Facebook has been trialing a new feature with a portion of users, sharing how many posts a day each Page publishes within search results.
Source: Greg Baroth & Matt Navarra
It’s likely the new feature has been designed to help users know what to expect from a Page before liking it, reducing the chances that someone will like a Page and frequently scroll past or ignore content, therefore also making it easier for a Page to appear higher in the news feed by getting a better organic engagement.
A lot has changed since Facebook started experimenting with the algorithm in 2007, and most recently, their attempt to crack down on engagement baiting. But in particular, the algorithm has had an effect on what brands’ posting schedule needs to look like to see an optimum reach. Previously, posting at the right time was enough to get you at the top of the news feed. Whereas now, the placement of a post in the news feed is influenced by a long list of factors, including the relationship between the user and your Page, and how others have engaged with the content. With the change, Facebook has advised that Pages should now post more content, as you cannot guarantee that any of these posts will be seen, but there’s no need to worry about losing Likes from it, as the algorithm will prevent your content from appearing too much to any user.
Published as part of their Facebook for Journalists certificate program, Facebook stated that Pages should now: “Post frequently - Don't worry about over-posting. The goal of News Feed is to show each person the most relevant story, so not all of your posts are guaranteed to show in their Feeds.”
Facebook also mentioned in the course that some Pages post up to 80 times a day, and see good metrics from this. This of course will depend on the nature of your brand or business, but it goes to show that over-posting should no longer be a worry. With more and more stringent factors taking effect on the news feed, you’ll be lucky to have more than 5% of your audience see your posts. So in short: post, post, post.
Your own data from Facebook Insights will show you how well your posts are performing, and therefore how often you should be sharing content for your audience. With the new update, you can also monitor how often your competitors are posting, and use this as a factor to decide how often to post too.
Still struggling to know how much to post? Addled by the algorithm? Get in touch to book your Boffin Bulb, where we can help your business anywhere from social media training, to full social media management.