The average Facebook user spends about one-fourth of their time on that site scrolling through their news feed according to Mashable.com. The best way to expand your brand’s reach on Facebook is to get your content into your fans’ news feeds.
How does Facebook determine what content travels into an individual’s news feed? The first step towards answering this question is understanding the Edgerank metric.
Edgerank is the algorithm that Facebook employs to filter posts streaming into a person’s news feed. Edgerank is comprised of three factors: Affinity, Weight and Decay. The following is a description of these factors to help your brand improve its performance in relation to them.
Affinity (U)
Affinity is a measure of the relationship that a Facebook user has with your brand. The more they interact with your content through likes, shares and comments, the higher your brand’s affinity score will be in. You can increase affinity by encouraging engagement with your posts.
Weight (W)
Different Facebook posts are assigned different weights. Photos and videos have the most weight. Posts with links are a bit less valuable. However, a post’s weight can be increased if enough people interact with it via sharing, liking or commenting. Including visuals in your posts can increase your weight.
Decay (D)
As a general rule, posts lose value as they get older. Your brand’s post is less likely to show up on a fan’s news feed three days after it is posted then it is the day it was posted. The way to maintain a high decay score? Consistently post new content.
Is your brand showing up in your fans’ news feeds? What have you tried to increase your Edgerank score? Share your experience in a comment below.
