Facebook

Facebook and its algorithm is a hot topic for marketers social media, business owners, journalists, the public, and world leaders — mainly for anyone who uses Facebook to consumed or distribute content.

Whether you love it or hate it, the simple truth is that Facebook is among thesocial networks most used social networks at the moment. Here, we explain everything you need to know about the algorithm that Facebook uses to rank content and shape the feeds of its 2.93 billion users.

What is Facebook's algorithm?

Facebook has an algorithm and it is a group of rules that rank content across the platform. The algorithm determines what people see every time they check the platform and in what order that content appears. Facebook calls this “ranking of personalized“.

At its core, the algorithm evaluates every post, ad, story, and reel. It assesses the content and then ranks it in descending order of interest for each individual user. This process happens every time a user refreshes their feed.

According to Facebook, the social network uses algorithms to "organize all the content you might see on [Feed, Search, Marketplace, Groups, and Watch] in order to show you things we think you might be most personally interested in."

Facebook algorithm changes for 2024

Now that we understand what Facebook does through its algorithm, let's dive into how it's changing in 2024. As mentioned earlier, the algorithm is constantly evolving and being updated to ensure a better user experience.

The key thing to know is that Facebook has integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into its algorithm. With its advanced machine learning capabilities, AI helps personalize content for users by analyzing their behavior and preferences on the platform.

Here are some of the changes you can expect from Facebook in 2024:

1. More focus on meaningful interactions

Facebook has made it clear that it wants to prioritize posts that spark conversations and generate meaningful interactions between users. Posts that don't receive engagement may see a decrease in reach.

2. Calculating Facebook importance scores

Facebook, through its algorithm, calculates a relevance score for each post and uses it to rank content in users' feeds. Factors that influence this score include the type of content, user interactions with similar posts, and how much time a user spends viewing posts in the same category.

3. Facebook's estimated time spent on a post

Facebook, through artificial intelligence, helps predict how much time a user is likely to spend viewing a post. This prediction is based on signals such as previous interactions with similar posts and the type of content in the post.

4. Opportunity for engagement

Facebook also predicts the likelihood that a user will engage with a Page or view additional comments on a post. Factors that influence this prediction include past interactions with Pages, time spent on similar posts, and activity on the Page.

5. Balanced mix of content types

The algorithm is designed by Facebook to show users a variety of post types, such as videos, photos, links, and text posts. This ensures that users don’t see multiple posts of the same type in a row.

6. Proper posting

Factors such as the number of shares and reactions determine whether a post is considered "valuable" by users. This includes how many reactions the post has received relative to the number of views, how many times the post has been shared, and how many pages a user has hidden.

7. Transparency and control for users

Facebook is working to provide more transparency and control for its users. This includes features like the "See More, See Less" tool, which allows users to customize their feed, and the option to switch to a chronological feed if they prefer. Users can also create a "Favorites" list to ensure they always see content from their favorite accounts.

Meta has also released more information on how the Instagram and Facebook algorithms work in Feed, Stories, Reels, and more, in the form of "system cards." Check out the full list of 22 system cards for more details.

How does Facebook work with the algorithm?

Meta has an entire team of people working on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Part of their work involves improving the algorithms that connect Facebook users with the most relevant content for them.

Over the years, the ranking signals of the algorithm have been added and removed. Their importance has been adjusted.

As of 2024, Facebook, through its algorithm, determines which content is most important for a particular user based on four key ranking signals:

Who posted it: There is a higher chance of seeing content from accounts you interact with, including friends and businesses.
Content type: If you interact more with videos, you will see more videos. If you engage with photos, you will see more photos.
How likely are you to engage with the post: If the algorithm thinks you're likely to comment, like, or share a post, it is more likely to display it in your feed.
How interested other people will be in this post: If Facebook determines that a post is likely to generate interactions between users, such as comments, shares, and replies, it will be ranked higher.

2024 Facebook Feed Algorithm

The Facebook News Feed algorithm mainly (but not exclusively) contains relevant content from people, brands, and Groups you are already connected to. Facebook explains that this algorithm uses four steps to determine the order of the content users see in their feed:

1. Inventory: All available content from people, pages, and groups you’re connected with, along with relevant ads and recommended content based on your activity on Facebook.

2. Signals: These are the ranking signals discussed above.

3. Forecasts: The algorithm aggregates data from the ranking factors to make personalized predictions about the content you will value the most.

4. Importance: Each piece of content receives a relevance score, with posts that have the highest scores appearing first in your feed.
Facebook also provides users with options that help them train the algorithm and customize their feed:

Finally, there are certain specific words to avoid when working with Facebook's algorithms:

• Threatening or violent language
• Harassing language, especially that which is sexist, homophobic, racist, etc.
• Words associated with harmful stereotypes
• Insult
• Any other language that violates community standards

2024 Reels Algorithm from Facebook

The Facebook Reels algorithm follows the same ranking system as the Feed described above. As outlined by Meta, these are:

• Inventory
• 2. Signals:
• 3. Forecasts:
• 4. Importance:

These signals can further be broken down into more distinguishable actions. Here’s how they break down:

• Viewing time: The percentage of a Reel that is predicted to be watched, as well as how many times the same Reel has been viewed by others for less than three seconds.
• Interest: The topics you typically engage with, as well as the accounts and hashtags you follow. The more a Reel fits into one of these categories, the higher it will be ranked for you.
• Time spent: How much time people spend watching Reels when they appear in their feed. More time suggests higher-quality content, which will be ranked higher.
• Goal: How people interact with Reels when they see them for the first time. If someone taps to view a Reel in full screen or clicks on the author's profile, this signals high intent, and the algorithm ranks the content accordingly.
• Engagement: Finally, the algorithm ranks how many times a Reel has been viewed by others, how many individuals have clicked on the Reel to view it in full screen, and more.

Beyond these signals, there are some important best practices to help make your Reels more visible (or ranked higher by the algorithm). The key principle is creating high-quality content. What exactly does this mean?

Here are the specific recommendations:

• Be fun and engaging
• Start a trend
• Use built-in tools like text, filters, or other effects
• Stick to vertical video
• Add music
• Experiment with different approaches
• Use good lighting and camera to create a video that is visually pleasing.

And here's what you should avoid:

• Blurry or low-resolution video
• Videos with watermarks from other apps (e.g. TikTok)
• Horizontal video

9 tips for working with the Facebook algorithm

Now that we’ve discussed the specifics of the two important Facebook algorithms, let’s take a look at some tips for successfully navigating them.

1. Understand what your audience wants to see

Facebook tells you that it prioritizes content that is meaningful and informative. So, what does this exactly mean?

• Meaning: Content that a user will want to discuss with friends and family or spend time reading (based on past behavior), and videos they are interested in watching. Overall engagement also plays a role here.
• Important: Content is prioritized based on who you engage with the most, what type of content you generally like, and how much interaction it has received from other users.
• Informative: Content that someone will find new, interesting, and informative, which will vary depending on the user.

Understanding what will be meaningful, relevant, and informative for your specific audience means you need to understand their unique interests and behaviors. Audience research can help you uncover these traits.

2. Create accurate and authentic content

Facebook says, "People on Facebook value accurate and authentic content." They also specify that the types of posts people "consider to be true" will be ranked higher in the algorithm. Meanwhile, they are working to lower the ranking of posts that people consider "misleading, sensational, and unwanted."

Here are some tips to signal to the algorithm that your content is accurate and authentic:

Write clear titles: Make sure your title clearly describes what users will find in your post. Of course, you can get creative with your post titles, but avoid using clickbait or misleading titles.

Be honest: Simply put, tell the truth. Don’t be sensational, exaggerate, or completely lie.

On the other hand, here are some things to avoid:

 

• Content that jeopardizes community safety, such as violence, self-harm, or the use of regulated products.
• Avoid low-quality health or financial claims, such as miracle cures or get-rich-quick schemes.
• Avoid non-original content or uncredited news content.
• False claims and misinformation
• Words in Facebook's algorithm to avoid, such as racist, homophobic, or violent language.

3. Don't try to manipulate the algorithm

But wait, isn’t this post all about manipulating the algorithm? No, this post is about understanding how the algorithm works, so you can learn what Facebook considers valuable for its users.

It’s up to you to understand how these general principles apply to your specific audience. Then, create content that will resonate with them and send positive ranking signals to the algorithm.

Trying to manipulate the algorithm to get more reach than your content deserves is a big NO. This could include paying for engagement or comments, or using other strategies to manipulate reach.

Facebook is specifically working to limit the distribution of deceptive pages. So, attempting to manipulate the algorithm with these strategies will only work against you. Buying likes can also reduce your reach.

The new feed preference controls give users more power to report, block, and hide content they deem irrelevant. Even if Facebook moderators don’t catch you cheating, your audience is likely to do so.

Simple message here: Work with the algorithm, not against it.

4. Engage with your audience

The algorithm Facebook uses prioritizes posts from pages with which a user has had meaningful interactions in the past. This means you should engage with comment replies.

If someone takes the time to comment on your post, don’t miss the opportunity. By making them feel heard with a reply, they’re more likely to continue commenting on your posts in the future. This naturally sends more of those engagement signals to the algorithm. Ignore them, and they’re likely to go silent in return.

5. Get your audience engaged with each other

Remember how we said that the algorithm values content that people want to share and discuss with their friends? Well, one fairly simple way to send that signal is to make people share your content and discuss it with their friends.

Facebook itself says that if a post generates a lot of conversations between a user’s friends, the algorithm applies the “action hit logic” to show that post to the user again.

To get your audience sharing and discussing, check out our tips for increasing engagement on Facebook.

6. Post at the right time

The algorithms on Facebook help people see your content even if they weren’t online when it was first posted. However, as we've emphasized throughout this post, engagement is a key signal that indicates the potential value of a post. And you’re much more likely to receive that engagement—especially early, critical engagement—if you post when more of your audience is online.

Simply put, posting at the right time maximizes the chances that people will see your post—including those who aren’t online at the moment you publish it!

This is such an important topic that we have an entire post dedicated to understanding the best time to post on Facebook.

7. Don't forget the basic status post

When you're trying to boost your engagement numbers, it can be tempting to look for complex hacks to outsmart the Facebook algorithm. But don’t overlook the humble status post—a simple update with no photos, videos, or links.

We’re not saying you should build an entire Facebook page around status posts. But they can be an effective way to share simple information and achieve some of the highest engagement results.

8. Collaborate with influencers

Just as your employees can help expand your reach, so can influencers. Partner with influencers who have a large and engaged following—this signals to the Facebook algorithm that your content is valuable.

Before partnering with an influencer, do your research to ensure they align with your brand and have an engaged audience. This will help ensure that their posts about your brand feel authentic.

9. Monitor analytics and insights

The best way to understand the Facebook algorithm is to track and measure your performance. By monitoring your analytics and insights, you can identify trends and patterns in engagement specific to your page.

You can use this data to adjust and optimize your content strategy, helping you better connect with what resonates most with your audience.

Frequently asked questions about the Facebook algorithm

What is Facebook's algorithm?

The Facebook algorithm is a set of ranking signals powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. It determines which content is most likely to engage users and delivers a personalized feed tailored to each individual.

How do you beat Facebook's algorithm?

There’s no way to "beat" the Facebook algorithm. You’ll be penalized or even have your account deactivated if you try to trick the algorithm. However, there are many strategies you can use to send strong ranking signals to the algorithm.

The most important strategy is to create high-quality content that attracts your specific audience, while staying engaged with your page’s followers and fans.

How can I grow my algorithm on Facebook?

Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your audience. Encourage interaction and conversation with your followers, and collaborate with influencers to expand your reach.

Additionally, regularly monitoring your analytics and adjusting your content strategy accordingly can help improve your Facebook algorithm. Don’t try to game the system with hacks, as these tactics will ultimately harm your reach and engagement.

How can I reset my Facebook algorithm?

You can’t fully reset your Facebook algorithm, but there are steps you can take to make an immediate change to the content you see as a user. This should be followed by a continuous maintenance strategy to better train the algorithm over time.