Key Strategies to Boost Facebook Organic Reach

by | Last updated Aug 8, 2023 | Published on Nov 3, 2022 | SEO, Social Media Optimization

Are you searching for innovative strategies or ways to make more people see your Facebook posts?

In an era of declining organic reach, reaching the full potential on Facebook is not an easy task, especially when the social posts aren’t developing much traction.”Like us on Facebook” has become such a common phrase that it is quite hard to imagine the platform any other way. The potential audience Facebook caters to is massive.

Even if the number of total users withered for the first time in early 2022, getting Facebook likes still promotes the content to some 2.11 billion accounts. Starting a FB page may be easy, but with the falling organic reach and engagement, growing a FB page can be challenging. Social media marketing strategies designed by a reputable digital marketing services company can help in fine tuning marketing tactics to increase exposure and boost FB organic reach.

What Exactly Is FB Organic Reach?

In simple terms, organic reach refers to the total number of people who view the content without paid distribution. It includes people who are shown your posts in their own feed or because their friends have interacted with you. However, attaining organic reach is not so simple. Between competition from ads, viral posts from major accounts and constant changes to the platform’s algorithm, many marketers note that organic reach has been falling for years now. Further, the reach of the posts depends on their level of engagement – that is how many people like, react, comment, or share the post. The more engaging a post is, the higher will be its reach.

The fact is engagement rate on Facebook is going upward – monthly active users have increased to 2.93 billion in 2022 Q1 from 2.85 billion in 2021 Q1. Even though engagement rates are way up, organic reach is way down. And it is still on a rapid decline. On Facebook, the average reach of an organic page post is down to 5.2% in 2020 from 5.5% at the end of 2019.

Why FB Organic Reach Continues To Decline

Here are some major reasons why FB organic reach continues to decline –

  • More Content – More content is being created and published every day. It is estimated that every minute, more than 510,000 comments and 293,000 statuses are posted on Facebook. As a result, competition in News Feed (the place on Facebook where people view content from their family and friends and business) tend to increase. This makes it harder for any post to gain exposure in News Feed. In addition to the growth in content, people also like more Pages. So, with each new Page like, competition in News Feed increases even further.
  • Personalized News Feeds – Facebook provides the most relevant content to each user. In order to increase engagement and optimize user experience, content is tailored to each user’s individual interests.

Personalized News Feeds

  • Change in Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm – The Facebook algorithm decides which posts people see every time they check their Facebook feed and how these posts will show up. FB’s algorithm isn’t static; it is constantly changing. The algorithm uses thousands of data points to make its predictions about ranking signals such as like, react, comment, or share but not limited to this. Depending on what Facebook thinks users want to see, ranking signals have been added, removed, and importance adjusted, since 2006.

Top Ways to Increase FB Organic Reach

Organic reach is significant for several reasons. One of the most important aspects is that you don’t need to pay to view content. For many businesses, increasing reach can seem almost impossible. That means most businesses can expect their content to appear in only 1 of every 20 followers’ news feeds. However, it is important to remember that is an average, not an upper limit. By publishing content that appeals to the specific group of audience and driving more interactions, it is possible for Facebook algorithm to deliver content to more people. Here discussed are some of the top ways on how to increase the reach of your organic content –

  • Generate Real Conversations – Facebook is a medium that faces a lot of competition. That’s why the Facebook algorithm is trained to keep users scrolling and interacting for as long as possible. As a result, Facebook is less likely to surface content with low engagement and more likely to prioritize posts with plenty of shares, reactions, and comments. However, what is the best way to make the audience to interact with your content is an important factor to consider. Make bold statements through an FB post.By sharing posts that describes the company’s unique approach; it is possible to differentiate a brand while inviting the target audience’s support. Posting questions and asking for the follower’s opinion is another valuable way to cultivate a community. It is important to do basic market research while showing the target audience how much you value their input. For instance, the Ben & Jerry’s Facebook post below asks followers to share memories of one of the ice cream brand’s most iconic flavors. The post allows longtime customers to showcase their knowledge and invites all followers to discuss their favorites.

Generate Real Conversations
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However, there is no rule regarding which type of engagement carries the most weightage. Therefore, it is important to take time to respond to at least some of the comments the content receives. This is because responses towards comments signify that the business cares and also create threads that can communicate higher levels of engagement and relevance to the Facebook algorithm.

    • Mix Up Post Formats – Testing out a wide variety of post types is an important strategy to gain more organic reach. Prioritizing posts in new formats in the News Feed can help gain more reach. Try creating a few videos and see how they perform. If the videos aren’t getting the same reach they used to, try making link posts that highlight content that the audience will love.Try out recently invented post types like 360 video or Facebook Stories – as they may have an added benefit if the algorithm prefers new formats. Tracking the average reach of posts in each format over time can help gain a clear understanding of which types are the most relevant to the audiences and which end up in their News Feeds most often.

Mix Up Post Formats

  • Follow Consumer Content Preferences – Use More Video Posts – Video posts have been credited with higher engagement rates on FB. This is primarily because users tend to show a preference for video content across all social media platforms. To keep up, Facebook continues to introduce new video tools, which offer even more options for creating high-performing content on Facebook.

Here discussed are some top ways to use Facebook’s native video tools –

  • Facebook Video – Creating visually appealing content can help you stand out in people’s increasingly crowded News Feeds. Reports suggest that about 60 percent of marketers think visual content is crucial for their social media strategy. Pre-recorded video content can be up to 4 hours long, that give adequate time to give a formal introduction about a company’s or individuals line of business, including – products, services and team. However, it is not possible to post anything to Facebook, though. Publishing low-quality images and videos could harm your brand reputation.
  • Facebook Live – Facebook Live videos help create a genuine sense of community in the comments section. With the Facebook algorithm update prioritizing posts that generate more”meaningful interactions”, more interactions means more organic reach. Therefore, create live video content and Stories that resonate with the target audience group and get the audience to start conversations in the comments section. This in turn will result in more organic reach.
  • Facebook Reels – These short-form videos can be up to 1 minute long, creating bite-sized content that entertains and informs users.

Follow Consumer Content Preferences
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Tag Influential Accounts in Shoppable Posts – Generally, the photo and video content created can give the FB page the much needed boost. But if the branded content doesn’t give as much reach as expected, consider adding user-generated content (UGC) to the mix. Compared to branded content, user-generated content has a more genuine appeal that can translate to more reactions, comments, and shares – as well as increased reach for the page.

To find and share UGC, check the company’s mentions on Facebook or branded hashtags on Instagram. Connect with the original creator to get permission to repost their work and credit them in the caption when it is shared. For instance, the W&P Facebook post below features UGC that depicts one of the design studio’s products. The caption asks a question to prompt responses, and the post includes a tagged product that customers can buy from the brand’s Facebook shop.

Tag Influential Accounts in Shoppable Posts
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Participate in Co-Branded Giveaways – Forging partnerships can help expand organic reach quickly to a much larger group of audience. For instance, influencer partnerships allow showcasing a brand in front of a large number of people. This is possible through an endorsement from an influential figure within the niche area. As influencer partnerships often span months or years, they can increase the reach for a longer period.

Brand partnerships enable working with complementary companies to promote products together and grow brands simultaneously. By running co-branded giveaways or contests, you can drive substantial engagement while reaching exponentially more people. For example, a caption competition where users need to provide a funny subtitle to an image that gets posted can stimulate tons of responses and rocket the post to the top of the News Feed.

Participate in Co-Branded Giveaways
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However, make sure that the prize or giveaway is related to the brand so that you attract both entrants interested in products/services along with the reward. Secondly, encourage users to interact with the contest post, preferably by commenting. Motivating users to comment on the contest is the best way to show the Facebook News Feed algorithm that the content is engaging and thereby increase the organic reach.

Facebook is a great social media platform. With a current user base of 2.93 billion and still continuously increasing, FB needs to be a part of the business marketing channel. However, getting more organic reach on FB can be a challenging task. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand how reach operates as a metric and what can be specifically done to increase the overall engagement. Use the above strategies as a starting point to grab the attention of the target audience and maintain it long-term.

It is important to try new tactics and release great content. When using these tactics, it may take some time for the final results to appear. Remain calm and keep posting to figure out what works best for an FB page in the long run. Hiring the services of an organic seo company can provide businesses with unique strategies that would help improve organic reach and engagement.

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