Facebook this week announced a change to how posts from third-party apps appear in its users’ News Feeds. The algorithm update lowers visibility for posts shared implicitly by third-party apps, making room for more explicit updates from the apps. The new change won’t negatively impact the visibility and reach of posts you make to Facebook through Sprout Social — here’s why.
There’s more than one way for a third party app like Sprout Social or Netflix to send updates to Facebook. With an “explicit” update, you take the initiative to share one specific thing from within the application — like clicking the “Share” button on a news story, or any post you publish using Sprout Social.
“Implicit” updates happen automatically based on your activity — for example, a music app that automatically shares each song you play to your Facebook Timeline. You’re not choosing to send these updates out individually, they just happen as part of using the app.
According to a new blog post, Facebook is limiting the visibility of implicit updates because “stories people choose to explicitly share from third party apps are typically more interesting and get more engagement in News Feed than stories shared from third party apps without explicit action.” Explicit updates remain unchanged.
Whenever you post something to Facebook using Sprout Social, it’s an explicit action. Facebook’s algorithm change won’t affect how many people see your post from Sprout. The reduced volume of implicit updates from various apps in your audiences’ feeds could even increase the chances what you’re publishing will be seen.
The post What’s Changed and What Hasn’t for 3rd Party Apps on Facebook appeared first on Sprout Social.
Source: Sprout Social