This post was updated on 11/7/2012 to mention the newest feature for keeping up with your favorite Facebook pages. Get NOTIFICATIONS. Love it!
Dear Facebook Friends
I think I started to notice your absence a couple of months ago. The statistics detailing how many of my Facebook friends were actually seeing my posts began to drop. My blogging friends and I were all aware of the new option to pay to promote our statuses on Facebook. Paying a little money would supposedly enable more of our friends to see our information. We were told that nothing would change but that this would only be a help to getting noticed.
Admittedly, we were concerned that something was wrong. As Facebook assured us that this was a beneficial change, they also said that only 10% of our Facebook communities were seeing our updates. “Really?” I wondered. “That’s weird because my statistics say my average is around 23%.”
Slowly, those statistics began to drop.
I really love the interaction we share on the Facebook page and I also appreciate the fact that so many of you watch for my posts in your news feed. Unfortunately, Facebook is making it more and more difficult for you to see me… and for me to see you.
In all honesty, I was spoiled. All I needed to do was post a link on Facebook and there you were. I didn’t have to pay for promotion, no advertising. It is only natural that Facebook would want to make money since they are a business. My only fear is that if I do not pay for my posts to be promoted, you will slowly drift away, and that makes me sad.
What we can do
While we cannot change the path Facebook gurus have chosen, there are ways we can protect our relationship.
1. NEW! Click to get notifications.
While the VP at Facebook was recently quoted as saying, “The free ride for brands is over,” one recent update has at least given us a little bit of help.
When you click to LIKE a page, now you can request to get notifications. You know… the little number that lights up the globe icon at the top of your page. The benefit of clicking to get notification is knowing exactly when your favorites have posted a new status update. That is fabulous for those pages where the updates are time sensitive.
You love me for my honesty, right? So, here is one caution: be selective about from which pages you get notifications. Seriously. Why? Let’s use my personal Facebook account as an example. I LIKE over 300 pages. Can you imagine if I clicked to get notifications from even half of those? I think my little globe icon would explode. Pick and choose your pages… but make sure Meet Penny is one of those.
2. Create an interest list.
An interest list is super simple to set up. When you are on a page that you like, just click the wheel on the right side. Then, select “Add to Interest Lists…” If you do not have a list already, you will be prompted to create one by selecting other pages from your list of likes. Once you have selected all the pages you want to follow on this new list, you can name your list.
Even though interest lists appear on the bottom of the left sidebar on your Facebook home page, you can mark it as a “favorite” and the list will move to the top.
3. Like, share, comment
If you do see one of my posts in your news feed, click to LIKE it, SHARE it, or comment. Why? Because the new system is supposed to show you the pages you interact with the most.
4. Subscribe by email or RSS reader
If I could choose anything, I would want you to subscribe by email or RSS reader. When you see something you like, click through and leave me a comment on the post.
Personally, I love to subscribe to blogs by Google Reader. I have an app on my Kindle Fire and can flip through blogs quickly looking for information I need.
Email is another fabulous option and I do this with my very favorite blogs.
To subscribe, just complete the subscription form below. If you select to receive Meet Penny by email, you will need to confirm the subscription by clicking the link that is emailed to you. Check your spam folder if you do not see it in your inbox.
Of course, another benefit of subscribing is I have freebies available just for subscribers all the time. Nice bonus, right?
5. Make Meet Penny your home page
If you want to make sure you do not miss anything, set your home page to Meet Penny. That way, I will be the first person you see. Glad I am wearing makeup in that picture.
Changes you should expect
Normally, I would schedule my posts to Facebook every morning and then check it a couple of times during the day in order to respond to questions and comments that you make on my posts. However, because of the changes Facebook has made, I can no longer schedule posts with a link in them and expect you to see them. Seriously, any status update that contains a link will be seen by less than 10% of my Facebook friends.
Fewer status updates
Since it would be impossible for me to care for my home and family AND still be on Facebook each hour, I will be posting less. Even though frequent posting might increase the likelihood of you seeing me, the gamble of devoting time to Facebook and not getting a decent return on the investment of my time would be foolish. I am sure you would agree that my family is worth more than that.
Links in the comments
Since Facebook will automatically penalize me if I have a link in the status update, I will put links in the first comment as often as I can… until they change that too. I know it is kind of annoying but bloggers like me are just trying to do what we can to trick the new system.
No one is happy
I personally do not know a single person who likes the changes Facebook has made in determining who you see in your news feed. Half the time, I cannot even find my own mother. Regardless, we have to remember that Facebook is a social experiment. We are all lab rats and since the majority of the world is now addicted, they can do what they please.
So, we have to retrain ourselves. We cannot be dependent on Facebook to give us the information we want to receive. We have other tools available… like the telephone… and we need to use them.
Have you noticed any changes in your Facebook news feed?
You are still in my news feed! Love seeing your posts so I pray FB doesn’t decide I don’t need to. I’ll work on my interest list today! Thanks for sharing.
I built an interest list yesterday. It is so convenient. I hope you find it useful, Marsha. I appreciate you!
This is VERY informative! I had no idea I was being penalized for link bearing posts. Ugh. For goodness sakes, I have better things to do than jump through 12 hoops to simply share a recipe I love.
Hugs, T
That is just one of the ways the new algorithm is built. They are steadily making it harder and harder to be seen.
I did not know that about link posts either! crazy!!
My group has done a lot of research and it was surprising to find that even photos rated lower than plain text status updates. 🙁
Really, I didn’t know that. It’s one of my favorite ways to share, take a picture and add a pithy comment about it than email away….. Sigh
The great thing about pics is that they are more likely to go viral and the more interaction a post receives, the higher it rises in the ratings.
Penny, I agree FB has made changes, and personally, I miss my fans too. Keep in mind, FB is free, we get what we pay for (I’m saying this in a nice, not snarky way) I can tell you, If you post a PHOTO to FB with a link to your post in the description more people will see it and like/comment on it. You can still schedule the post so you don’t have to be on at a certain time of day. And we all love to look at pretty pictures, it’s why Pinterest is so popular. Hope you have a wonderful week! Hugs!
Absolutely, Joan. That is exactly why I said that I was spoiled by Facebook.
From our research, we found that photos actually rank lower with the new algorithm than plain text status updates. The rating system appears to be like this (from highest rank to lowest rank): Plain text updates, photos, and then updated with links. One reason why it might appear that your photos are being seen by more people is because when a status is commented upon or shared, it bumps the rating up.
The algorithm appears to be multi-faceted (including type of update, response to update, overall response to page – number of people talking about it, and more) but I didn’t want to go into details on that in this post. Non-blogging readers would be overwhelmed with all the techie-talk. LOL
Oh, I’m so glad I followed this link from WUHS FB page (in the first comment of course!) ’cause I didn’t realize half of this! I just started posting larger photos with links in my updates and had seen a rise in interaction, but very inconsistent. Sigh. Off to try the comment link action – thanks!
It is like an ever-changing science. As soon as we figure it out, they will change it again. 😉
Penny, you can add an eye catching photo to a status that will help catch the eye of your fans. Put some text on the image that will get them to want to see the comments.
Very true, Lisa. I use pictures a lot and my blogging group has actually been doing extensive experimentation with photos on Facebook. I had one that was seen by over 5,000 and I only have 3,000 friends on Facebook. However, when I add a link to a picture, Facebook lowers the rating so it is seen less.
WOW! I really learned a lot in this post. Thanks a milliion for sharing your knowledge as I do Facebook daily. I will be giving my followers some new ideas and be posting links in comments from now on. I sure do appreciate you sharing this. Hugs!