In the coming weeks, Facebook will be rolling out three new updates to their News Feed algorithm. Unfortunately, as with many of their updates as of late, they may negatively affect the reach of your company page.

According to Facebook, these updates aim to improve user experience. The social network wants to provide users with the content that matters most to them on an individual basis.

What Do These Updates Mean?

Update 1: The first update works to help those who may not have a lot of content to see within their News Feed. The network previously had rules in place to prevent users from seeing multiple posts from the same person or page in a row. They are now easing up on that rule so that those who perhaps ran out of content before will have more to view within their News Feed.

Update 2: This update seems likely to have the biggest effect on the News Feed. According to Facebook, those they polled had “worries about missing updates from friends.” The network is aiming to combat this concern with the second update in this series, ensuring that content posted directly by users’ friends is not missed. This change will aim to push content from a user’s friends higher in the News Feed. This content includes status updates, links, photos, and videos.

Facebook says, “this update tries to make the balance of content the right one for each individual person.”

This update is significant in that it is expected to affect the likelihood of company pages to show up prominently in the News Feed of users. With more posts from friends being thrust to the top of the page, updates from company pages stand to fall to the bottom.

Update 3: The last update works to decrease the likelihood that users will see content in their News Feed that friends have commented on or liked. It seems that content is often too far removed from the user to have any relevance to their interests. Facebook says that through this update, these types of stories will be “farther down the [page] or not shown at all.” The network states that this is so users are more likely to see the posts and information they care about, directly from the pages they’ve liked and the friends they have.

This could negatively affect pages because when your “fans” comment on or like your posts, this activity may show up lower in their friends’ News Feed, or not appear at all. This could essentially eliminate the ability for non-fans to see your posts through their friends.

What Can Your Agency Do?

Facebook says these updates will have varying impacts on company pages. The effect of these changes will depend on a company page’s audience composition and posting activity. The network has acknowledged that for some businesses, the referral traffic their websites normally receive from their company pages could decline, as well as the reach of their page posts.

Facebook’s recommendation for businesses closely mirrors what Google typically says after an algorithm update: focus on the user.

“Overall, pages should continue to post things that people find meaningful and consider these best practices for driving referral traffic.”

Every agency is different. The types of posts that engage your agency’s company page audience may be different from another agency. Typically, however, we find these primary best practices ring true for all agencies:

1. Post Regularly and Consistently
   Not only should your agency be frequently posting, but you should do so on a consistent basis. We recommend that you aim to post five times per week, Monday through Friday. Make sure, however, you are ready to keep up that posting frequency on a consistent basis. There is nothing worse than following a company page that posts a lot of great content one week, and is then dead the next week. This will keep your audience coming back for more content.
2. Share a Variety of Content
   Make sure you are providing your company page audience with a mix of content. Create an editorial calendar and outline the types of content you would like to page each day. Change it up between posting links to articles and blog posts, videos, photos, etc.
3. Open a Window into Your Agency
   In our experience, we have found posts that provide your audience with a glimpse inside your agency are great for engagement. Posting pictures from within the office, like wishing a staff member a happy birthday or posting photos of a company charity event, are the types of posts that agencies typically receive more likes, shares, and comments on.

Facebook recommends a plethora of other best practices, some that may work for your agency and some that may not, depending on your size and your audience.

How is your agency continuing to see success on Facebook? Leave us your feedback in the comments!