EdgeRank, Facebook’s algorithm for deciding what content appears in users’s news feeds, is making it more challenging than ever to be sure your content is seen by fans. If you’ve noticed a decrease in Facebook page activity lately, EdgeRank may be the culprit. Here are some tips I found to keep EdgeRank from edging you out of news feeds.
1. Build super fans so your audience comes to you.
When you turn regular fans into super fans, your community will seek you out by visiting your page if they don’t see your content in their news feeds. To do this, you must consistently provide excellent content that your fans crave. Pay attention to the types of content getting the most traction. Which posts inspire likes and comments, and during what times of the day are you getting the best results?
Find the time of day with the most interaction, and stick to a consistent posting schedule so fans will know when to expect your daily content. The key is to make your content so great that fans will miss you if it’s gone.
2. Ask your audience to create a favorite pages list.
If you are providing useful content and building relationships, fans will want to stay in touch with you. Let them know about EdgeRank and that you want to remain on their news feed to provide them with the great information they’ve liked you for.
One way fans can be sure to stay in contact with you is by building a favorite pages list. This list is an easy way to check out all your favorite pages’ updates in one place.
To create a list, go to your Facebook Home page. On the left sidebar, click on More beside the Friends section. Click on Create List in the top right, and begin making your favorite pages list. Here is a step-by-step guide from Facebook for adding to and creating lists. Share this information with your fans, and ask them to create a list including your organization’s page.
3. Include your personal profile in your marketing strategy.
Personal status updates are winning out over business page updates, so leveraging your personal profile may be a tactic you’d like to try. To use this tip, you need to be very careful because Facebook terms state that you can’t use a personal profile for commercial gain (see here for more information). However, there is nothing stopping you from talking about your page posts on your personal profile. For example, if you’ve just posted a new blog post, you can share it with a link as a personal status update. Or, you can share information about an event where you will be presenting.
Facebook’s privacy controls have improved tremendously lately, so you can adjust yours according to your preferences. The key is to ask your page fans to subscribe to your personal updates so they can see them in their news feeds. When fans subscribe to your public posts, they can see these posts without becoming your friend. This feature is similar to following someone on Twitter. You can learn more about subscribing here. Subscribing to your personal posts will give fans that extra personalization they seek on social media.
Have you noticed a drop-off in Facebook page participation? Try these tips, and let us know how they worked for you.
Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae
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