Source: The Drum
Media companies have saw their reach on Facebook fall by more than 40 per cent due to an algorithm change from the social media platform, according to a new report.
Social media optimization platform SocialFlow has revealed that content from publishers posted to Facebook reached an average 68,000 users in May, down from 117,000 in January.
Jim Anderson, SocialFlow chief executive argues that the rapid decline is proof that Facebook has changed its algorithm.
“Facebook is constantly adjusting its algorithms up and down to tune the user experience,” he said. “Back in the fourth quarter and through January, media companies were doing phenomenally well. Then Facebook made a change to the algorithm.”
According to Anderson the reason for the changes could be the social media giant wanting to prioritised posts from individuals and reward them for sharing more personal stories on the platform over concerns that people were writing less of their own unique content.
The report also attributes the algorithm change to an attempt to prevent people’s feeds featuring several articles from the same news organisation consecutively and to prioritise video content.
With recent studies showing that social media has overtaken traditional news outlets as the go-to source for news publishers will be alarmed by the impact which Facebook’s algorithm tweeks can have to their reach.
The platform’s Trending Topics section has also been a source of controversy recently amid accusations that it held a political bias.
