my post in that description. I've found mixing it up and using all the types of interaction Facebook offers helps, but I tend to get busy and lazy, then less people see my posts.
I like your tip Beth. I have been experimenting with this too. It's actually what alot of celebrities do.
Great post, Amy. Thanks for putting a positive spin on it!
Thanks for the info! As for it being a free service I see where you're coming from on the page side of it, but am very frustrated as a fan/follower. I know it's free on the personal side too, but if I "like" a page it's because I want to see the updates. Consumers shouldn't have to miss out, especially when they can just turn to twitter or G+ for the same free service. There has to be some kind of middle road. If they want to charge to have a page and even add fees at different levels of followers that's their choice, but frustrating non-page users is a line they should walk very carefully. In the meantime though I appreciate all the info and links!
Well, I have to agree with you there, Megan! If I Like a Page, I want to see those posts. That's why I use Interest Lists as a workaround.
See, I'm different. I "like" so many pages. I may "like" a restaurant I love, or "like" a brand I love, but when my Wall gets flooded with pages and I miss my true friends updates it drives me crazy. I tend to "like" pages, then hide about 90% of them. I think a lot of people are like me and that's the problem. We're telling Facebook that the pages aren't something we want to see. So many pages require me to like them to get a coupon or interact. Otherwise I'd only "like" the pages I really wanted to see, I think forcing people who don't want to see your posts to like your page hurts you (and all pages) in the long run.
1 – I have the pay-to-promote option on my page with less than 400 followers
2 – the best form of engagement is comments, contrary to the way we've been trained to use Facebook for the last five years (by clicking "like")
Hi Cate,
1. Cool! You're the first I've heard that from. Even Facebook's Help says the following: "Only Pages with at least 400 likes can promote their posts." (Personal Profiles can Promote though) although it's very possible they've changed this since they wrote this, LOL.
2. I go for comments myself too. And shares. I've heard varying opinions on whether or not comments count more toward your EdgeRank vs. the other forms of engagement. I think experimenting is so important.
It really is trial and error, and you're right, it's a free service. Just find a way to make it work for you! And the thought I've had recently? Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Facebook is not the only avenue for getting the word out about your content although, it's still our #2 referrer, so I don't discount it. I'm just saying, diversify!
Yes, I agree, Facebook isn't the only thing out there.
I agree with SO much above, but as a businesswoman, I have choices. Facebook got to where it is because it helped businesses promote. I understand why they charge for the value of their service, but, I think many businesses will be moving on to Twitter more and more…. Now I need to get my twitter act in gear!!
Forgot to say! Thank you so much for the great tips – I will be trying each one!! {I am not giving up on FB yet!}
I hear ya!
I know there is some debate on this, but I have seen a tremendous drop-off in the numbers of fans seeing my fb posts since fb instituted the pay to promote feature. It's been particularly dramatic in the last month.
I had worked very hard on, "Edge," and on developing an engaged, lively fb community. Now, posts with more comments and likes still seem to be seen by more of my fans, but it doesn't seem to be having that carry over effect with future posts. I had a couple last week that were seen by fewer than 10% of my likers. I know it isn't just me, either. I'm friendly with about a dozen bloggers who have sites ranging from small to large, and they have All seen significant drop-offs in Facebook referral numbers, even while continuing to follow what used to be, "Best practices," for Facebook interaction.
I apologize if this seems negative. Facebook continues to be my biggest referral source, and it's been a tremendous asset to me. I totally understand that it's free, and that they have the right to monetize it. I do feel like I put too many, "Eggs," in the Facebook basket initially, and as you've advised many times, I'd definitely encourage anyone starting out to work on building a fb community, but to also invest time in building up your email list, and in communicating with followers via other social media as well.
I'll be interested to hear if others have had different fb experiences in recent months.
I'll also make sure I've tried all your tips. One other thing I'd love to hear your take on is how to communicate about this with your readers. I read a lot of posts from bloggers trying to tell their readers how to make sure to see their posts. I always feel like these are sooooo boring to read that I hesitate to go that direction myself.
Maegen,
I hope it didn't come across as nonchalant about the Facebook issue because I find it frustrating too for sure!
I only have to remind myself, like you said, that I have to be strategic in my efforts and how I spend my time so I don't end up pouring too much energy into one social media platform. I can completely relate to your experience.
I think a post with instructions on how to ensure your fans are seeing your posts could be sandwiched in between other content-heavy posts or perhaps included in a "highlights" post or some other fun post that offers a bit more than just directions. Although, assuming it's a quick housekeeping post that is published once once, I don't think most readers would mind.
I've been hearing a lot about this in my kids' blogger network community (moms with kid activity blogs #knb) and there are a lot of heavy traffic blogs there and they all agree they've lost a lot of traffic from Facebook… They are now promoting their blogs using a button/badge that links to their Pinterest home page or their blog's Pinterest Pinterest board. And they are also telling their followers to 'Like' their Facebook page and then 'Add to Interest Lists'. I decided (last month) to create Facebook groups and I've been promoting them all over the place (Pinterest, bottom of blog posts, my blog side bars, etc.) so I get better and more personal interaction with my various followers. I'm also promoting G+ hashtags and Twitter hashtags (#momswhowrite, #MontessoriMonday, #kbn for example) and my Twitter list of writers (with a link to subscribe to the list) . It's all very new… So I guess what I'm trying to say is think outside the box! And join a community of bloggers, it is such an asset! (And of course read Amy's blog!)
I agree Lisa–think outside the box! Thanks for the suggestions.
Thanks for doing my homework. I just created an author page and recently posted the same info on both sites. Author page had two likes. Personal page had 64 comments. My question is, should I even invest time in my author page if no one reads it?
Thanks,
Dabney
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Thanks.
Thanks for stopping by, Anupom.