EdgeRank is to Facebook what the Google Algorithm is to Google. EdgeRank determines what posts, photos and comments show up higher in your newsfeed than others. The basic components of EdgeRank were affinity, weight and time. The number of LIKE’s did not matter.
That was Past Tense. It seems Facebook’s recent change from the dual stream (Top News & Most Recent) to the combined hybrid stream (with the new ticker) has thrown a wrench into the traditional EdgeRank Machine.
A new study by the site EdgeRank Tracker has found that Pages with a lot of Fans found better engagement across the board with the new newsfeed while Pages with less than 1,000 Fans dropped significantly. Here’s the chart (click on it to read their post)
Wow, that’s a HUGE drop for the under 1,000 LIKE Pages! So it appears size does matter after all. Chances are we’ll never get to the other end of the chart (the >100k) to reap the rewards the larger pages are getting. The important part is this: If you want your Page and it’s posts to be seen in the newsfeed you need to get above the 1,000 mark. Period.
How do you get your Page above that 1,000 LIKE mark? I’ll tell you. Ready?
1. Post regularly to your page content that is share worthy. How often? That’s up for discussion but let’s start with once a day.
2. Post at the time or times that your target audience is most apt to be on Facebook. Every Page has a different audience so there’s no hard fast rule I can lay out there for you.
3. Answer every comment. Every single one. Reply to each one in a real human way. I like to also ask questions.
4. You must, absolutely MUST have a default landing tab for your Page. It’s the first thing a new visitor sees when they come to your Page. If it’s properly built and designed it’s primary function is to convert a visitor to a LIKE. It’s simple, if they do not push that LIKE button it’s a lost opportunity. Chances are they’ll not be coming back. If they do LIKE the page, you’re one more step closer to the 1,000 mark.
5. And of course you’ve changed the links on all your websites to go to your Page and not your Profile right? Same thing with your email signature? Please please don’t suggest to your ‘friends’ that they LIKE your page. Here’s an old post on How to Work your Facebook Page.
To paraphrase Alison Levine, How do you get to 1,000 LIKE’s? One Fan at a time. That’s it.
(Alison has climbed the highest peak on every continent, served as the team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, and skied across the Arctic Circle to the geographic North Pole. When asked how she made it to the top of Everest she’ll tell you the secret – she made it to the top "one step at a time". – see Alison, I told you I’d steal that!)
Oh and yes, I build Custom Facebook Applications for a living.
Mike Mueller
He's an avid hockey fan, rides a mountain bike, sometimes rides a road bike, has a few motorcycles (he had a really fast one, bought a cool orange one, rode a really slow one, and wants a really small one). If that isn't enough, he makes cheese and sourdough bread, loves strong beer and good red wine, and poorly plays the Mandolin.
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