I've recently been expanding my network and trying to boost engagement on Facebook. And I’ve noticed a few things about how other successful people are building their responsive networks on Facebook for business.
I've also made notes on why I think some of my new Friend's posts appear in my feed more than others.
So my purpose here is to share my experience and thoughts on how to get your stuff seen by more folk on Facebook.
I've not researched any other articles or sources for this post. However I do reference a post of my own from last year. The conclusions I draw are based purely on what I've observed.
The Old Facebook EdgeRank and the Updated Facebook News Feed Algorithm
Last year I wrote a blog post entitled "Facebook EdgeRank Changes and the Facebook News Feed Algorithm".
I talked about the basic Facebook EdgeRank formula for delivering users a more personalised news feed.
I then discussed how Facebook had been improving this much more in order to fine tune your Facebook experience to make it as relevant to you as possible in real time.
It would be well worth giving it a quick read again before continuing, in order to get a background understanding of how Facebook presents your network's posts to you, and more importantly how your posts will be presented to your network on Facebook.
What is Your Network on Facebook?
Firstly, to clarify what your network on Facebook actually is.
This is all your Friends and Followers of course, but also includes the Groups you have joined.
Furthermore your network on Facebook also includes your interactions (Likes, Comments, Shares, Messages, Chats, etc.) you've had outside of your Friends and Groups.
Which Strangers to Make Friends With
If you use Facebook for lots of personal stuff with your real life friends and family, you may want to open another Facebook account for your business stuff.
Completely fill out your profile. Be sure to use a profile picture of yourself smiling. Post useful, relevant and engaging stuff for a few weeks. Remember, those to whom you send Friend requests will be checking your Facebook page out.
Be genuine, honest, open and friendly. You'll be making some really useful contacts who'll be sharing some valuable stuff of their own with you. Don't go into this with selling uppermost in your mind. Understand that your new Friends have got to Know, Like and Trust you before they'll act on your recommendations.
Having said that, if you're going to be promoting business opportunity affiliate offers or team building your network marketing opportunity, you should now send Friend requests to internet and/or network marketing gurus or affiliate marketing gurus on Facebook. Then send Friend requests to some of their Friends. Be fairly picky and don't go berserk!
Join some marketing Groups. Smaller Facebook Groups with some decent interaction going on are best, without reams of ads being posted every minute! Then as before, send Friend requests to the Group members. But don't go crazy. No more than 20 Friend requests per session. And perhaps a maximum of 2-3 sessions per day.
'Friend' people with similar interests, who have actual photos of themselves, who have plenty of Friends (say 150-200+) and a healthy Timeline which isn't just business or MLM offers.
As your list of Friends grows and you find more sources of potential Friends, you can focus more on those with whom you have more mutual friends. You can also then revisit your Groups and original guru Friend lists and discover more people who have mutual friends.
As you check out new people who look like they're business minded like you, scroll down their timelines to see if they have posts where they ask people to request info in the Comments. You can then check through these folk who are asking for the information, to see if you have mutual friends and interests. Then send them Friend requests.
How To Get Your Posts to the Top of Your Friend's and Follower's News Feeds
I've added a lot of new Facebook Friends recently. However, some I see a lot more of than others in my News Feed.
I've been seeing posts high up in my Facebook News Feed from those with whom I've had recent PM conversations. So I firmly believe that PMs are heavily factored into the News Feed Algorithm.
Therefore to get your posts seen in your new friend's News Feed, using PM's to start a friendly conversation say hello, how are you, what are you into, etc. will likely be effective. This is a nice and friendly thing to do as well, and you're more likely to be remembered and favoured with Likes, Comments etc. from them in future.
The Facebook News Feed Algorithm continually tracks your last 50 interactions. So rotating through and engaging with as many of your Friends as possible on a consistent basis is a solid strategy to get your stuff appearing more often and higher up on their News Feeds.
Once you gain momentum with this, your posts will naturally begin to boost engagement on Facebook. This means that they will automatically appear in more and more of your Friend's News Feeds, thus in turn getting more Likes and Comments, and so on.
The No.1 Way to Boost Engagement on Facebook
There is a special new facility on Facebook which will reach the maximum number of your Friends and Followers, and will also be more likely to draw maximum interaction from your network on Facebook.
This in turn will extend your reach outside your Facebook Network into the global community of like-minded Facebook users.
I'm talking about "Facebook Live"...
"A fun, powerful way to connect with your followers and create new ones along the way."
You can find out more here: https://live.fb.com
If you can talk to your phone about the stuff that matters to you and that will somehow give value to others, then be brave and take the plunge.
What Does Facebook NOT Want You To Do... (Which Kills Your Reach)
This is a core concept to grasp which will improve the reach of your posts on Facebook. What do you think Facebook wants you NOT to do?... Leave the Facebook website! And more importantly, Facebook does NOT want you to encourage others to leave Facebook!
Facebook wants all it's users to remain on it's platform for as long as possible, so that it can monetise their presence with advertising.
When you post a link to a YouTube video, or an interesting blog post, or a business offer... you're actually taking money away from Facebook.
Links to external sites in your Facebook posts will drastically reduce the reach of your post throughout your network on Facebook.
Thankfully there are a few ways to get around this problem:
- Firstly you could add a space at the end of the link's domain name before the .com, e.g. google .com. The drawback is that your readers have to copy/paste the url and remove the space.
- So the second method is to post a textual message only (you can also upload a picture or a video) and at the end of the message add something like this; "Link is in the Comments". Before you drop the link in the comments though, you should ideally wait for someone to Like your post . You could perhaps even ask for a Like for you to reveal the link in the Comments.
- Finally, a method more specific to a business opportunity offer; ask your readers to PM you or Comment below for more information and/or the link.
Summary of How You Can Build a Responsive Network on Facebook
For new Facebook accounts, fill out your profile in full (including real photos of you) and post a few weeks worth of relevant content. Then send Friend requests to industry guru's Friends, Group members, and those with numerous mutual Friends.
New Friends...
Like and Comment on some of their stuff.
PM with a quick Hi, how're you doing, what're you into, etc.
Rotate your engagement and interaction with as many of your Friends as possible.
Post your own useful and unique stuff regularly. Post stuff which actively encourages engagement. You can also go off topic and post some fun stuff too, but don't saturate with loads of shares.
Don't put links to external sites in your posts. Put your link in the Comments after your first Like.
Be brave and use Facebook Live!
