How does facebook decide if your new post is good enough to get into your fans and friend's newsfeed? Yes newsflash, not all your posts get seen by your fans friends or followers. Facebook uses an algorithm to make its decisions automatically and just like the Google search algorithm, we do not know the full criteria it uses. You can take an educated guess based on observation and testing. Here are a few things I have found out that can help your post being seen by more people.

Only high quality posts will be sent to every newsfeed. So what factors does facebook's algorithm look for? Facebook regularly surveys users to find out what they consider makes a post better than the norm. Is it timely? Is it from a trusted source? Is it genuinely interesting or just commercial? Is it just asking for newsfeed circulation by asking users to share the post? Is it just asking users to like a page? Does it look like it is trying to game the system? These are some of the factors the algorithm seems to consider as important based on user feedback.

Does facebook downgrade posts that ask readers to share it, like it or add a comment? Officially not at the moment but based on the type of questions it is asking in its surveys I think it will do. I have stopped adding those call to action requests in the main post content. What I now do is add a comment to my own post after it has been uploaded. I will write things like "click the share button to show your friends" or "I would really value your feedback. Please add a comment".

Facebook wants you to build credibility and trust and gain authority in your field. You do this by creating a community on facebook where the readers look forward to your updates and know when they leave a comment they will receive a reply. The facebook algorithm rewards publishers who become one of these authoritative sources; people that are reliable, convincing and show a deep understanding and knowledge of their subject. Facebook looks for the positive interaction on your account; the amount of two way comments, shares, likes and lack of negative reporting. Encourage your readers to ask questions and always respond to them. You are being watched.

Negative Facebook comments can hurt you
How frequently is content on your posts being reported as of low quality by your readers? What do you mean you do not know? This is important stuff. Bad reports seriously effects how many people see your posts in their newsfeed. Every Monday get into the habit of checking last week's posts for any negative reports. Look for the Cog symbol underneath and to the right of your large banner "Cover photo". You will see a down arrow just to the right of the cog. Click it once and a drop down menu appears. Half way down you will see the option "View Insights". When you click on that link you will see a report on your five most recent posts. It shows the reach and amount of engagement that post received. It will also show any negative feedback.

So how does one of your facebook posts receive a negative report? On the top right hand corner of each post there is a down arrow which revels a dropdown menu of options when clicked. One of the options is "I don't want to see this" or "Report/mark as spam". You then get a range of reporting options from "this is low quality" to "this is too sexually explicit". You can hide all posts from the page or unfollow the account. This is why every one of your marketing posts counts. One bad post can be very detrimental to your efforts to get you social media marketing messages in front of as many eyes as possible. Negative feedback on one post happens sometimes but if you are getting poor feedback on your second, third, fourth and fifth post then your approach to content generation for you post is wrong. It is time to go back to the drawing board. Your audience is telling you that they do not approve of what you are sending them and your content creation strategy needs a complete rethink. I the worst cases they are saying it is offensive, insulting or too spammy. You should aim at making your posts entertaining, interesting, thought provoking or educational.

Your Facebook Profile can damage your marketing efforts
How complete your facebook profile is may not seem important to you but the facebook algorithm uses it to see if you are a real person or if the account is bogus. It is important to fill in all the sections you can and use keywords where appropriate that relate to your business. Research has shown that many bogus facebook accounts do not have complete profiles and therefore this is why the algorithm uses this as a factor to up or downgrade a post. This will affect how many users see a particular update in their newsfeed.

The Facebook algorithm looks for fan base overlaps
You are more likely to get your new post in the facebook newsfeed if your page fan base over lapse with that of the leaders in your field. What that means is that the Facebook algorithm rewards you when it finds out that some of your followers also follow the top brands in your market.

Facebook Contests
You are now allowed to run contests on your facebook pages. They used to be a breach of the terms of service but that has all changed. They are a good way to obtain new fans and followers, but more importantly a good way to build up your e-mail subscriber list. You can use posts that say "click Like for a chance to win a -----" or "first one to comment wins ------" The one I like is Submit a photograph onto our wall of a ------- for a chance to win. This is great if you run a restaurant. You could ask customers to submit photographs of them having a great time at your premises. You can use the like system as a means of voting. Your first post will be "click like if you believe Yes" and then followed immediately by a second post that says "click like if you believe No". Your main goal should be to build up you e-mail subscribers list. You own that list. Social media networks can close your accounts or just stop existing. Try "Submit your e-mail address to receive our monthly newsletter full of discounts, deals and coupons and a chance to enter our competition".