Keeping up with the Facebook algorithm is challenging for everyone – small-scale creators, digital marketers, and social media managers. With the organic reach being limited to 5.5%, everyone wants to crack the secret code for social media success. 

However, it is easier said than done! With hundreds of recorded Facebook algorithm changes in the past, you can’t know what to expect next. 

In this article, we will discuss in detail the Facebook algorithm and how you can use it to your advantage in 2024.

What is Facebook Algorithm? 

Facebook algorithm is a set of Machine Learning rules and computations that help decide the order in which the content appears in your feed. Based on several factors like user interests and content consumption behavior, your feed is personalized to display content that might be relevant to you. 

Ever since the platform’s inception, the Facebook algorithm has gone through several changes.  

Why is it Important to Understand How the Facebook Algorithm Works? 

There isn’t much to do when you’re posting only for your friends and family – no need to think about the algorithm or how well your content is going to rank. While this carefree approach might sound relaxing, it doesn’t exist for digital marketers or social media managers. 

Running a professional account means that you are keeping a close watch on any social media algorithm changes. Doing so can help you stay a step ahead of competitors and get improved online visibility. 

With the Facebook algorithm changing every year, it is important to adapt your content strategies accordingly. What worked best in 2023 might not yield similar results in 2024 and so on. This change is usually brought on by a gradual change in content consumption behavior from the consumer end. For example, we are witnessing the active switch towards short-form videos. As such, it is imperative to include reels for any new ad campaigns or organic posts.

Additionally, you must also know how the Facebook algorithm works to get free exposure, which can be quite challenging with the organic reach declining so rapidly.

How Does Facebook Algorithm Work in 2024?

All these Facebook new algorithm changes can end up catching your business off guard. 

For example, 2018’s update prioritized content from friends and family accounts, thus making it hard for business pages to scale. Similarly, 2019 favored posts that were likely to receive positive interaction from the user. 

While we can’t say for sure how the algorithm is going to change in upcoming years, we can surely list down the top 4 factors that matter the most. 

Basic Components of the Facebook Algorithm 

Usually, Facebook shows a mixture of different types of content coming from connected people, brands, and groups. The platform uses these basic components to decide what goes on your feed and what doesn’t. 

• Inventory: It is the collection of all content that could be shown to users and comes mostly from friends added, pages liked, and communities joined. Facebook generally prefers posts from individual users and non-promotional pages. 
  
• Signals: Facebook uses several ranking signals to decide whether the content is relevant for you or not. These include: who posted the content, keywords and hashtags, and engagement received on the post. 
  
• AI Predictions: You must have noticed that Facebook shows you content similar to what you’ve liked in the past. This is possible because the platform uses AI predictions on your past likes and sees if the content is relevant to you or not. 
  
• Score: Based on how relevant the post is for you, every piece of content gets a score. Posts with higher scores are shown in your feed at the top. 

How Does Facebook Figure out Which Posts to Show to People? 

Even after knowing the basic components, it is hard to figure out how exactly the latest Facebook algorithm change going to decide your feed content. After all, for every individual, there are thousands of possible ‘candidate posts’ and trillions of actual posts. 

Here are a few factors that help decide what goes on your daily feed: 

• Whether the type of content posted is an image, text, or a link, and how often have you reacted to similar posts before?
• Was the content posted yesterday or a few hours before? With more than 4.75 billion new posts every day, Facebook generally avoids showing anything posted a long while back. 
• Do you usually react to posts from a particular user? If yes, posts from your preferred accounts will make it to the top of the ranking list. 

Facebook’s new algorithm is likely to change a few things, but the main essence behind post ranking always depends on your interest. 

How to Use the Facebook Algorithm to Your Benefit? 

The Facebook algorithm is pretty good at what it does! Usually, the posts that show up on a user’s feed are relevant and not “junk.” However, it is still a machine-learning model that can be trained to perform better. Here are a few ways to do so: 

Pick content ideas that your audience might be interested in

First and foremost, the most crucial part of your social media strategy is content ideas. If your content isn’t appealing to the target audience, you need to change that ASAP. Opt for the latest trends and content formats that will catch the attention of people and bring more traffic to your Facebook page. 

Here are a few Facebook post ideas that are likely to maximize engagement. 

Post when your audience is most active 

The Facebook algorithm undoubtedly prioritizes the latest content over the old one. If you’re posting when your audience is majorly inactive, you lose out on the initial engagement. For example, if the majority of your followers are from the West, it makes no sense to post in the IST time zone. 

Finding the best time to post on Facebook will also help you get a competitive advantage and enhance your page’s organic reach. 

Vaizle offers a free best time to post on a Facebook tool that helps you get the required results instantly. All you have to do is sign up with your Facebook account, select the page to analyze, and voila! The tool will now show you optimal posting hours for the next 3 days. 

Stay consistent 

Posting every once in a while and then disappearing from your followers’ feeds can negatively impact your page’s organic performance. Facebook algorithm is suited to reward those who post consistently. 

However, it is easier said than done because finding new ideas daily can be a hectic task. As such, one should always work with a content calendar and start planning for the upcoming days. Also, it is better to keep a close eye on competitors’ pages to see what they are doing and derive inspiration from the same. 

Create a community of like-minded people 

Facebook allows you to create Groups where like-minded people can join and post content. Forming a community or a group related to your page can help increase brand awareness and bring more engagement. Additionally, a community can also have a positive impact on word-of-mouth marketing and even offer you real feedback regarding the products or services. With 88% of consumers still preferring word-of-mouth recommendations over sponsored content, a Facebook group can undoubtedly help boost ROI.