What is News Feed on Facebook?

What Exactly is Facebook‘s News Feed and How Does it Work?

Facebook‘s News Feed is the constantly updating list of stories, posts, photos, videos and more that you see whenever you login. It shows you content from your friends, family, groups you‘ve joined, pages you‘ve liked and more – all tailored to your interests and past activity on Facebook.

In other words, it‘s your own personalized news stream showing you the updates Facebook thinks you care about most.

Purpose of the Facebook News Feed

The main goal of News Feed is to show Facebook users content that‘s relevant, interesting and engaging to them. By analyzing your activity – likes, comments, clicks, views etc. – Facebook‘s algorithm can discern what types of posts you prefer and show you more of that.

This keeps users coming back day after day to check their feeds for the latest updates. For businesses and creators, it provides a channel to reach their target demographic with content tailored specifically for them.

Overall, the purpose is to connect people to others they care about and content they find valuable – that‘s what keeps over 2.27 billion people actively using Facebook monthly.

How Does Facebook Decide What Goes in My News Feed?

There are a variety of factors that determine what you see:

• Information in your profile – location, age, interests etc.
• Past interactions – what posts you‘ve liked, commented on or shared
• Relationships – content from people you interact with more is prioritized
• Popularity & engagement – viral posts have some preference
• Freshness – more recent posts rank higher
• Variety – mix of post types (video, links, images)

And hundreds of other signals.

All this data goes through Facebook‘s highly complex and secretive ranking algorithm that chooses the top stories to display based on what it calculates you are most likely to engage with.

Understanding Facebook‘s EdgeRank Algorithm

The algorithm used to power Facebook‘s news feed is called EdgeRank. First introduced in 2011, it uses machine learning models trained on billions of data points to score the relevance of each story for every user.

There are three key components it analyzes:

1. Affinity – How close of a connection you have to the person/page posting
2. Weight – Engagement level predicted based on data like past clicks, comments, shares
3. Time decay – Preference given to more recent stories over older ones

By multiplying affinity, weight and time decay scores, each potential story gets an EdgeRank coefficient quantifying its expected value to you.

The higher ones bubble up in your feed, while lower scoring posts sink towards the bottom or do not show up at all if the bar is too low.

This form of is known as machine learned ranking in the tech world – used by many recommendation systems. And Facebook has tuned it up significantly over the years as more and more data and compute power enables smarter ranking models.

Customizing Your Facebook News Feed

While Facebook‘s algorithm aims to show you relevant stuff, you can also customize what you see:

• Prioritize certain friends by choosing "See First"
• Unfollow friends or pages posting annoying/irrelevant updates
• Hide or snooze posts you don‘t want to see
• Use feeds for specific content – Entertainment, Sports etc.

Additionally you can tweak some behavior settings like whether videos autoplay sound for example.

Combining algorithmic ranking with manual user customization enables you to really craft a Facebook experience and feed that works for you.

Types of Content Facebook Serves up in News Feeds

Broadly speaking there are three major categories of stories that could appear in your Facebook feed:

1. Personal Posts

Personal updates from friends, family and other connections is usually the main focus Facebook feeds historically. This includes text posts, photo uploads, videos, links they‘ve posted and pretty much any activity from connected accounts.

You‘re most likely to see posts from friends you interact with frequently near the top.

As of 2022, personal sharing accounts for around 65% of an average user‘s feed according to Facebook metrics.

Fig. 1 – Breakdown of personal vs page and sponsored content over time

2. Content from pages and public figures

In addition to personal posts, you‘ll also find updates from public pages and profiles that you‘ve liked or followed over time. This includes celebrities, media sites, brands, local businesses, influencers, politicians and other entities communicating publicly via Facebook Pages.

The page content you see depends on your likes and interests. For example, a sports fan would see more sports related page posts while a frequent traveler may see more from travel bloggers and tourism boards in their feed.

As more users exist within Facebook‘s ecosystem, page content now makes up around 25% of feed posts on average as per internal data.

Pages catering to hobbies, television and niche meme topics tend to over index on engagement within news feeds currently.

3. Sponsored content

Facebook‘s advertising system allows businesses to pay for visibility and carefully target feeds of their potential customers.

So sprinkled in among your organic stories, expect to find sponsored page posts, link ads, video ads and other paid content matching your demographic and interest profile.

This native advertising content aims to capture your attention in between personal updates from friends and family – though it doesn‘t always hit the mark!

Sponsored posts account for roughly 10% of the average Facebook user‘s feed. But that mix varies greatly based on region and demographic cohorts like age. For example Gen Z feeds often feature higher rates of ads while senior feeds deliver mostly organic stories.

Here‘s a breakdown of sponsored vs personal post feed mix by age group in the US as of 2022 from Facebook‘s internal metrics:

Optimizing Your Facebook News Feed

Now you understand the different components that make up your Facebook feed. But you likely don‘t want to passively consume a generic algorithmic feed.

Here are 5 pro tips to take control and optimize your news feed:

1. Set notifications for key friends or pages so you never miss an update

2. Use Lists feature to easily separate coworkers, close friends and family

3. Follow hashtags or topics to discover more niche content

4. Limit public content through News Feed Preferences if overwhelmed

5. Take a social media diet and snooze overall feed for periods of time

Curating your feed is an ongoing process but pays off with more meaningful connections and interactions in areas you care about.

Over time as your interests and life circumstances changes, you‘ll need to periodically re-evaluate who and what you follow.

Do this and your likelihood of engagement goes up significantly – resulting in a positive cycle where Facebook surfaces more of the stories you want.

The Evolution of Facebook‘s News Feed Algorithm

When first launched in 2006, Facebook‘s news feed sparked controversy by exposing previously private communications and activities. But over the years it has evolved significantly – adapting to user needs and rampant misinformation campaigns across social channels.

Some key milestones and changes in the history of Facebook‘s constantly iterating news feed algorithm include:

2009 – Introduced reactions beyond Likes such as comment, share etc. to power feed ranking signals

2011 – Added EdgeRank machine learning algorithm for relevance based ranking rather than just chronological order

2013 – Embedded more media content directly into feeds rather than sending people away from Facebook to view them.

2016 – Launched Reactions feature enabling more ways of interacting beyond Likes. Angry face for example signals negative feedback.

2018 – Public focus on fake news and clickbait forced Facebook to tweak algorithm to reduce misinformation and low quality posts.

2021 – Attempted improving content quality again, boosting friends/family sharing over pages and public figures.

Fig. 2 – Facebook feed composition changes over time [Data Source: Facebook]

The pattern shows Facebook leaning harder into personal sharing and conversations as opposed to media content – likely an attempt to differentiate itself from Instagram and short-form video apps which pose a threat.

Keeping up with changes is important for any business marketing on Facebook or influencers trying to sustain viable follower reach.

Expect more shifts as Facebook balances its platform health with need to keep users engaged.

Tips for Optimizing Facebook News Feed Reach

For creators, small businesses and marketers trying to reach their audience via Facebook feeds, here are some pro tips:

• Leverage detailed targeting – Use interest, behavior & look-alike based custom audiences

• Test content formats – Play with carousels, video vs image vs text

• Analyze metrics – Track impression and engagement rates in Ads Manager

• Set business rules – Schedule high performing post types

• Respond to comments – Being active helps signal you‘re authentic

• Invite engagement – Ask questions rather than just broadcast messages

Fig. 3 – Facebook feed engagement rates vary significantly by content format [Source: Socialinsider]

With video views surging 60% year-over-year, it may be prudent for more businesses to explore that format – though images still deliver the highest engagement levels overall currently.

Regardless of format, tailoring content to align closely with audience interests based on Facebook Page Insights data analysis is key for any brand.

Measuring Facebook News Feed Performance

For advertisers and marketers, optimizing results on Facebook goes hand in hand with measurement.

Many tools exist to track the performance of both organic as well as paid reach and engagement within Facebook feeds.

Some popular platforms include:

• Facebook Analytics – Built in free insights
• Socialinsider – Tracks profiles and competitors on FB/IG
• Iconosquare – Provides content analytics
• SproutSocial – Social media monitoring
• Simple Measures – Campaign ROI reporting

These tools help you analyze the impact of different posting strategies such as time/day, creative messaging, formats and audiences.

Leading indicators revealing strong organic reach include comments and shares. While cost per click or conversion represent solid paid advertising KPIs.

Analyzing what content resonates best with your audience base enables smarter news feed presence. Coupling that with monitoring overall reach and engagement rates provides the necessary data to tweak approaches if needed.

Apple Privacy Changes Disrupting Facebook Feeds

Facebook news feeds do not operate within a vacuum. Critical changes around user privacy and data sharing more broadly can greatly impact the platform.

Most notably in 2021, Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency requiring explicit opt-in permission from users before apps can access identifiers used for targeted advertising.

The impacts on advertising-dependent business models were far reaching. Analysis by Lotame found Facebook audience segmentation shrunk significantly following the changes:

Fig. 4 – Facebook custom audience size change post Apple ATT rollout [Source: Lotame]

Early data showed 60%+ opt-out rates from sharing data, severely limiting Facebook advertiser‘s ability to reach precise demographics.

This resulted in increased spend to hit desired outcomes – driving up user acquisition costs significantly.

The loss of granular targeting data also impacts relevance of organic feed stories. Expect further recalibration of the news feed algorithm and ongoing impacts as privacy considerations clash with ad-based business models reliant on data sharing.

Comparing to Other Platforms

Though arguably the most powerful, Facebook‘s news feed is far from the only personalized social media feed out there. Every platform curates content algorithmically for its users including:

• Instagram – Photos and videos based on follows
• YouTube – Videos based on watches and searches
• TikTok – Short videos based on engagement
• Twitter – Tweets and stories based on follows
• Pinterest – Pins based on searches and saves
• LinkedIn – Articles and posts based on network

However Facebook stands apart given its laser focus on friends, family and groups sharing personal life updates – complemented by pages and sponsored posts.

Compared to Instagram which emphasizes visual creators, YouTube targeting video enthusiasts or TikTok‘s leanback video feed, Facebook captures more everyday messages.

The challenge lies balancing that personal feel and connection while keeping over a billion users engaged. An ever evolving algorithm tweaking the optimal mix of posts with global teams working behind the scenes is how they solve it today.

Key Takeaways on Facebook News Feed

To recap, here are the key points about your Facebook news feed:

• It‘s the primary personalized list of updates/stories you see whenever you login

• Powered by an underlying machine learning algorithm choosing content likely most relevant to you

• Mixes posts from friends as well as pages and sponsors matching your tastes

• Can be customized to focus on people and subjects you care about most

• Constantly adapting to changes in user behavior and privacy considerations

While enabling misinformation and overload at times, Facebook‘s highly optimized news feed remains a dominant force for connecting with friends or reaching audiences.

The future may bring more private communications shift into closed spaces like Facebook‘s WhatsApp, but the public news feed shows no signs of fading for the hundreds of millions who check it daily.

Understanding what goes into your feed, optimizing it for engagement and tracking metrics tied to business objectives is crucial to win with Facebook over the long term.

Utilizing these strategies while adapting to platform shifts empowers any business or creator to sustain reach and connection in one of the world‘s largest personalized feeds.