Facebook newsfeed algorithm changes — the bane of my existence.

Marketers are talking/complaining that the new newsfeed changes are having big impacts on organic reach of posts. Facebook has announced these changes and stated this change was happening because a user when they log into their accounts can be shown on average 1,500 posts while they are on their newsfeed. Facebook then has to pick the best content to show their users (while also appeasing advertisers).

I’m dealing with this right now at TrackMaven trying to find the perfect combination to increase our own organic engagement…before of course the algorithm changes again.

While I’ve read a few posts on this change, experience the downward fall of our organic reach and seen a few examples, I noticed that many people were leaving behind some of the very basics in raking up engagement on Facebook. All of these pieces of advice, advise a marketer to move forward on to other networks, while leaving out some major components in sharing on Facebook that are huge foundational driving factors that always increase engagement.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket…but don’t forget about that already hatched egg…

A basic economic in terms of investing in stocks is to make sure that you diversify. You don’t want to buy stocks in just coffee, just in case the coffee market implodes. Instead, diversifying your stocks in coffee and maybe in computers.

The same idea works with your social media strategy. Putting all of your eggs into Facebook could have some negative outcomes on your engagement as on average the most successful marketers are using at least 7 channels.

However, that does not mean you should completely leave your Facebook strategies in the dust. Facebook is the top source in social traffic referrals and shouldn’t be put in the corner because marketers are up in arms as to what to do next on the platform that decreased their engagement. There are still ways to improve your organic reach on Facebook, as told through the ideas below, so abandoning the platform isn’t a good idea.

Check Your Insights

I was completely surprised that with some of the articles I read about the algorithm change that many of the writers and marketers forgot about mentioning checking your Facebook page insights.

Marketing needs to focus on data. If that data is already in front of you, then why aren’t you using it? Insights can tell you when most of your audience is on and the posts are performing well to take back to your strategies to produce more posts like that.

Here are three things you might have missed in your Facebook Insights.

Add a Few Dollars to Kick it Up

Ok, so this is obviously not an organic component, but Facebook’s recent algorithm change does reflect how Facebook wants brands to use their paid promotion component. Was there a post that got a little more engagement than usual? Why not add at least five dollars behind it to extend its reach?

Mix Up Your Content

Facebook posts with pictures are 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook and have a much higher engagement rate in terms of likes and comments. Facebook posts with a character count of 0-70 characters also have higher levels of engagement.

Telling someone to like or share increases the probability that someone will do that for your post.

Also, Facebook enabled auto-play for videos, especially Instagram videos. Did you know Instagram is the fastest growing social media networks? Try including a Instagram post into your Facebook posts!

There are multiple ways to mix up your content on Facebook, which will only help to increase your overall reach.

Speaking of posts…Post More!

Don’t let your decreased organic reach bring you down. If you start to post less that is only going to decrease it even more creating a huge downward spiral.

Look at how many times a day your competitors are posting on Facebook, what their most effective posts are and how many average interactions they get per post. You then have a benchmark to set for yourself in order to then surpass past your competitors.

Posting more, although it requires a little more grind, helps to identify what’s working. It might seem like a spray and pray method, but if you are monitoring the bright spots you can replicate those successes in order to gain a footing on increasing your organic reach. For example if you notice that you get more interactions at 2pm with a post, then try to continue to post at 2pm.

Facebook Marketing is Still Important

Using Facebook as a channel to market is still extremely important. Succumbing to the disappointment of a decreased organic reach and turning your back on the network is not a good idea. There are too many times where marketers move on to the next best social media channel because they aren’t receiving the same reach before an algorithm change. That isn’t the right mindset for marketing or for social media, as it is always changes so maneuvering your efforts to continue the conversation with your audience is essential. Check your insights to find the best time to post or the most engaging content, set benchmarks with your industry, and try taking a dip in the paid pool.

Focusing on other efforts and the things mentioned above will take some work, but will inevitably increase your engagement on Facebook.