Alan DraperIf you’ve been running a Facebook page for some time, you’ve probably noticed that – over the past years – Facebook social reach has been taking a hit.
Some like to call it a “conspiracy,” but when you consider the data, there seems to be some truth to this. For example, between January and July in 2016, organic reach for various publishers decreased by approximately 52%.
Plus, this isn’t something that just affects small pages. Even Facebook pages that have over 500,000 likes could end up dealing with an organic reach as low as 2%.
Sadly, Facebook social reach has been steadily declining since a couple of years ago. Some even speculated it was a move on Facebook’s part to get businesses to buy more ads.
It’s not hard to see why. After all, to quote a spokeswoman from Facebook:
“Like many mediums, if businesses want to make sure that people see their content, the best strategy is, and always has been, paid advertising.”
Of course, we can’t just chalk this up to paid advertising alone. The issue is more complex than that, and getting to the bottom of it could provide you with the advice you need.
So, taking all that into consideration, here are 3 more specific reasons why your Facebook social reach might having problems:
1. You Either Post Too Often or Too Rare
I’ve actually talked to some page owners about this, and – to my surprise – few actually knew that the rate at which a Page posts can have an impact on its social reach.
Basically, if you post too often or too rare, your Facebook social reach is likely to go down. What’s more, this works differently depending on what type of page you run.
According to some research, there’s a pretty clear difference between brand pages and media pages when it comes to post frequency. Apparently, media-focused pages have more freedom when it comes to post frequency.
The main idea is this:
- If your page is meant to promote your brand, it’s recommended to stick to just one post per day (meaning around 5-10 posts/week).
- If your page is meant to promote your media company, you’re better off with posting up to 7 posts per day (up to 49 posts/week).
Bottom line – if you’re promoting a brand, you should focus on not overdoing it when scheduling page posts. On the other hand, if you’re an admin of a media page, make sure you don’t fall behind, and that you keep your audience engaged with fresh content.
Speaking of keeping your audience engaged …
2. You Don’t Focus Enough on Engagement
If you run a business Facebook page, it’s not really enough to just to post about your products/services. I mean, just think about it – if you were a potential customer, would you feel like engaging with a basic, dull post mentioning a product/service?
Not really, right? But if it were a post advertising a certain deal or discount on a particular product/service, the reaction would definitely be different. Make it clear the offer is limited to increase the sense of urgency, and you’ve got yourself some decent engagement.
Besides that, you should also make sure that most of your posts have a CTA (call to action) of sorts. A link to an article or landing page is a good way to drive audience engagement.
And yes, this advice would also apply to you if you’re more or less just a blogger, and are not in the business of selling products or services (unless you’re invested in affiliate marketing).
For instance, let’s say you’re a travel blogger.
Well, besides just posting photos of places you’ve seen, you should also try posting polls to ask your audience their opinion on various topics (which country they’d like you to visit next, or which traditional food they love the most, for example).
At the same time, you should also make sure that the posts you publish are not generic. Instead of just adding a description talking about how beautiful a certain city/country was, try talking about more engaging, thought-provoking topics, such as urban/folklore legends, less-known facts, or even a discussion on staying safe/avoiding bad areas (the last one would be a bit of a touchy subject, but one that would generate a lot of responses nonetheless).
Oh, and – whenever possible – try to use videos as often as you can. Generally, they tend to be more engaging than photos. This goes for all situations.
3. You’re Not Targeting the Right Audience.
Generally, this only happens if you don’t brand your page the right way. People need to be able to tell what your page is about, what you’re promoting, or what you’re selling the moment they land on it.
Otherwise, you’ll end up with an audience you can’t really engage with, as you don’t share the same interests. What’s more, your content won’t usually be displayed/promoted by Facebook to users who might be genuinely interested in it.
However, the real problems begin when Facebook pages get involved with buying page followers. Now, I’m not accusing you of doing that or anything, but I do know that – sometimes – Facebook pages (especially business pages) need that extra edge on the market, and are willing to get involved with this.
Well, the plain truth is that it’s just wasted money. Keep in mind that – usually – if people don’t like your page in an organic manner, they will probably not interact with it at all. Also, when you pay for followers, you’re most likely just getting fake accounts, which will eventually be taken down by Facebook.
Here’s a more in-depth experiment that showcases how harmful paid followers are for a page’s reach (not to mention its image).
All in all, if you pay for followers and likes, you’re most likely not going to improve your Facebook social reach since you won’t be targeting the right people (or real people, for that matter).
Know Any Other Factors That Can Heavily Impact Facebook Social Reach?
These were the main ones I was able to come across after plenty of research. In case you know of others, feel free to share them with the rest of us in the comment section.
And don’t forget to share this article if you think it might help a friend, business partner, or work colleague improve their social media reach on Facebook.
Read More:
- How to Improve Your Reach on Facebook.
- Studies Show Why Facebook Organic Reach is Declining So Quickly
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Alan Draper.
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I like the fact that Facebook has dropped organic reach for business owners big time. and they just doing this just for the sake of paying advertisement.
It is disheartening that Facebook gets to determine what we publish, how it it presented and how often. Not everybody is a “brand” or “media” and has different audiences and needs. And not everybody can afford to “boost” everyday informational posts that MIGHT reach a few extra eyeballs (or maybe not…the predicted reach range is laughable). I work for a non-profit and their one-size-fits-all algorithms have really hurt our cause and outreach. This once helpful service has turned into a dangerous information monopoly with serious repercussions for individuals, organizations and our entire society.
My article at FB is shared by 99 user, but it’s only reach 49 people. What’s going on? Its very confusing
We are considering dumping Facebook all together. We have 12,600 Followers and it only reaches less than 30 people. Facebook has slost its way. No longer viable. Moving to youtube for all our social media needs from now on.
Yes I was restricted for 30 days because this woman made a threat to me I didn’t even know her or where she came from I called her some names because she made a THREAT to me and Facebook did nothing to her she’s laughing about it to Facebook is dirty I will be so glad when Donald John Trump GETS his app up and running so Facebook can kiss my ass
I think the one commentor who mentioned, “a dangerous information monopoly with serious repercussions for individuals, organizations and our entire society”, is exactly right. FB can throttle back your page’s reach for their own selfish reasons. For example, you express alternative views and don’t buy into the endless mainstream media’s mind control efforts and narrative about getting the jab. The mainstream media, big tech, and social media giants are in bed together. You’re allowed to think and believe what they tell you to think and believe. And if you offer resistance they don’t defend their own views and risk exposing their ignorance, they simply silence your credible views. They’re globalists which is nothing more than communism in disguise.
Even more frustrating is when you DO pay for a boosted post and it the reach is the same as if you didn’t. Facebook only seems interested in advertisers who can spend plenty of money. If you’re spending less than $100 on a single ad, don’t even bother.