Time it Right- The Science of Facebook Posting

By Dana Sotoodeh

You have a company Facebook, a bunch of followers, awesome pictures and… no likes? Believe it or not, researchers have posting on Facebook down to a fine science.

With Facebook recently changing their algorithms regarding content and posting, it’s extremely easy to miss posts that you don’t want to miss. What does this mean? It’s possible that more than half of your followers are missing your company’s posts due to the change in algorithms. Here’s how it works:

Facebook has broken down the way people view your posts. They base it on three different things:

1.)  Interactions– As creepy as it sounds, Facebook has taken the last 50 people or pages you have had interactions with and made them prevalent in your newsfeed. If you aren’t interacting with your best friend or favorite product, chances are, you’re missing anything they’re posting.

2.)  Weight– Facebook has a ranking on what’s most important when it comes to content. Photos and videos have a lot of weight pull, which is why you’re feed shows a lot of media. Comments and likes are important as well. Plenty of comments on a status will generate prevalence over a photo with no likes. Keep this in mind when it comes to posting. Do you have a link you want to share? Attach a photo with it to increase the chances of it being seen.

3.)  Frequency– How often are you posting to Facebook? If you haven’t posted in months, Facebook won’t make your posts a priority when it comes to the timeline. Make it a point to post often so that your posts have a greater chance of being bumped to the top.

 

Now that you know how the algorithms work—use them to your advantage! When it comes to timing, studies have shown that Thursday’s and Fridays gage the most Facebook usage. These days are popular amongst Facebook users because it’s so close to the weekend. Instead of people diving headfirst into new projects, they surf Facebook and check social media. Sound familiar? Make it a point to post on these days during prime work hours to ensure you’re posts get bumped to the top!