Understanding the Facebook Algorithm in 2024

Mention algorithms change, and every marketer turns purple with a chill running down their spine. And especially when it’s an algorithm change, the world comes to a standstill.

As per 2023 latest statistics, Facebook has 2.74 billion monthly active users, with an average of 1.82 billion logins per day. A countless number of businesses invest in Facebook with high hopes to go viral.

So, what is the Facebook algorithm?

The Facebook algorithm is a complex system that determines the content shown to users based on their interests, engagement history, and demographics. It customizes each person’s feed to show the most relevant and engaging posts, making their experience unique.

Today we shall be decoding it all – the Facebook new algorithms, best practices with some quick, handy tips too so you get the right engagement.

So let’s dive right in.

What is the Facebook Algorithm?

The algorithms are AI and machine learning codes that aid Facebook in updating every profile’s newsfeed – what posts will be shown in what order and to whom.

They decide this based on user behavior and demographics. They ensure that the displayed content has a higher chance of interesting the users, who can then spend more time on the platform.

And why does that matter?

Because it indicates that they are high in quality. Facebook wants your posts to be watched longer or be showered with reactions and comments. They instantly prioritize such posts to appear more frequently on Facebook users’ feeds and go viral.

Look at this post by Jaxxon, a male luxury brand that knows how to leverage Facebook’s new algorithm to its advantage. Their sponsored post is a video showcasing their product. It did well, receiving a great response of 2.1k reactions and 500+ comments and, as a result, got an extra engagement push.

How Does the Facebook Algorithm Work?

Understanding how social media algorithms work is not a piece of cake, as platforms keep changing them quite frequently. But this algorithm ranks content on all surfaces (News Feed, Watch etc.) depending on what content is likely to matter most to the reader.

This analysis helps make your feed more relevant and align with your likes and interests.

Mark Zuckerburg also shares the same opinion, saying that the Facebook newsfeed algorithm will show more posts from family and friends rather than shoving sponsored ad posts down the throat.

Now, it implies fierce competition for the limited business space. To deal with this, each time you load or refresh your feed, the Facebook algorithm goes through a 4-step process to score each content.

The one that scores the highest dominates this space. Scores are assigned to posts after active-passive signals and personalization factor checks.

This is how the score is determined:

Inventory: This refers to all the recent posts shared by your friends, Pages that you follow, and the groups you have joined. You will see different types of posts based on the section of your profile you are browsing, like News Feed, Watch, etc.. This list excludes the items flagged for violation of Facebook’s Community Standards.
Signals: In this step, the algorithm takes into account hundreds of details about the posts (referred to as signals) to predict the relevance of a post your a particular user. Things like the type of content, who posted it, users’ past interactions with the creator, and similar posts, are considered. Even smaller facts about the viewing environment like the internet speed hold weight.
Making Prediction: In this stage, using all the data from the signals, the Facebook algorithm generates a quick prediction of how the user might react to the inventory posts. This involves a deep analysis of your past behavior on the platform and also that of your friends. We try answering questions such as:
- If you would like, comment, or share the post or not
- Whether you would watch a video post to completion
- Will be able a start a conversation bringing engagement to your account.
Relevance Score: All of these deductions are combined to determine a relevance score for each post, indicating how meaningful they might be for the user. These scores dictate the order in which posts appear in the feed. After that, the algorithm adds recommended content into the mix to help you explore and find more about your interests. They recommend content depending on the preference of other users with your shared interests. And last but not the least, a sprinkle of ads is interspersed throughout the ranks. Thats how your personalised feed gets created.

Facebook has decided to keep its algorithm transparent by using these scores and signals. It was done to elevate the overall experience of Facebook users and for them to take part in meaningful interactions.

Here is an example of a recent Target post that received a high score. They posted a new year video expressing gratitude to their team for working relentlessly. The post got a fantastic response- 11k reactions with 1.2k+ comments and 2.4k+ shares.

With every passing day, these algorithms are only getting better. If you get in the groove and align yourself with the process, it can be quite rewarding.

Now, let’s take a quick look at how it has shifted focus over time.

Facebook Algorithm Updates Timeline

Chronological Feed to Algorithmic Feed (2006-2009): In the early years, Facebook’s news feed displayed content chronologically. However, as the platform grew and more content was shared, Facebook introduced algorithms to prioritize content based on relevance and engagement.
EdgeRank (2010): EdgeRank was the name of the original algorithm Facebook used to determine what content appears in users’ news feeds. It considered factors like affinity (relationship between the user and the content creator), weight (engagement level of the post), and time decay (how recent the post is).
Introduction of Machine Learning (2013): Facebook started integrating machine learning techniques into its algorithm to understand user preferences better and improve content relevance.
Shift Towards Personalization (2016-2019): The algorithm began prioritizing content based on user behavior and interests. This meant users saw more posts from friends and pages they interacted with most. Facebook also incorporated surveys and analyzed past behavior to understand what type of content resonated with each user.
Crackdown on Clickbait and Engagement Bait (2017-2018): Facebook made efforts to reduce the spread of clickbait headlines and engagement bait posts by penalizing pages that relied on these tactics to artificially boost engagement. Facebook announced a significant algorithm change to prioritize posts from friends and family over public content from brands and publishers.
Prioritizing Engagement (2019-present): The algorithm now prioritizes posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions, such as comments and replies, over passive likes. The algorithm considers the type of content (videos, images, text) that users typically engage with and favors those formats.
Present Trends (2021- present): Facebook aims to provide users with more transparency into how the algorithm works and offer them some control over their newsfeed. There’s a growing distinction between the algorithm for the main Facebook feed and the one for Reels, which prioritizes short-form videos.

So you see how the algorithm has changed overtime, moving from ranking posts chronologically to favoring interests and interactions to decide their relevance. But its important to keep track of these changes to align your content strategy.

Keeping the FB algorithm on your side is how you can on the platform. Here are a few tips to do just that.

8 Tips to Beat the Facebook Algorithm

1. Foster Engaging Conversations

Gone are the days when you would just push the post and breath a sigh of relief. Your audience demands more of you now. They want to feel connected.

Facebook groups are exemplary for kickstarting conversations. You can have multiple groups at your disposal for more in-depth and streamlined conversations.

“Facebook has prioritized posts in groups more and more over the past few years, so you can be pretty confident that if you post in a group, it will show up in the group members’ news feeds and notifications. That means if you’re trying to get feedback on an idea, get quotes for an article you’re working on, share a job posting, etc., Facebook groups are a great place to easily get in front of a lot of people.”

-Sujan Patel, Mailshake

Let them participate in your posts not just through reactions but with meaningful conversations. Make use of polls, ask them about their point of view, pain points, and more to garner their attention.

Hubspot nails it each time. They keep their posts short, crisp, and conversational. They have used the “Fill in the blanks” post and polls to get their followers’ responses. You can use something like this for your followers too.

2. Evoke Emotions

Despite your efforts, those cute cat memes are taking the limelight. And you already know why! Because that steers some deep emotions. You need to apply the same in your posts.

Your audience is remotely interested if you sound like another salesman-like bot. Connect with your audience so they can relate to your brand and create a lasting relationship. Value them, and they will swing right in.

Here’s how Kitkat makes its followers smirk, asking a relatable question reminding them to have a sweet bite to kill boredom. You can use such content to steer the emotions of your audience.

3. Identify the Best Time to Post

Most B2B ventures notice good engagement on weekdays, B2C brands, on the other hand, witness an engagement leap during weekends.

It is also a tested fact that the first hour of posting is the peak time of engagement. Find out when your audience is on board using Facebook Analytics and Insights for the right time to post. You can also refer to our blog on the best time to post on Facebook to get an idea.

4. Post Consistently

It is a fast-paced world, and things go out of fashion in days. You being a marketer, need to be on your toes to showcase the recent trends. It implies consistent posting with zero compromises on quality.

But by consistent, I don’t mean spamming. Hubspot took a survey where Facebook pages with less than 10k followers saw an engagement drop of 50% if posted multiple times on a single day.

SocialPilot can help you here as well. You can schedule them at your convenience without a miss.

5. Leverage Influencer Marketing

According to BigCommerce, 89% of marketers claim that ROI from influencer marketing is better than most channels.

So if you want to be famous overnight, influencer marketing on Facebook can be a viable option.

Soccer king, Cristiano Ronaldo, is the biggest of all Facebook Influencers. With dripping engagement posts, his paid promotions are an instant success. Here is an example of collaboration between Ronaldo and Free Fire, a mobile gaming firm. The post has garnered 286k reactions with 10k comments and 4.1k shares.

6. Craft Compelling CTAs

Over the years, the audience has become more intellectual. They would not take any action that would not benefit them in any way.

Rather than baits, be friends with CTAs. They prompt your audience to take meaningful action that will be a win-win for both of you.

Have a look at this Taco Bell post that prompts its followers to buy their e-Gift cards to claim a bonus. CTAs like this are promising ways to turn your ad campaigns into rollicking success. To study more examples like this, read our blog on 9 killer social media CTAs.

7. Track Performance

Facebook is rich with tracking tools like Pixel marketing tool and Facebook Ad Manager. In fact, it is one of the few platforms whose tracking is easily available within the platform.

Improvise your campaigns with a keen watch on metrics. Maybe KPIs need to be set right, or new studies are to be made. These groundworks will be fruitful in realizing your goals faster.

“The new algorithm shines a spotlight on two core timing factors. Posting out-of-hours when interaction is naturally low is likely to decrease your reach, while posting during peak hours is likely to elevate the reach of your content, making this an indirect factor of the algorithm. Another ramification of Facebook’s algorithm is that the time spent interacting with your content will mirror prioritisation.”

-Dennis Taylor, Real Business Rescue

8. Embrace Experimentation

Four billion+ videos are viewed each day on Facebook, yet only a handful of businesses use it. If you have not started it yet, then you are losing out on a lot.

The introduction of every Facebook new algorithm is focused on getting you to experiment with most of its new features- be it live, video, stories, events, etc. Experiment with not just the original postings but also with the ad types.

Conclusion

Let’s be honest. We cannot escape the algorithm change.

The only difference is that the successful brands adapt faster, using it to their advantage. Follow the best practices mentioned above to stay ahead of the Facebook algorithm curve.

And if you need a ready-made Facebook marketing strategy to save you time and brainstorming, we have something that you will love. It has got everything you need in one place, be it optimizing on Facebook ads or hitting massive reach with groups.

Download our Facebook Marketing ebook for free now and get ready for stellar marketing.

You got this!