Posted by on November 16th, 2012

Q: OMG Facebook changed things and my reach has gone down the toilet and no one is seeing my posts and Facebook wants me to pay for Promoted Posts but I can’t afford it and this is killing my business! How can I get my Facebook Reach back without paying for Promoted Posts? –Posts Aren’t Getting EdgeRanked

a status message from a page owner complaining about promoted posts and reach declines.
This business owner would have done better at keeping her reach if she had used the time she spent writing this status to instead craft a post that would be highly engaging.

A: Okay, PAGE, calm down–it’s going to be okay. This article does an excellent job of debunking the issues surrounding Facebook’s latest changes. Here’s a quick recap:

  • Facebook has historically NOT shown you all the posts of all the things in your news feed, even if you select Most Recent (with some exceptions).
  • Facebook did not artificially restrict Page Reach in order to sell advertising. That would be a bad move on their part for many reasons.
  • Rather, the EdgeRank algorithm changed such that less-popular posts were less visible, and posts with high interaction from Fans were made more visible. This should ultimately be good for users. (Unfortunately, this happened concurrently with the launch of Promoted Posts, leading to a lot of confusion). EDIT: The date of the EdgeRank change has been confirmed to around September 20, 2012.

This new update to EdgeRank means that for businesses like PAGE’s, the game has remained the same, but the bar for entry has gotten higher (and I’m not talking about money). As a business Page Manager, your job has always been “Create and share content that users will want to see, interact with, and share.” Keep in mind that Facebook is less about selling and more about visibility. This is similar to the philosophy espoused by top networking organizations like BNI, which suggest you follow the mantra ‘Visibility, Credibility, Profitability’; that is, be present, be high quality, and the business will follow. In this example, your primary use of Facebook for the majority of brands is in building Visibility.

So bringing it back to EdgeRank and Promoted Posts and the ‘new reality’ of Facebook marketing for businesses. You know, what PAGE came here for: to learn how to get your Facebook reach back, how to get more views on Facebook without paying for Promoted Posts. I’ve done some casual experimenting, and lots of reading, and here’s what I’ve determined:

  • As a Fan, the way to get a given Page’s posts to show up consistently in your NewsFeed is to Like, Share or otherwise interact with that Page’s posts. 
  • Therefore, as a Page, the way to get more Reach or ‘get your reach back’ is to create and share content that encourages users to interact, Like, Share or comment on your Page’s posts. 
  • Share your appealing content, users interact, and your future posts are more likely to show up in the NewsFeeds, increasing Reach with no need to pay.

Once the user has interacted with your posts, they are going to see more of the rest of your posts in their News Feed. Now you have your Facebook Reach back, you are getting more interaction on your posts, and ‘Ooops!’ you have created better content. 

Have a question for the Q&A section? Ask it here or email me.

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