Facebook has once again changed the algorithm that determines what kind of company posts appear in users’ news feeds — and where they’ll appear. Companies will want to know these details.
First of all, take a deep breath, the news isn’t all that bad. Your posts will not get penalized (i.e., bumped lower in users’ news feeds), as long as you’re posting them the way Facebook would like you to.
The big new no-no
What Facebook doesn’t want businesses to do is share content via a “text status” update with an embedded link to the content being shared. These kinds of status updates look like this:
Notice the link embedded at the end of this update. Facebook doesn’t want to see that.
Here’s why: Facebook has determined that text status updates like these spark more Facebook activity when they’re created by individuals — not businesses. As a result, they’re penalizing business posts like this.
What companies need to do now
Facebook wants businesses to post “link-share” status updates instead, which look like this:
Notice the photo and all that lovely metadata. This is the kind of post that will continue to be featured prominently in your customers’ news feeds.
How do you create a link-share post like this? All you have to do is add the link — not embed the link — to the content in the status update box and, viola, the metadata will populate all by itself.
