Facebook regularly makes changes to its algorithm, meaning the site can often pose challenges for marketers who wish to promote their brand. The site’s last change occurred back in August, and so several months on, we at The Practice were keen to see if marketers have experienced any measurable impact.

Only three months ago, one of the most important updates saw Facebook announce the fact that it would be prioritising link posts over image posts that simply include link URLs in their captions. In the past, we recommended and even created correctly sized images for our Facebook page simply because at that time, Facebook placed importance on image-based posts. Now though, the opposite is true, since links now show a larger thumbnail in a user’s News Feed, meaning there’s no need for separate images- and especially now that Facebook is placing emphasis on link posts. So why the change? Facebook reported findings that users preferred to click on link posts, as opposed to image posts that featured URLs, and this, they added, was also a better format for mobile users to click on when accessing the site on a smaller screen.

The second update saw Facebook shunning posts that used click-baiting tactics. If you’re an active Facebook user, you’ll notice these posts for their lack of quality on-post content, in favour of an attention grabbing headline and link. Since these posts feature little to no information about what the user can expect to read about when he or she clicks on the link, they are often annoyances on our News Feeds. Facebook announced finding that in about 80% of cases, users preferred to see in-depth headlines before deciding whether to click on the posted link.

So for marketers who have adhered to these guidelines, have they actually noticed a difference? We’ve noticed peaks and troughs when it comes to engagement rates, with the end of 2013 a particularly low point for organic reach, since Facebook started to prioritise top content and advertising. Since August’s updates however, engagement and reach appears to be on the rise for many brands who are diligent about creating quality posts. Despite this, we’ve seen that brands who allocate a Facebook budget fare much better, which begs the question- is paid reach really key when it comes to audience engagement? Late last year, Facebook stressed the importance of buying ads and paying to boost posts over reliance on free content, and so surely this still holds true? Certainly, we’ve noticed that paid-for reach hits a significantly larger audience- around 20-30 times larger than that of organic posts. However, this doesn’t mean that audiences are engaged, which is a much better indicator of good marketing. The fact remains though, that however much marketers take in to account Facebook’s algorithm changes and however much they choose to spend on boosting their posts, the most consistent way to ensure success is through regular on-page interaction.

Is Facebook marketing at the core of your social media strategy? And have you noticed any engagement changes or other results since Facebook’s latest algorithm updates? We’d love to hear your experiences with this, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital, and share your comments on our Facebook page.