Why Facebook Decreased Page Reach by More Than 40%

FacebookYes, Facebook has reined back page reach. Since August, there has been a sharp drop in reach across pages of all sizes. According to research from We Are Social and Socialbakers, the average post’s organic reach has dipped by more than 40 percent since the end of August, and there are no signs of the decline leveling off. However, the average page post engagement rate has remained fairly steady during this period. “For the average post reach to drop while the average engagement rate stays steady, this must mean that the posts that are getting seen by fans are now getting more engagement.” There are some, including Mark Cuban, who think Facebook is doing this to force page owners to pay to reach users using promoted posts; others say this is an adjustment to compensate for the growing number of pages users are fans of, and the resulting number of posts from those pages. Regardless of the reason, optimizing posts for engagement is more important than ever. Also, spending money to promote posts is a reality you might just have to face. (TechCrunch)