Get the "Edge" On Facebook - Grow Your Facebook Fanbase Virally!
EdgeRank is the algorithm Facebook uses to determine what appears in their users' news feeds.
It makes a judgment as to which connections are the most important to you and therefore what content appears most frequently and higher in your feed.
For anyone seeking to market a product or service on Facebook it's essential you understand how this algorithm works.
3 things you need to know about EdgeRank
Affinity is one directional.
You may notice after stalking your ex that they suddenly start appearing in your top feed.
This is because you have increased you affinity with that user but this doesn't mean that your stories will start appearing on their news feed (unless they have been doing the same of course!) Weight How much edge weight the post has.
Facebook rewards engagement - Edges that carry the most weight are photos, videos and links.
The weight of each of these will depend on the users habits - some like browsing photos some prefer links.
Recency This element is simple - The older the post is the lower the EdgeRank score.
So, what can you do to increase your EdgeRank? Plan to increase affinity with as many of your fans as possible - ask engaging questions, ask for contributions, run polls.
The higher the affinity you have with your fans the more likely your post will appear in their top news feed.
When they comment on your post this gives it even more edge and the whole object will appear in their friends top news feed provided they have a good affinity.
Photos, videos and links have a higher weight so ensure that you are using a combination of these within your communication plan.
Explore when you get most interactions on your posts and schedule your updates around these times.
This will give your posts more recency and in turn there will be more interaction delivering a higher EdgeRank to your posts So just because someone 'likes' a page it doesn't mean that you have more reach.
What's important is that you are engaging your audience so you have a higher EdgeRank so your updates appear in your fans top news feeds.
It makes a judgment as to which connections are the most important to you and therefore what content appears most frequently and higher in your feed.
For anyone seeking to market a product or service on Facebook it's essential you understand how this algorithm works.
3 things you need to know about EdgeRank
- 95% of users use 'top news feed' so if you can crack EdgeRank you win, if you can't, you lose.
- Every interaction on Facebook is known as an 'Edge' (a 'like' is an 'Edge', a comment is an 'Edge') so the news feed isn't a news feed it's a depiction of the most important 'Edges' which are determined by the EdgeRank algorithm.
- EdgeRank is based on three elements affinity, edge weight and recency
Affinity is one directional.
You may notice after stalking your ex that they suddenly start appearing in your top feed.
This is because you have increased you affinity with that user but this doesn't mean that your stories will start appearing on their news feed (unless they have been doing the same of course!) Weight How much edge weight the post has.
Facebook rewards engagement - Edges that carry the most weight are photos, videos and links.
The weight of each of these will depend on the users habits - some like browsing photos some prefer links.
Recency This element is simple - The older the post is the lower the EdgeRank score.
So, what can you do to increase your EdgeRank? Plan to increase affinity with as many of your fans as possible - ask engaging questions, ask for contributions, run polls.
The higher the affinity you have with your fans the more likely your post will appear in their top news feed.
When they comment on your post this gives it even more edge and the whole object will appear in their friends top news feed provided they have a good affinity.
Photos, videos and links have a higher weight so ensure that you are using a combination of these within your communication plan.
Explore when you get most interactions on your posts and schedule your updates around these times.
This will give your posts more recency and in turn there will be more interaction delivering a higher EdgeRank to your posts So just because someone 'likes' a page it doesn't mean that you have more reach.
What's important is that you are engaging your audience so you have a higher EdgeRank so your updates appear in your fans top news feeds.
