Business.com aims to help business owners make informed decisions to support and grow their companies. We research and recommend products and services suitable for various business types, investing thousands of hours each year in this process.
As a business, we need to generate revenue to sustain our content. We have financial relationships with some companies we cover, earning commissions when readers purchase from our partners or share information about their needs. These relationships do not dictate our advice and recommendations. Our editorial team independently evaluates and recommends products and services based on their research and expertise. Learn more about our process and partners here.
The Survival Guide to the Decline of Facebook’s Organic Reach
Improve visibility and engagement despite Facebook's algorithm changes.
Table of Contents
If your business relies on Facebook for social media marketing, you’ve probably noticed a drastic decline in organic reach over the past several years. In other words, your posts aren’t displaying on your followers’ news feeds as often as they used to. According to Statista, Facebook posts have an average engagement rate of only 0.06 percent, though post type and follower counts affect engagement rates. For example, Locowise found that photo posts get more engagement and that pages with fewer than 10,000 followers have the highest engagement rate at .31 percent.
Editor’s Note: Looking for information on social media management? Fill out the below questionnaire to be connected with vendors that can help.
Unfortunately, if your social media marketing efforts center on Facebook’s organic reach instead of paid advertising options, your sales may be impacted. For marketers, Facebook’s algorithm updates mean it’s time to diversify your marketing strategy and maximize the resources at your disposal. Here’s what you should know.
What do Facebook’s algorithm updates mean?
Recent updates to Facebook’s algorithm could impact your social media marketing efforts. Here are some important changes you should know.
More artificial intelligence
AI is everywhere, and Facebook is no exception. In fact, the platform relies on AI for a variety of purposes, such as rating the “relevancy” of content. “AI and machine learning are running the show,” Rowena Eburne, social media manager at Assisted, said. “Every post gets a ‘relevance score’ based on how valuable the platform thinks it is for a specific user. Posts with higher scores (because they’re informative, engaging or highly relevant) get bumped up in the feed.”
Gilad Bechar, co-founder and CEO of digital marketing agency Moburst, added that Facebook’s AI tools help users to “discover posts, videos and discussions aligned with their interests — even from accounts they don’t follow. This shift mirrors a broader trend across social platforms, where AI-driven content curation is becoming the norm.”
An emphasis on local content
Facebook will now showcase local content (such as posts from Marketplace, Groups and Events) in a tab called Local, according to Meta, This way, more individuals can see what’s going on nearby or connect with people within their community. For local businesses, this offers a tool to reach residents near your location, as the platform will naturally feed your content to locals.
Currently, Meta is testing Local in cities such as Austin, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco and Phoenix
Prioritization of short-form video content
With apps like TikTok finding success with short-form videos, Facebook created their own version, Reels, for the U.S. in 2021 and globally in 2022. Businesses can capitalize on this trend by creating quick and engaging clips.
“To compete with TikTok, Facebook has further prioritized short-form video content, particularly Reels, within its algorithm,” Bechar said. “Videos now receive increased organic reach, encouraging businesses and creators to produce engaging, easily consumable content.”
Community-based content moderation
Social media platforms have been implementing more content moderation in recent years, offering fact-checking and screening tools and filters to ensure a safe environment with factual information. Now, Facebook is adding a community-based moderation tool called Community Notes that will allow community managers to moderate conversations and content within certain groups.
“More recently, Facebook announced plans to expand its approach to content moderation by testing a community-based fact-checking system similar to X’s Community Notes,” Bechar explained. “While third-party fact-checkers are still in place, this new system aims to provide additional context on potentially misleading posts.”
Community Notes was developed to replace third-party fact-checking. On X, if contributors are diverse in their opinions/input, the algorithm will make the note more visible. On the other hand, if there are any signs of bias within the voting, the algorithm will hide it from the public. It’s unclear how this will look on Facebook, but the general idea is that the algorithm will favor more diversely-rated content.
How Facebook’s current algorithm operates
Facebook’s current algorithm ranks content based on four primary criteria:
- Inventory: Facebook’s algorithm is based on what your friends/liked pages post and share.
- Signals: Facebook will use different signals, such as who and when someone posted a story.
- Predictions: The algorithm will determine how likely you are to engage with a given post.
- Score: The platform will develop a “relevancy score” to push out relevant content.
Many people believe this algorithm will bring more content from strangers. As a business, you can capitalize on this exposure.
Facebook aims to prioritize posts from a user’s family and friends. However, it also considers an organization’s engagement level with its followers. For example, if a business continually provides content that fosters interaction – comments and shares – its future posts are considered high quality and will have a better chance of making it into users’ news feeds.
Notably, Facebook allows individual users to help customize their feeds by adjusting the algorithm to their preferences. The following actions will affect what they see:
- Users can “favorite” up to 30 people and pages. When a user designates another user or page as a favorite, their content will appear higher in their feed.
- Users can decide what not to see. Users can hide posts, snooze a user, remove a user from their favorites, or hide ads to “downvote” their content and see less of it.
How to improve your Facebook reach despite organic declines
Marketers can no longer reach thousands of users simply by posting updates on their business’s Facebook page. Today’s Facebook marketing strategy must become more multifaceted and nuanced. Consider the following advice for using Facebook to increase brand awareness and boost user engagement.
1. Use your Facebook page more proactively.
Facebook has experimented with various algorithm changes in the past. For example, for a time, news feed content became tilted toward public content amid video content marketing and viral news trends. To rein in this tendency, Facebook’s algorithm began seeking to push posts from family and friends to the top of users’ News Feeds. This decreased the chances of public content appearing in the feed, which isn’t helpful for businesses trying to reach their audiences. However, when users follow a business’s Facebook page, they will see more of its content.
To use your Facebook page more proactively and boost engagement, consider the following tips:
- Invest in page likes. Advertising that generates page likes is one of the cheapest forms of proactive Facebook marketing. Allocate money to ads specifically for page likes so your content will appear in followers’ feeds.
- Analyze the Facebook content that works. Evaluate your content and rate what catches fire – and what gets ignored. Audit your page’s posts to determine what sparks engagement among users. Focus on creating the same winning content, and experiment with improving these posts.
- Make meaningful Facebook content. Relevant and helpful content always trumps gimmicky material. By creating meaningful posts that drive conversation, Facebook’s algorithm will be inclined to push your content up the News Feed.
- Leverage Facebook Reels. Facebook Reels is a short-form video content platform similar to TikTok. Users tend to enjoy and share video content more than text content. Reels videos allow you to entertain users, start trends, use fun filters and effects, add music and more. Innovative and fun content is sure to get noticed.
- Lean into Facebook Stories. The Facebook Stories feature is an excellent promotional tool. These user-generated photo and video collections give inside glimpses into your operation and are a great way to stir engagement.
2. Don’t use engagement baiting on Facebook.
Have you ever tagged someone after seeing a post with a call to action that says, “Tag a friend who is (insert funny quote here)”? While it may be fun, Facebook is enforcing stricter measures to eliminate these “engagement bait” posts (i.e., posts with the sole purpose of driving up engagement to trick the algorithm). This also includes posts that ask users to comment, share, vote and react.
In place of engagement baiting, consider the following:
- Strategize to create interesting Facebook content. Remember, content is still king. Make your posts significant and interesting enough to drive users to share them organically.
- Focus on your Facebook audience’s needs and wants. Know your brand’s niche market and focus on producing great material for it. People love valuable information they can use. They also love to share content they find entertaining. Strike a balance between the two.
- Post engaging Facebook content at regular intervals. Facebook tracks the time a user spends on a post. If the algorithm senses that a particular post garners longer viewing times, it will likely be higher on the relevance ranking. Engaging content will help you keep users reading until the end.
- Utilize Facebook Messenger. According to Facebook data, when a Facebook user engages in a conversation with a business, they are 53 percent more likely to purchase something from that business. Make your customer support department available via Messenger to handle inquiries and suggest products.
3. Consider a paid ad strategy on Facebook.
Paid advertising on Facebook can help marketers drive growth and engagement. “Businesses should strategically allocate budgets to targeted campaigns, leveraging audience segmentation, retargeting and A/B testing to optimize performance,” Bechar said. “By combining engaging organic content with a smart paid strategy, businesses can maintain strong visibility on Facebook.”
If you want to invest in paid ads, consider the following tips:
- Learn the ropes of Facebook’s advertising system. Check out the Facebook Ads Manager and Power Editor to zero in on the Facebook advertising process. Once you understand how it works, create a robust, thoughtful marketing campaign.
- Ask for help from professionals. If you find Facebook ads too technical or time-consuming, hire a digital marketing expert or third-party service to help.
4. Use Facebook groups to generate engagement.
Groups are like mini-communities within Facebook. They’re created by users who share the same interests. One person can join up to 6,000 groups, making Facebook groups an excellent way to connect with your target audience. If you join a Facebook group relevant to your product or service, share information about your business carefully. Emphasize sharing valuable information instead of blatant promotions. Follow the group’s rules carefully and contribute actively.
You can also create a group centered on your product or service and invite users to join. The group can serve as your customers’ support forum and information resource.
To maximize your Facebook group participation, consider the following tips:
- Set goals for your Facebook group. If you create your own group, decide on a marketing strategy to define its purpose. Will you sell directly to members? Will you share valuable information with existing customers? Will your content entertain or inspire members? Defining these goals will help you create a clear marketing strategy and map out your timeline effectively.
- Stay active on your Facebook group. Once you’ve set up your Facebook group, seek relevant and trending content for your members. Post tutorials, conduct Q&As, gather survey data and more. A variety of content will engage your members and help spread your group’s reach.
- Create a closed Facebook group. Businesses with a high-end or exclusive product or those that want to create a tight-knit brand community often use invitation-only, closed Facebook groups. A closed group allows you to focus on your members and create a sense of exclusivity.
5. Continue to share authentic, engaging content.
It would be counterintuitive to tell you to ignore Facebook’s algorithm. However, don’t pay so much attention to it that you lose your authenticity. “You can still get great results if you focus on creating content that feels real, relevant and encourages actual conversations,” Eburne said. “Facebook wants to show people posts that spark genuine engagement, so ask questions, invite opinions or create something so relatable your audience can’t help but comment.”
If you want to find success through Facebook marketing, focus more on engagement. “Create content that sparks meaningful interactions,” Bechar said. “Measuring engagement is key here; you’ll know if you’re putting out the right content based on how many comments and shares it receives or discussions it inspires since these signals tell the algorithm to boost visibility. Posts that make people stop and think are more likely to be favored by the algorithm.”
6. Use Facebook’s audience insights.
You won’t know where you’re going wrong — or right — if you’re not checking your audience insights. “As a business, the use of social media platforms is meant to drive more traffic to the website, promote more conversions and increase overall brand awareness,” Bechar said. “To ensure a Facebook business profile is achieving those goals, it’s critical to know your key audiences and how they consume content on a daily basis.”
You can utilize Audience Insights to understand details such as peak activity times so you can schedule posts accordingly, Bechar advised. “But also experiment with different time slots to optimize engagement,” he said. “Have a deep understanding of what messages will resonate with your target audience and tailor your content accordingly.”
