Facebook is constantly changing its algorithms, which affects both what individuals see in their feeds and the opportunities for business owners (and bloggers) to reach out. The latest news is that Facebook is testing something they call "Explore feed". If this is launched globally, it could kill all organic reach, according to an article in Dagens Analys.
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What do you see in your feed?
What determines what you see in your Facebook feed? Well, it's determined by Facebook's algorithms and is related to who you're friends with, which pages you've decided to like, which posts you've clicked "like" on in the past and which companies have chosen to pay for you to see them.
Exactly very few people know what this algorithm looks like. What entrepreneurs (and bloggers) have noticed in recent years is that it has become more and more difficult to appear in people's feeds.
For example
Let's take an example! We have over 2000 followers on our Facebook page. When we share a post there, it automatically reaches about 2-6 per cent of those followers. If a large proportion of these followers like, comment and share within a short time - then the post will reach many more. Otherwise, it stops. But aren't there other ways? Well, you can pay.
Facebook is a company
Facebook is a company and wants to make money, which is understandable. Why should they offer companies free advertising? However, what I find tricky is that some followers and friends seem to think that they should get all the updates from our blog via Facebook because they actually made an active choice to "follow" the blog.
A friend said the other day that "I always read when you share on Facebook, but you don't do that very often, do you?". Well ... yes, but it's only once in a while that we can afford to sponsor a post so that we reach all those who have chosen to follow us.
What does this mean for you as a Facebook user?
First and foremost, this means that you should be aware that your feed is governed by a complicated algorithm and that it is by no means certain that you will receive updates from a page just because you have clicked to follow it.
For myself, I noticed a while ago that I was getting a lot of advertising from travel agencies in my feed (because I liked their beautiful pictures) and an awful lot of "wise quotes" from acquaintances I barely know (no, I don't really know what Facebook's algorithms were thinking there...).
Time to take matters into my own hands! I went to lots of travel agents' Facebook pages and kept "liking" the pages but stopped "following" them. Then I went to the quote friends' pages and continued to be a friend, but clicked "unfollow", and finally I went to my favourite pages and clicked "show first". Now I'm much happier with my feed!
What does 'Explore feed' mean?
As part of a new test in six countries, Facebook has removed the all content from publishers and companies in people's regular feed and instead put it in a separate, more difficult to access feed that they call "Explore feed".
For individuals, this means that they will only see content from family and friends in their regular feed, and will have to click elsewhere to see posts from newspapers, blogs, associations, political parties, restaurants, schools and shops - even if they have made an active choice to follow them.
Now, it turns out that Facebook has been criticised so much for this latest move that they are backing off a bit, saying that this is just a test to see what users think and that they have no plans to spread it - yet.
What do you think?
Is it entirely reasonable for entrepreneurs and publishers to pay for those who have chosen to follow them to see their posts? Would it be nice to have a feed where you only see posts from family and friends? Or maybe you don't care about Facebook at all?
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Across the board says:
I would like it to be "like the old days" when I could see my family and friends' posts, in chronological order. Today I go in via the computer and see a lot. I check the feed and next time I might go in via my phone. Then something completely different comes up - there may be old posts from a friend, made yesterday. I suspect that FB has deliberately done this so that I will be in often and take part in advertising and proposed ads. Sometimes I think I should close my FB account, but at the same time there are some old school friends from primary school I have sporadic contact with and I want to keep that contact. I guess you just have to bite the bullet and enjoy the situation ......
25 October 2017 - 7:06
Helena says:
Yes, I recognise that there is new content every time. And there is probably a lot of thought behind it! If nothing else, it may entice you to visit more often ... I can also get a bit annoyed with FB sometimes, but still I can't imagine cancelling my account there. After all, there is too much happening on FB ... (And there are a lot of good groups - which I really like!).
25 October 2017 - 20:09
Tia says:
It is not easy with FB, because as soon as you make a change, there is an update and suddenly your settings no longer apply? Some companies you want to have in your feed? and others only sometimes. Have even had to stop liking some because it did not help to stop following for some reason, maybe a friend who liked extra or the company paid for it what do I know ...? ??
25 October 2017 - 7:08
Helena says:
That's how I think too. Some companies I WANT to have in my feed, such as some travel magazines, some blogs, maybe a restaurant I want to stay updated on, some friends' companies, etc... but I don't want the entire feed to be filled with just companies!
25 October 2017 - 20:11
åsa in åsele says:
I don't have Facebook 😉 so I don't have an opinion 🙂 or well... that's why I don't have fb, I didn't like the layout.
But even Instagram has become different now compared to when I joined.
25 October 2017 - 7:30
Helena says:
The flow on Insta was probably changed in a similar way as they were done on FB, I think. I myself want FB after all, even if I can be annoyed by some things and even if I can understand why you choose not to join 😉.
25 October 2017 - 20:12
Lena in Wales says:
This is tricky. Having trouble understanding Fb and am glad you are trying to explain it, even if I don't connect everything.
I've also noticed that old things come up instead of newer ones, I'd like to have it in order, maybe a little Swedish, orderly.
But is there really anything else that reaches so many people?
Difficult!
25 October 2017 - 7:37
Helena says:
Surely it is difficult to understand FB! Don't know if it can be understood properly ... 😉 And no, there is no time order anymore ... rather some kind of "popularity order" ...
25 October 2017 - 20:14
Liniz Travel says:
So I notice very clearly if I look at children's clothing or make-up, for example, there is a plethora of advertising about
That?! Scary!!!
25 October 2017 - 9:25
Helena says:
I recognise that!!!
25 October 2017 - 20:51
Mr Frank Olsen says:
Facebook is a business that needs to make money, yes, of course.
Thus, they decide what is most appropriate for them to appear in the individual's flow, or flöde in Swedish 🙂 .
I myself stopped using Facebook as early as 2010, after three years of use, when I realised what was happening and that I did not accept Facebook's requirements and guidelines and ownership of my own material.
25 October 2017 - 9:54
Helena says:
I can fully understand your decision Frank. It's tricky that they have such enormous power. I personally find it hard not to be there because like "everything and everyone" is there ...
25 October 2017 - 20:53
Marina says:
Well, I don't really know. I joined when we were moving and the real reason was to have contact with "my Swedish world". I definitely used fb more in Singapore compared to now, and I think it has "gone off the rails" and is filled with various strange shared posts, but I'm still too curious to stop using it completely...;)
25 October 2017 - 14:53
Helena says:
I recognise myself a bit in what you write. I started using FB when I noticed that friends were deciding things together ... which I missed. Now I can be annoyed by some things, but I don't want to leave... And some things I really like - groups for example!
25 October 2017 - 21:10
Alexandra says:
Since I am self-employed just like you and basically only market myself via social media, I am of course a bit conflicted about this.
If that explore feed were to become a reality on all of FB, it would NOT be there, because who would go in there and check? But at the same time, I understand that if you have FB only to talk and keep in touch with old friends and the like, you do not want advertising and the like.
But I love social media and how companies (among others) can use it - it feels modern and contemporary! Although some things spread more easily than they should unfortunately.
25 October 2017 - 16:19
Helena says:
I recognise myself in what you write! We are both private individuals on FB, while we want to reach out with our blog ... and it has definitely become more difficult. At the same time, I can understand this development. As a blogger/entrepreneur, I think it is important not to rely entirely on social media, but to place great emphasis on your own website and on search engine optimisation.
25 October 2017 - 21:12
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
I have stubbornly refused to get a FB account and when I occasionally look at my partner's, I feel it's the right thing to do. In a few years it has changed incredibly and it doesn't feel like it would be for the better...
25 October 2017 - 16:55
Helena says:
I think FB is both good and bad. What I really appreciate on FB is that you can join different groups around your interest, I am e.g. in motorhome groups, travel groups and blog groups. There you can get lots of tips and pep and it's good! But certainly I can understand that you choose to stand outside as well. FB tends to take a lot of time if nothing else and you scroll through a lot that you may not be so interested in ...
25 October 2017 - 21:14
Ditte says:
Interesting reading and some of this I had read about before. But I don't have a "face book" so I don't get involved. However, I clearly realise the problems and opportunities. I feel no need to be involved.
25 October 2017 - 19:01
Helena says:
You can spend your time on other nice and important things 🙂 .
25 October 2017 - 21:15
Matts Torebring says:
As an entrepreneur, I am familiar with many of the elements you describe. Personally, I've been there from time to time and then got bored. I can't take in all the pictures of what everyone eats for breakfast, which pizza for lunch, the drink being consumed and so on. I don't think this is something to post.
A lady from Stockholm told me today. "At my home there is a basket for mobile phones. They can put their mobile phones there. My guests should socialise and not surf when they are with me".
25 October 2017 - 20:02
Helena says:
I can understand exactly what you mean. Since I also can't stand seeing breakfast pictures/cat pictures/children pictures/quotes (yes, sometimes - but not a lot), I unfollowed some accounts. But of course it also requires time and energy to choose which ones to follow and which ones not to follow... 😉 And haha, the Stockholm lady had a point! 😉
25 October 2017 - 21:17
Alexandra says:
At the risk of sounding rude, but honestly, if someone asked me to put my phone in a basket when I got to their house, I would probably go home. I am an adult human being who decides for myself when I want my phone or not. I've never been to a gathering where everyone has their nose in their phone and no one socialises with each other. If that is the case, it must be a gathering that is obviously incredibly boring. I guess it's a generational issue.
25 October 2017 - 22:14
Helena says:
I guess it's a generational issue. Maybe the lady had a younger relative who was unpleasant? I also don't want someone else to control my phone ... 😉 .
26 October 2017 - 6:18
BP says:
I am sooooo glad that I dared to refuse Facebook from the beginning. Oh no, I'm certainly not a backward-looking person, on the contrary, but I don't like to be "alive", so to speak....
25 October 2017 - 21:48
Helena says:
I don't regret joining and I don't want to leave, even though I grumble about various things 😉 But it's tricky that they have such power in the market ... And I'm glad you're happy with your choice 🙂 ...
26 October 2017 - 6:19
Anette says:
I do not care so much. I use FB mostly to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances back home in Sweden.
26 October 2017 - 3:29
Helena says:
I can understand that FB is great for keeping in touch when living abroad!
26 October 2017 - 6:35
Lena - good for the soul says:
But what a shame! If you have actively chosen to follow someone like that, you want to easily see the flow! Otherwise it is just to stop following, as you have done!
Hug Lena
26 October 2017 - 6:17
Helena says:
It's not entirely easy with FB, although there are many advantages ...
26 October 2017 - 6:36
Lindansarmama says:
I didn't realise that not all followers see everything that's posted, that's the point of following, that you want to see those things.... And I want the chronological order back, that you can at least choose it. What I think is good about FB is that you can get so much in the same feed, one of the reasons I'm on it, I don't want an extra feed, where you will almost never look. Have it mostly for friends / acquaintances but where I am now it is unfortunately difficult to access it, and it is now that I really want to be able to keep in touch (not FB's fault though).
26 October 2017 - 16:02