Facebook has recently confirmed another update to their news feed algorithm. This update was done to help combat the ‘like-baiting’ that is so common throughout the Social Network today. Like-baiting posts come in many different forms, but are essentially made only in an attempt to get massive amounts of ‘likes’ and/or shares. For example, posting an image asking people what their favorite animal is, with a picture of a kitten with the work ‘like’ under it, a picture of a bunny with ‘share’ under it and a puppy with the word ‘comment’ under it.
These posts get lots of people to comment, like and share them, which helps to get whatever page they are from a lot of new followers. The owners of these pages can then use them to promote different products or other things. Some people have even made a business out of building up Facebook pages with hundreds of thousands of ‘likes’ and then selling them off.
The Facebook algorithm update should help reduce how many of these posts people see in their feed. According to Facebook, like-baiting posts will be 15% less relevant than stories that get the same user engagement organically.
The update will also reduce the amount of links to ‘spammy’ websites you see. When a link is posted, Facebook will examine how users are engaging with it after clicking the link. The fewer comments or likes it gets, the less likely that post will be displayed on other people’s news feed.
Facebook reports that after initial testing, the changes are having a positive effect both for Facebook, and for marketers and site owners who are promoting quality content. The number of clicks that bring people off of Facebook has actually gone up by 5%, because people are seeing links to higher quality pages, less spam, and less link-baiting. This will help to build up trust with what people are seeing on their news feed, which will help marketers achieve their goals as well. As long as they are doing it properly.
