EdgeRank: Facebook Likes Aren't Everything
by Dave Maloney
You've been accumulating Facebook "Likes" on your FB business page and your numbers in Insights are high, so you think you must be doing great. But, none of your page's content is showing up in the feeds of any of the people that "Liked" you - why? Facebook EdgeRank is the super-secret formula that determines for everyone the who, when and what that appears (or doesn't appear) in their news feed; and it doesn't care how many Facebook Likes you've got.
The Facebook EdgeRank Algorithm
Sorry, Facebook isn't giving up their secret recipe for visibility, but we'll try to explain the basics: First, anything you post to your page for the world to see is referred to by Facebook as an "Object." This includes photos, status updates, videos, links, comments, etc, anything. Second, any action taken on that object you posted is considered an "Edge." (hence the name "EdgeRank") This would include tagging a photo, liking a post, commenting on a post, commenting or liking another comment on a post, and so on. Now, hold on for the fun part, Facebook takes all these "edges" and gives them an EdgeRank score based on these factors:
- "Affinity" - This score is based on the relationship between each of your Facebook Likes and you; it's a tally of how much interaction they've had with you. If they "liked" something you posted once or a few times, you're not going to be considered high on their list of favorites, and most likely won't ever be displayed in their feed. Likewise, if they frequently leave comments and feedback (edges!), EdgeRank assumes the two of you are close, and your content will make it into their feed of who/what is important to them. (Note: this is designed as a one-way street, so liking and commenting on your fan's stuff will not gain you any points with this score)
- "Weight" - Every type of "object" you've posted (image, comment, link, etc) falls into a hierarchy based on how much interest each type of item receives. Not all your objects are considered equal, and only FaceBook knows (and isn't telling) whether a photo or video has a higher Weight than a link, or a status update, and so on.
- "Time Decay" - This one is the easiest to understand: "newer and fresher" content takes precedence over last week's old news. Even when one of your objects does make it to a fan's feed, it won't be around long before newer stuff pushes it down and out of what's most recent. If you don't keep adding new, you'll soon be out of sight, and out of mind.
EdgeRank and the Reason You Have a Business Page in the First Place
So what does this all mean in English? It all comes down to the same fundamental of Inbound Marketing: "Content is King." The whole point of having a Facebook business page is to get found by the millions of potential customers who are searching in Social Media and steer them towards your brand.
Post interesting content on your FB page, and you can easily see what's working (Weight), and what's not by the comments being posted. Posting fodder like "Click "Like" if you love peanut butter and fluff" may gain you a bunch on new "Likes", but who cares? A huge number of Facebook Likes does not make your page any more powerful, and you probably won't ever see a huge spike in sales because you and someone else both like peanut butter.
Post real content that's relevant to your business that people will actually want to comment on. Comments mean interest, and interest leads to relationship (affinity). Engage in the conversation and keep it going with fresh and exciting material (Time), and your business' exposure in Facebook, or any social network, is sure to grow exponentially.
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