Edgerank - the Facebook Secret Formula
Wednesday, 7th September 2011
No doubt you use Facebook, and if you've got a Facebook page for your business you'll be keen to get all of those likes from your customers, and potential customers. Getting someone to like you means whatever you say appears in their feed. Doesn't it?
This might be news to you, but the Facebook news feed only displays a subset of the news stories generated by your friends and the businesses that you like. Facebook engineers use something called Edgerank to optimize the news feed. And here's the formula:
Edge = affinity x weight x timeliness
What Does That Mean?
Affinity: You are more likely to appear in the news feed of someone with whom you have an affinity. The more someone likes, shares, views or comments on your object, the higher your affinity to that person becomes.
Weight: Photos, videos and links have more weight than a simple status update, they generate more comments.
Timeliness: The Facebook freshness factor means today's news is prominent, and yesterday's news is just that.
So here's the worry: Objects with a low Edgerank may not appear in the Facebook news feed.
So How do I Increase My Edgerank?
- Publish Objects that Encourage Customer Interaction
Write to encourage liking, sharing and commenting. Anything that generates a response, like a competition, builds affinity with your users. - Use Videos and Photos
Put plenty of photos, videos and links, and always ask users to make comments of their own. - Keep It Fresh
The Facebook train moves pretty fast. Keep up with it by posting often.
Getting someone to "like" your business is just putting the engagement ring on their finger. Getting them to look at your photos and talk to you is when the marriage really starts.
