Do you like what pops up in your news feed, or do you scroll past quickly and like or share the few posts that grab your attention?
Facebook cares about improving the user experience and is constantly tweaking ranking algorithms to encourage engagement, particularly pertaining to the amount and quality of time users spend on posts. The latest ranking updates are about the amount of time a user spends on a given piece of content, and the types of interactions that users takes.
They’ve decided that just because you may not like, comment or share on a video or a post in your news feed, that doesn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t valuable to you.
So the more time you spend viewing a post, the more likely it is that you’ll see more of this type of content popping up into your news feed. And the more you interact with a video, the more likely you’ll see similar videos in there too. Facebook figures that longer engagement on posts and more interaction with videos means that you like them, even if you didn’t “like” or comment on them.
And it’s not just about the amount of time you spend on posts, it also has to do with how much time you spend on one piece of content over others in your news feed. Let’s say you scroll through and like a couple of posts, and then find one that is of particular interest to you. You may spend more time reading the post and following the discussion. Even though you may not want to comment on it, based on the fact that the post was on your screen for more time than other post, Facebook figures that this type of content is meaningful to you.
If you turn up the volume on a video or expand the size to fill your device screen, Facebook sees that as an indication that you like the video. So, if you currently watch videos in the news feed, chances are good that you’ll start seeing more videos higher up in your feed.
What do the updates mean for business owners and marketers? Content needs to be a top priority. As with all marketing, your emphasis should be on creating quality content that people will value and want to spend time reading or watching. If you’re not doing so already, consider adding video – visual content is captivating and engaging, and takes some time to consume. Aim for sharing content that is lengthy and well-researched. You’ll get better reach with quality posts that really engage people over frequent posts that are skimmed over and scrolled past.