You might wonder why you would even bother to know about the latest Facebook algorithm change when you’re into developing, programming and such, right? Well, this one you’ll want to know since it affects even your line of work, so stick around.
Let’s face it. Whatever you do nowadays, you rely on Facebook to help you boost it, to be more visible, to help you prosper your business more. The sad truth is that Facebook is doing what it can to make you pay more in order to get even the slightest good results. And every Facebook algorithm change is making us harder to succeed in it without grabbing our wallet.
In this most recent update, the Facebook algorithm change is not only forcing us to make better content but websites that they come from, too. What do we mean, you ask? Well, if your website isn’t optimized, if it has slow-loading pages, your business or business of your clients will suffer. And, this is not a speculation but firm truth, since it’s announced on Facebook’s blog last month.
As per Facebook’s engineers, Jiayi Wen and Shengbo Guo, „..we’ve found that when people have to wait for a site to load for too long, they abandon what they were clicking on all together. As many as 40 percents of website visitors abandon a site after three seconds of delay.“
Bottom line, if your website isn’t loading fast enough, Facebook will penalize it and you’ll notice the significant decrease in referral traffic.
And, the same (even more) goes for mobile versions, too. You simply need to do your best in optimizing your websites and their speed if you want to stay on the top of the latest Facebook algorithm change. Since the vast majority of Facebook users access it via mobile devices, this focus sure makes sense.
What you as a developer, theme maker or website owner need to consider in your work now is how Facebook reacts to websites and what changes it makes towards them. You can no longer ignore it thinking it’s only Social Media. Oh, no. Facebook is much like Google itself, and you do include Google’s changes and guides when making websites and themes, right?
What does the latest Facebook algorithm change include more?
While we’re on this subject, there’s one more thing that significantly affects your presence on Facebook (remember it’s as big as Google now) and that is trending topic. Whatever you do, you can no longer be above or out of trending topics, meaning, Facebook will push forward content that is more relevant.
But wait, we’re not done yet…
In the same time with the latest algorithm changes, Facebook also published a set of guidelines for improving our website performance, with an accent on mobile site optimization. In it, you’ll find useful tools and practices that will help you fix your website and boost your online presence.
Bonus
We couldn’t let you go without giving you some more insights and tips to improve your online performance – as far as Facebook goes. Very soon, organic reach as we know it will surely be gone, especially since we came up with these recent reports. According to BuzzSumo, Facebook Page reach declined by more than 20% this year. So, what can we do in order to stay relevant and noticeable by a Facebook algorithm?
#1 Give your audience what they want
Meaning write, post and share the information they need and will have use of it. Don’t know what it is? Then do the research or, simply, ask them. Make a poll and ask them what it is they are looking for at your Page and your business, how can you help. In many cases, you’ll find yourself with a very valuable source of information to work with.
#2 Don’t spam
Don’t be one of those people who overuse their online presence. And this goes for both newbies and savvy users. People don’t like being overwhelmed with content, don’t be that guy or girl! In just one minute, there are over 300.000 new updates on Facebook! Beat that with quality, not quantity.
#3 Write longer captions
Oh, yes. Just like in content marketing and your website/blog articles, Facebook likes longer captions, too. And why? Simply because it wants you longer on its platform. Therefore, think how you can implement this tip in your strategy, focus on creating well-targeted stories for your fans on Facebook. The old way of sentence or two and a link to your website no longer plays a major role. Why? Well, Facebook wants you to stay with it so any content that drives people away is not going to have that much reach. So, if you write longer and more interesting captions it will make people stay longer and Facebook will (hopefully) make it more visible. That way, if you put the link at the very end of the story, it would probably get more likes since you’ve engaged people to stay and read the whole story.
#4 Be consistent
Facebook presence isn’t campaign, it should be a constant daily flow for as much as you and your brand exist. Don’t think of Facebook as just side work, it is and should be an ongoing process that follows you/your business. Connect with your fans, your targeted audience, engage with them and build a community. Understand that Facebook (as all Social Media) is a powerful tool that can help your business grow and improve.
