Facebook has just rolled out another algorithm update for the News Feed that is designed to combat ‘engagement bait.’ While they claim that this update is designed to give users a better overall experience, it is clear that their ulterior motives are to bring in more paid advertisers.
The type of posts that won’t show up as much are those that actively encourage people to click, like, follow, or take other action. They are quite common and come in many forms including saying things like, “Like this post to support our servicemen,” or other options like, “Follow to see the hottest models of 2018.”
With endless variations on these posts, they have been proven extremely effective at driving traffic, making lists, and even generating sales. Facebook hates them, however, because they make it less important to use their paid ads options.
Of course, some of these types of posts can be annoying and result in a poor user experience. Just because there are some low-quality results, however, doesn’t mean that all ‘click bait’ type posts should be discouraged.
Facebook’s Newsfeed Integrity Specialist, Henry Silverman, said in a post, “Publishers and other businesses that use engagement bait tactics in their posts should expect their reach on these posts to decline. Meanwhile, Pages that repeatedly share engagement bait posts will see more significant drops in reach.”
