If you type ‘beat the Facebook algorithm’ into Google, you will find hundreds of thousands of articles. They will give you advice on how to either avoid or trick Facebook’s latest algorithm changes and make your social media efforts more successful. That might sound dishonest, but really it’s nothing new. As long as social media algorithms have been around, people have been trying to find ways to beat them and get quick, easy results, rather than working within their rules.
But we’re here to tell you something you probably don’t want to hear – you can’t beat the algorithm. And here’s why.
How Algorithms Work
In a strictly technical sense, the word ‘algorithm’ is a set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations. When it comes to social media, each network and platform has a unique set of technical elements, intricate logic and usage analytics that make up the algorithm that delivers content to its users. Each time the algorithm is changed, the way users are shown and access content changes a little bit too. Traditionally social media algorithms will change regularly, depending on the wants and needs of their user base. There are so many factors involved in creating an algorithm that there is no way you could trick them all, which is why many businesses opt to focus on a few of the bigger features instead.
Ever Changing
One of the main reasons you will never beat the Facebook algorithm is that it’s changing almost every day. Just like Google, Facebook has teams of people, including software engineers, data scientists, content strategists and more, whose job it is to study the algorithm and make tiny tweaks and changes. Thanks to these people, nothing you see on Facebook is an accident. The big changes to the algorithm are widely publicised, while the smaller ones go unnoticed by the general public. Right now we know that Facebook is prioritising meaningful, informative content that generates engagement with the audience – and there’s no real way to fake that, or trick the platform into thinking you’ve done it when you haven’t. You’re better off just investing in creating good quality content and understanding what your customers really want.
The Most Sophisticated Tools On The Market
Facebook’s algorithm is powered by AI, machine learning and powerful software designed to track, learn and adapt to the behaviour of Facebook’s userbase. While we don’t know what the secret formula Facebook uses is (no one by Facebook employees do), but we know from a computer-science perspective that machine-learning algorithms learn by testing and figuring out how people react to those tests. And those are just a handful of the tools they have at their disposal to monitor and maintain their social media empire. These are some of the most sophisticated tools on the market – and they are not going to be tricked, hacked or beaten by anyone. Instead, they will simply reward businesses that work within the rules, and punish those who don’t.
Let’s Talk About Clickbait
Over the past 5 years or so, ‘clickbait’ has become a part of our language, all thanks to networks like Facebook. The term initially came from the phrase ‘bait and switch’, but was edited to fit the internet culture. The idea behind clickbait was simple – create an article or piece of content on whatever you wanted, and then create a snappy, sensational headline that was guaranteed to draw in readers. This headline didn’t have to be related to the content you created – it was just to get people to click. Once they had clicked the user would be taken to the content and realise it was completely different to what they were expecting. The user would usually get frustrated and leave, but at that point the brand had got what they wanted – that all-important click. Facebook would see that click, see it as engaging content, and boost their visibility.
But here’s the thing. Facebook caught onto that trick pretty quickly, and made moves to stamp clickbait out. They made changes to their algorithm that could detect clickbait titles (using factors like withholding information, exaggerating information separately, and many other signals), and punishing the publisher by showing their content less often, even to people who have opted to follow them. So if you try to ‘game’ the algorithm by using clickbait-style tactics, you should know that it just isn’t going to work, and will do your page more harm than good.
Ultimately, Facebook is a social media giant that has invested a lot of time, money and energy into creating some of the most sophisticated tools out there. That means there is no way to beat the system. Instead, your best bet is to learn about what the algorithms are looking for and create a strategy that works with it, instead of trying to avoid it. If you can do that, then the time and resource you put into your social media funnels is much more likely to be successful. And if you aren’t sure where to start with that, just get in touch with the team at Moyralla Marketing today.
