Written by: Kirsten Tuazon
Have you noticed a decrease in traffic on your Facebook page recently? You’re not going crazy, there’s actually a reason why! Mark Zuckerberg announced a change in Facebook’s algorithm in January of 2018, but there is no need to worry. The change doesn’t mean Facebook is eliminating posts from business pages altogether. The algorithm change is meant to show users more meaningful content. Posts from friends and family will be prioritized over posts from business pages because they receive more engagement. Facebook will now prioritize active interactions (commenting, likes, reactions) over passive interactions (clicking, watching, viewing). Facebook doesn’t care about how long someone spends their time on Facebook anymore. What they care about is the quality of content that is being shown to their users and if it encourages meaningful conversations.
What exactly is organic reach you might ask? Organic reach is the number of people who have seen your post(s) through unpaid distribution. Unfortunately, organic reach on Facebook has decreased significantly and is now even harder to achieve due to the latest algorithm change. Don’t worry, I’m here to help! Here at Social High Rise, we work hard to create and develop meaningful relationships with our clients and their customers. We care so much about relationships that we are always finding new ways to genuinely connect with an audience, whether that be through organic or paid advertising.
Before I share with you all five ways on how to boost organic reach on your Facebook pages, let me explain how the News Feed Ranking will work with the new algorithm change. The News Feed Ranking is broken down into four categories:
- Inventory
Inventory is essentially the content available on Facebook, such as posts from friends and family, pages you follow, and groups you’ve joined.
- Signals
Signals include all the information about a post. This is how Facebook chooses which content to show users the most. Some examples of signals include content type, who posted it, when was it posted, comments, likes, reactions, comment replies, and shares over Messenger.
- Predictions
Predictions are what Facebook uses to determine what to show users based on their profile and past behaviors on Facebook.
- Score
A score is the value assigned to your post(s) and it’s basically the relevancy of your post(s) to Facebook users. Each user will have a different score because of their own interests and engagement with posts. Just know that the higher the score, the more likely it will appear on the users’ News Feed.
Now that you have an understanding on how your posts will be ranked on Facebook with the new algorithm change, let’s jump into the five ways on how to increase your Facebook organic reach through your restaurant’s Facebook page!
- Post Videos
Videos drive higher engagement more than any other type of content on Facebook. Over 8 billion average daily views and 100 million hours of videos are being watched on Facebook. Creating videos doesn’t mean you have to have a huge cinematography budget. The camera quality on iPhones (or Androids I guess. #teamiPhone) just keeps getting better, and that should be more than enough to help you make a video. You can even utilize Facebook’s Boomerang app. Your videos could be short and sweet that show off your staff, offerings, or announcing special events. It’s also important to note that most people watch Facebook videos with the sound off (like myself… while I’m in class), so it’s important to add subtitles to your videos if someone is talking in the video. Videos can sometimes be a passive interaction among users, so be sure to create high-quality videos with good content that get your fans liking, reacting, and commenting!
2. Create Polls
Facebook polls are a fun way to reach your customers. Customers love answering questions, and polls on Facebook make it easy to achieve that! A customer must read the question and pick one of the options you wrote. Unlike the picture shown above, you can even create posts that have polls in the text. This is another way to create engagement. Polls usually lead users to explain their answer in the comments section. This will get your customers talking and ultimately create meaningful content.
3. Avoid Engagement Bait
A lot of Facebook users are skeptical of engagement bait because they think it’s spam. Engagement bait tactics include vote baiting, react baiting, share baiting, tag baiting, and comment baiting. Facebook will show fewer posts on the News Feed that include engagement bait tactics because it’s not authentic and meaningful, which is what Facebook is trying to achieve and promote with the latest algorithm change. When creating a Facebook post, you want to evoke genuine emotions from your fans. Engagement bait is not the right way to create meaningful content and really doesn’t start quality conversations among users.
4. Create a Group
Creating a Facebook Group on your restaurant’s Facebook page will help build a community. There are three different types of groups on Facebook: public, closed, and secret. Groups allow you to connect with your current and even new customers on a deeper level. Not only will this help your business develop valuable relationships and personal connections, but you will also be able to receive insights and feedback.
5. Encourage Users to Follow Page and Turn on Notifications
Encouraging users to follow your page and turn on their notifications will help users see your content more on their News Feed. Think of it as a subscription. It’s okay to be vocal to increase your organic reach. It’s as simple as posting a reminder telling your fans to follow your page and to turn on their notifications! Reminding them to follow your page will help prioritize your post(s) on their News Feed. If they turn on their notifications for your page, it can help promote active interactions if they see something interesting.
Please note that you shouldn’t just focus all your marketing efforts on organic reach. Paid advertising is needed and just as helpful in getting more reach! My tips will not solve all your organic reach problems, but it will help foster meaningful content to help prioritize your posts on your customers’ News Feed. Do you have any other tips that help you boost your organic reach on Facebook? Share with us in the comments below!
Did you know?
We've been managing social media accounts for restaurants since 2012. For almost a decade, we've partnered with restauranteurs who are serious about using social media to generate business. Whether you're a good fit for our service or not, let's schedule a call and we'll give you free personalized advice on how to improve your social media presence. Either way, you'll walk away from the call more confident about your ability to promote yourself online - completely for free.
