The social network said Wednesday that it’s updating its news feed algorithm to make posts by friends users appear higher in their feeds.
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While this comes as a good news for many normal, day-to-day Facebook users who are there to bond socially, this comes as a sad news for the publishers who have been investing heavily on social media, as their reach is about to fall. The reason being says Facebook’s vice president of product management Adam Mosseri “The growth and competition in the publisher ecosystem is really, really strong”. Add in Instant Articles and the strong preference given to Facebook-native video and you see, once again, the primary hoarder of Internet attention consolidating its position. “We’re anxious that a lot of people using Facebook are not able to connect to friends and family as well because of that”. News that Facebook is paying companies, including The Huffington Post, to create live programs did little to quell fears over the future of the written word – nor did a blunt statement from Facebook executive Nicola Mendelsohn about the social network being “all video” within five years.
Another possibility: News sometimes can be a turnoff, and Facebook didn’t get to be what it is by tolerating anything that undermines its business interests. This was ensure that you always see content from them towards the top of your News Feed.
If you’ve been on Facebook for a while, this should not be a surprise. This also might be an attempt to squeeze money from media companies to promote content. Referral traffic and audience reach of these outlets can only continue to decline as users move to regulate the type of content they see on their timelines.
Now the question is, how will media companies respond to this change by Facebook? While the algorithm change will likely have a negative effect on organic reach, there are some things that brands can do to increase the odds of their content being seen by their followers.
A focus back on personal content also highlights that Facebook has been nearly too successful at becoming a destination for publishers and video.
I like Chewbacca Mom as much as the next person, but that’s not the only thing I want to see all over my “news” feed.
Apart from this, Facebook is also bringing in a change in feed ranking that puts primary importance on friends and family.
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For example, the announcement reads that “Facebook was built on the idea of connecting people with their friends and family”. Its mushrooming success spawned a huge expansion that eventually led to the organization’s stated mission of making it easier for the world to connect. Now, what if I don’t have family on Facebook, or I don’t care much about all the “friends” I have on my list.
