Why Facebook’s “Engaging Content” Claim is Bogus

Facebook claims that the secret to success with the current algorithm comes down to engaging content.

But when you give Facebook what it wants and it still doesn’t earn you the Reach you deserve, what are you supposed to think?

Why Facebook’s “Engaging Content” Claim is Bogus

Here are a couple examples of what I mean.

A Facebook post with 47 Reactions, almost 1,200 Clicks, and 26 Shares deserves a Reach number far higher than 294.

A Facebook post with 21 Reactions, 181 engagements and 12 Shares deserves greater Reach than 422.

Note: Facebook does seem to be treating “viral” content differently, which seems to directly go against its suggestion of presenting users with the content that cause them to react. If users enjoy funny cat videos, why purposely hold back the natural, organic Reach of those posts? You are giving them what they want to see.

Now that we’ve covered what’s not working – despite what Facebook recommends – let’s talk about what is currently working organically on Facebook.

Because – yes – there are post types that still earn organic Reach!

4 Facebook Post Types that Still Work

• Photo posts. Single and multi. The key here is that the photos are at least decent or better quality (clear, good lighting, semi-interesting) and tell a story or share some insight into a business. Are you showing a before and after? Perhaps an upcoming display that’s in the works? Or maybe behind the scenes peeks into your business?
• Personal posts. No, you don’t have to be vulnerable on Facebook, but a good example of this was a retail client of mine sharing a photo and warm welcome message to a new manager hired to run one of their stores. That simple post garnered 1,330 organic Reach, 83 Engagements, 34 Reactions, and 3 comments.
• Promotional posts. What, what? I thought we weren’t supposed to post content that sells?! Well, I’m here to tell you that if your Page Likes are genuinely interested in what you sell, they’ll look forward to those promotional posts. If you’re a retailer, they are wanting to see new Halloween or fall products. If you are a real estate agent, your new listing posts might blow all the other types of posts out of the water.
• Native video posts. I will be the first to admit that we aren’t still seeing the same level of elevated Reach from Facebook Live and natively uploaded videos that we used to. However, video posts on Facebook still organically fair better than other types of posts. Plus, videos can be reused in so many ways that it’s definitely worth it to record them.

The lesson here: Ignore what Facebook says and watch your Page’s Insights. You and only you know what content your Fans actually want to see.