The Facebook algorithm is the most-complained-about, least-understood piece of software in marketing. Every week a business owner tells us "Facebook hates my page." Facebook doesn't hate your page. Facebook doesn't even know your page exists as a single entity. It's processing billions of ranking decisions a minute based on a set of signals. Learn the signals, win the game.
First, the myth-bust
There is no single Facebook algorithm. There are ranking systems for the feed, for Reels, for Groups, for Marketplace, for Watch. They share signals but they behave differently. The rest of this guide focuses on the feed algorithm because that's where most businesses live and die.
The four signals that actually rank your post
- Relationship: How often has this user engaged with your page or similar pages recently?
- Content type: Does the user tend to engage with video, photos, links, or text? Facebook matches accordingly.
- Recency: How fresh is the post? Decays faster than you think, especially in the first two hours.
- Meaningful interaction: Comments, shares and replies outweigh reactions, which outweigh passive views.
That's the foundation. Everything else is tactical.
The first-hour trap
Facebook decides whether your post is worth pushing based on its performance in the first hour. If engagement is soft, it throttles distribution and moves on. This is why posting at random times kills reach. Post when your audience is most likely to engage within that first hour, not when it's convenient for you.
Check your Insights, find your three best posting windows, stick to them. For most Newcastle businesses, it's 7.30am, 12.30pm and 8pm. Your data will be different. Use your data, not ours.
What Facebook rewards right now
Native video. Long-form text posts with proper narrative. Reels (for the reach boost). Group content. Live video. Anything that keeps users on-platform.
What Facebook punishes
External links posted without context. Engagement bait ("tag a mate who..."). Low-quality clickbait. Reposts from Instagram that still have the watermark. Posts with three hashtags stapled on the end because you forgot Facebook isn't Instagram. Videos under three seconds. Links in the first line of a post. The list is long.
The long-form text comeback
Plot twist nobody expected: long, well-written text posts are performing brilliantly on Facebook again. Think mini-essays, opinion pieces, behind-the-scenes stories. The reason is simple. Mark Zuckerberg has publicly stated he wants the feed to feel "less transactional," and the algorithm is scoring text-led posts generously to support that shift. If you can write, now is the time.
Groups are the secret weapon
Organic page reach is 2-5% on a good day. Group reach is 20-40%. That maths is so lopsided it's ridiculous, and yet most brands still pour effort into page posts and ignore groups. Either build your own, or become genuinely useful in three local groups your customers are already in. Either way, that's where the attention is.
For a deeper look at the tactical dos and don'ts, this post has you covered.
The paid angle
Organic reach on Facebook is never going back to 2013 levels. Accept it. The platform is a paid channel with an organic amplifier, not the other way around. That doesn't mean you need a £10k monthly ad budget. It means even £5-£10 a day behind your best organic content will roughly 10x its reach, cheaply, reliably.
Pick your best-performing organic post each month. Put £50 behind it. Watch what happens. This is the simplest, highest-ROI ad strategy we deploy for local Newcastle businesses.
Facebook reach not what it should be?
We run full Meta audits, page, groups, ads and pixel. Then build a 90-day plan. No nonsense, no jargon.
Book the auditThe content mix that works
We run a 40-30-20-10 split for most clients. 40% educational or useful content, 30% behind-the-scenes and personality, 20% social proof (reviews, case studies, user content), 10% direct promotion. Brands that tilt the mix too far toward promotion tank their reach within a month. The algorithm is unforgiving about feed-clogging.
Live video is underrated
Facebook Live gets preferential treatment in the feed and gets a second wind when the replay is posted. You don't need to go live weekly, but a monthly Q&A, demo, or "ask us anything" session is a reliable reach spike and a lovely way to build relationship signal with your audience. Most brands find it uncomfortable. That's exactly why it works for the ones who do it.
Messenger still matters
Response rate is a ranking signal. Pages that reply to messages within the hour get distribution boosts on their organic content. Set up auto-replies, saved responses, and a proper routine for checking the inbox daily. It's less glamorous than Reels and more impactful than most brands realise.
The honest truth about 2022
Facebook is harder than it was. It's also still one of the highest-ROI channels available for local businesses, full stop. The brands complaining about reach are usually the brands posting generic content, at random times, to an audience they haven't segmented, through a page they haven't updated in six months. Fix the basics, then worry about the algorithm.
For the broader Meta context, our post on the new Meta updates ties this into the wider platform strategy.
The verdict
The Facebook algorithm isn't out to get you. It's just busy. Give it clear signals (native content, fast first-hour engagement, meaningful interactions, consistent posting) and it'll reward you. Ignore those and it'll quietly bury your page alongside the other 60 million it has to rank today. The choice is genuinely yours.
