How The Facebook Algorithm Works + 5 Best Practices (2021)

 Editor’s Note: This post was originally published by Greg Swan in April 2020 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
In short, Facebook called on brands to create high-interest content that followers would feel compelled to actually engage with—content that deserved space in their busy News Feed. As for how to do just that, see our tips below.
 
 
Want to work with our team of Facebook experts? Reach out today!  
It will also be important to be flexible and agile in the year ahead, adjusting your strategy as needed once the full impact of Facebook’s update to comply with iOS 14 guidelines is realized. As Tinuiti’s Liz Emery noted in her recent post focused on IDFAs, the primary areas advertisers will experience changes focus on ad retargeting and ad measurement: 

Table of Contents

• What is the New Facebook Algorithm?
• The biggest Facebook algorithm changes in recent years
• How the Facebook Algorithm Works in 2021
• Can You Bypass Facebook’s Algorithm?
• 10 Best Practices for Following Facebook’s Algorithm
• Final Takeaway

What Is the New Facebook Algorithm?

 
Keep in mind, what resonates on one media platform might not work on another. Viral TikToks don’t necessarily translate the same on Facebook [or other platforms including Instagram or Snapchat]. Make sure your create is custom-made for the appropriate audience and platform.
 
“Identify opportunities for ads based on organic post engagement and tap into Facebook Ads Manager tools by leveraging these posts in ads,” says Spicer.
Pages that share content Facebook labels clickbait will find themselves penalized within the algorithm, resulting in reduced distribution within the News Feed. However, once the offender stops posting this kind of content, their posts will no longer be penalized.
 
Predictions represent the behavior of a user and how likely they are predicted to have a positive interaction with a content piece.

1. The Inventory of all posts available to display
2. Signals that tell Facebook what each post is
3. Predictions on how you will react to each post
4. A Final Score assigned to the content based on all factors considered

Understanding the basics can help your content stand out

— Nii Ahene, Chief Strategy Officer at Tinuiti
 

 
“In addition to ranking posts in people’s News Feeds, Facebook started making public comments more meaningful in June 2019, which can help show people relevant and quality comments,” explains Spicer.
 

The biggest Facebook algorithm changes in recent years

Meaningful Interactions

 
 
Remember all of those “like if…” and “share if you are…” posts?
Here’s how Facebook’s algorithm works in 2021 with 10 expert tips on how to increase the lifecycle of your Facebook content.
 
If you’re aiming to reach Facebook’s 2.74 billion+ monthly active users (MAU), you are up against some steep competition:
In Mark Zuckerberg’s personal post regarding these changes, he shared the following: “I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions. We started making changes in this direction last year, but it will take months for this new focus to make its way through all our products. The first changes you’ll see will be in News Feed, where you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups.”

Facebook video rankings update

You want your content to signal to Facebook that it’s meaningful and relevant to your target audience.
 

• Keep your viewers coming back as Facebook places an increased value on repeat reviewers
• Encourage longer viewer durations that capture user attention. Videos must be at least one minute long, although Facebook recommends using video that is at least three minutes long
• Create and share original content. Repurposed or shared content will not earn the same level of visibility as it will for original content creators 

Spam and misleading information penalty update

“The impact will vary from Page to Page, driven by factors including the type of content they produce and how people interact with it. Pages making posts that people generally don’t react to or comment on could see the biggest decreases in distribution. Pages whose posts prompt conversations between friends will see less of an effect.”
With that in mind, you should know how Facebook’s different algorithm factors work together to determine which stories “matter” to a user.  
As we are all keenly aware, 2020 brought one word in particular into our everyday vocabulary – unprecedented. While certainly not a new word in and of itself, the year proved just how expansive its definition could be as we faced a global pandemic, racial justice movement, US wildfires, Australian bushfires, high profile arrests, the U.S. Census, and several closely followed – and heavily reported on – elections in the U.S., Myanmar, and beyond.
Keep track of how your different content pieces are performing engagement-wise. It’s the question with an answer that eludes many of us: why do some posts go viral with engagement, while others wither and die off without so much as a few courtesy likes?

Response to Developing Events and Concerns Update

 
Who is your brand targeting?  Before sitting down to your keyboard, answer that question—it could make all the difference. So, if you want your ad copy to be memorable—for the right reasons—make sure it strikes the right tone with your target audience.
 
The good news is that Facebook’s new algorithm isn’t much of a black box anymore; Facebook has slowly leaked how exactly it ranks and prioritizes content in users’ News Feeds. Products, education, lifestyle imagery — it should all build on your identity as a brand answering to a specific audience.
 

• Prioritizing Original Sources: In response to users continually reporting a preference for “news stories that are credible and informative,” Facebook continues to make ongoing updates that “prioritize articles in News Feed that we identify as original reporting on a developing story or topic”

• Remote Work Tools: With a rapid influx of people “working from home” expanding across the US and the globe, Facebook made important updates to their technology suite, including Workplace Rooms, Live Producer, Oculus for Business, and more

• Facebook Shops Launch: In an effort to help small businesses struggling with decreased foot traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook Shops aimed to help them establish an online shopping experience quickly and easily

• The New Facebook.com: Facebook released upgrades in May 2020 that boasted a streamlined navigation and introduction of Dark Mode

Apple Personalized Ads and Privacy Update

Sephora, which consistently ranks #1 in L2’s Digital IQ Index — always strikes a balance between advertising and conversation-starting with well-crafted organic and sponsored content.
 

• Retargeting Limitations: When Apple users install or update to iOS 14, they will be served a prompt to opt-in or opt-out of data sharing. Emery notes that, “Currently, about 70% of IOS users share their IDFA with app publishers, after this change it’s estimated that this number will drop to 10% to 15%.” While Facebook has other variables that can be used to identify devices, such as the associated email address and phone number, it is expected there will be a drop in programmatic targeting that depends on users sharing their data at the device level

• Limitations for Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs): The IDFA identifier is at the foundation of the measurement and fraud capabilities MMPs provide. While Apple’s replacement API—SKAdNetwork—does allow for data surrounding conversions to be passed back at a campaign level, it is expected that there will still be less data granularity, which will impact measurement capabilities

This is considered engagement baiting, it doesn’t add value or interaction for users.

How the Facebook Algorithm Works in 2021

These are your inputs that Facebook interprets; type of content, the publisher, its age, purpose, and more.
With the new challenges each of these, among other events, brought with them, Facebook continued to make adjustments to how certain news pieces were displayed, and how often, including:

Facebook algorithm ranking factors:

1. Inventory

 
As advertisers, the only part of the process that we have control over are the signals of our content.

2. Signals

 
Since the data controversy erupted around the social network in late 2017, Facebook has worked to improve transparency around how it ranks content on the News Feed, going public with their “Meaningful Interactions” update back in January 2018. You should tailor your content to promote positive engagement, or what Facebook has defined as “meaningful interactions.”
 
The Facebook algorithm ranks all available posts that can display on a user’s News Feed based on how likely it is that user will have a positive reaction to the post.

3. Predictions

 
The new Facebook algorithm is also better than ever at recognizing biased content. In an effort to curb misleading health claims, as well as falsely advertised medical products, they’ve made the algorithm even better at detecting spammy or clickbait titles.
 
Your content should always be relevant to your core audience — the people you want to build a community around.

4. Relevancy Score

Facebook’s algorithm for ranking content on your News Feed is based on four factors:

5. Meaningful interactions are valued highest

Active signals drive meaningful interactions:
Facebook now ranks and prioritizes content posted from friends over publishers, with a focus on what the algorithm determines as “meaningful interactions,” with response to feedback from individual users’ surveys also playing a role in what they see, and don’t see.
 
Facebook added a new “Info & Ads” section that enables anyone to view all of the active ads on a Facebook page—meaning you can now see what your competitors are doing. All you have to do is click “Info and Ads”* on any other brand’s page. Take a glance at what your competitors are doing (on the paid side) and see what’s working in their favor. You might be able to implement a few best practices into your own strategy.
 
 
After you’ve published your content, remember to use Facebook Insights to track the performance of your content.
— Riley Spicer, Senior Manager, Paid Social at Tinuiti
Content that already has strong organic traction means lower CPCs — which combined with ad dollars can act as a snowball effect for your content.

• Comments
• Replies
• Likes
• Shares

 
Facebook and Instagram continue to deliver major improvements to their video offering on both platforms, such as Shopping for Stories, video for Dynamic Ads, Carousel Video Ads, Instant Experience Ads and more. Ensure your creative and copy is optimized towards mobile viewing (i.e., shortened copy, readable overlays, shortened headlines). Now you’re ready to leverage organic content to capture attention.
 

Can You Bypass Facebook’s Algorithm?

 
Advertisers looking to become more effective in their content strategy, both paid and organic, stand to benefit from a basic understanding of the Facebook algorithm.

10 Best Practices for Following Facebook’s Algorithm

Stay away from asking people to “please comment, like, and share.” Your content should inspire them to engage without having to ask.

1. Be a conversation starter

“If a post is performing well with engagement, likes, and shares — then there’s an opportunity to place additional ad dollars behind to drive that performance even further.”
You want your content to prompt people to stop their scroll, interact, and share with one another.
“Facebook penalizes brands who encourage comments, likes, and shares on organic and ad posts. Keep this in mind when developing content for Instagram and Facebook,” says Spicer.
 
 
The new Facebook algorithm values content that performs well organically, and you can build off that momentum by boosting or promoting that content with ad dollars.

2. Focus on your audience

 
The new Facebook algorithm is sophisticated and there’s no way to “hack it,” but there are simple steps you can take to make the algorithm work for you.
If you produce content for social audiences and still struggle with Facebook’s News Feed algorithm, you aren’t alone.

3. Put ad dollars behind content with organic momentum

— Makeda Diggs, Senior Specialist, Paid Social at Tinuiti
 
While factors such as loyalty and intent, video and viewing durations, and originality have always been prized, Facebook has been placing an increased emphasis on these considerations since rolling out updates for video rankings. These updates call on video creators to: 
 
It’s important to note that Apple users who opt-out of data sharing will still be eligible to receive Facebook ads, with the primary difference being the level of ad personalization. Recommended ‘next steps’ advertisers can make today to ready themselves for the upcoming changes can be found in our recent post—What is an IDFA (and How Will Apple’s iOS 14 Update Impact Advertisers)?
 
 
Signals represent the information that Facebook can gather about a piece of content. Signals are the single factor that you have control over.

“Facebook continues to penalize those using deceptive advertising practices, recently filing a lawsuit in California against a brand that violated Facebook Terms and Polices. This action is one of many that Facebook is taking against advertising abuse on their platform.”

 
The goal of Facebook’s algorithm is to “show stories that matter to users,” according to Adam Mosseri, VP of Facebook’s News Feed Management.

4. Avoid clickbait

Active signals include likes, shares, comments, and other active events that prompt engagement.
 
Inventory represents the stock of all content that can display to a user on Facebook’s News Feed, which fluctuates based on user activity once scrolling has begun. This includes everything posted from friends and publishers.
 
Any piece of content, from products to education to entertainment — should provoke conversation.
Conversely, don’t waste ad dollars behind poor-performing organic content. It will have higher CPCs and cost you more while offering less in return.

5. Track your content performance

 
Are you hoping to beat Facebook’s algorithm? Users cannot necessarily “bypass” or “outsmart” Facebooks’ algorithm but they can make it work for them by adhering to best practices. We spoke with our leading experts on the best tips and ways to improve your chances with Facebook’s Algorithm. From video content to improved engagement, there are still plenty of levers to pull to befriend the social media giant.
 
“The algorithm works to balance the interests of both the advertiser and the consumer in order to drive efficient performance while maintaining a positive ad experience. Within the auction, the winning ad is the one that drives the most value to the overall platform with both these parties in mind, so it is integral to create content with your core audience top of mind.”
Passive signals include view time, story type, time posted, and other non-active metrics.

6. Be consistent with your voice and tone

“Predictions take authentic engagement like comments, likes, and shares from real profiles into account,” says Riley Spicer, Paid Social Senior Manager at Tinuiti.
 

7. Using mobile friendly practices and video efforts

Learn from your Insights data and then optimize from there.
 

8. Take a look at the competition

 
Relevancy Score is the final number assigned to a piece of content based on the likelihood the user will respond positively to it.
 

9. Don’t copy and paste creative from other social media platforms

 
Here are some guidelines for keeping your content meaningful in Facebook’s eyes, based on Matt Navara and Paul Armstrong’s coverage of Facebook’s News Feed webinar. 
 

10. Save our checklist [below]!

Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm: Final Takeaway

These signals can be divided into two categories: passive and active. 

• Keep your content meaningful by being a conversation starter
• Advocate for your audience
• Stay away from clickbait
• Boost your best-performing organic content
• Track your performance with Facebook Insights and other tools
• Be consistent with your voice and tone
• Using mobile friendly practices and video efforts
• Take a look at the competition
• Don’t copy and paste creative from other social media platforms

 
Facebook’s News Feed algorithm favors content that fosters positive interactions between your followers and others.
While many Facebook users were understandably excited by the update, it was met with some concern by advertisers who were already working hard to stand out in the News Feed, and were now being given less space to shine. However, while the update necessitated some changes in how brands interact with their followers on Facebook, it certainly didn’t mean that loss of visibility was inevitable: