What is Facebook EdgeRank and Why Is It Important?

EdgeRank is an algorithm developed by Facebook in order to prioritize what is displayed on a user’s News Feed.  Pages with high EdgeRank Scores will be more likely to show up in the News Feed than Pages with low EdgeRank Scores. This may sound complex at first, but when you begin to understand the concept, it’s actually a simple and effective algorithm.

EdgeRank is made up of 3 variables: Affinity, Weight, and Time Decay.

Affinity is dependent on a user’s relationship with an object in the News Feed. It is built by repeat interactions with a Brand’s Edges. Actions such as Commenting, Liking, Sharing, Clicking, and even Messaging can influence a User’s Affinity. It could be understood as the “affinity” that a Brand (company, product or service) and a Fan user may have.

Weight is determined by the type of object, such as a photo/video/link/etc. It is a value system created by Facebook to increase/decrease the value of certain actions within Facebook. Commenting is more involved and therefore deemed more valuable than a Like. In the weighting system, Comments would have a higher value than a Like. As a general rule, it’s best to assume Edges that take the most time to accomplish tend to weigh more.

Time Decay refers to when an object gets older, the lower the value. It is the easiest of the variables to understand. Mathematically it is understood as 1/ (Time Since Action). As an Edge ages, it loses value. This helps keep the News Feed fresh with interesting new content, as opposed to lingering old content.

For the first time, in a long time, Facebook has addressed more details regarding the EdgeRank algorithm.

Facebook’s News Feed product manager Will Cathcart simplified how the News Feed works with the following:

1. If you like every post by a page that Facebook shows you, it will show you more from that page.

2. If others on Facebook are shown a post and ignores it, or complains, it’s less likely to show up on your news feed.

3. If you always Like photos, there’s a better chance you’ll see a photo posted by a page.

4. If a specific post has received complaints by other users who have seen it, or the page who posted it has received many complaints in the past, you’ll be less likely to see that post. This factor became a lot more prevalent with the EdgeRank update in September 2012.

If you want your audience to take a specific action, the best way is to ask them to do what campaigns using email marketing, sponsored links or social media do. Unfortunately, many times when we share in social media we forget the call-to-action (CTA).

Think about it and enjoy the tips!