What is EdgeRank?
Posted: Friday 18 March, 2011
Pete Goold
We've been talking internally a good deal over the last few weeks about EdgeRank, Facebook's algorithm which determines what content is visibile within a user's newsfeed. Although TechCrunch wrote a great piece about it almost a year ago, relatively little has been written on the subject, which is strange given the impact that it has on engagement levels within social media.
So, the first question to answer is: What is EdgeRank? So, we have just launched a PDF to give a brief overview.
In short, the EdgeRank algorithm measures the contents of each post against three main criteria (time, weight and affinity - see the PDF for more detail) to effectively determine a score for that post, which determines whether and by whom the post is displayed to, from a Page's overall fan base.
So, what this means is that we believe that creating content for effective social media outreach is becoming more of an art than previously - almost akin to SEO - with rules that need to be followed for the content to be given the best chance of being seen.
Ultimately it's great news for the user although it means that brands have to work that much harder to engage and in some cases re-engage proportions of their community. Also it means that the user should, theoretically, be in greater control of the content that is displayed. Whilst a fan always has the opportunity to remove their allegiance to a page, this is more subtle and says that if a user is only a passive fan, they will receive less from that particular page.
We think that this will be hugely disruptive this year in terms of brands' use of facebook - and whilst it certainly represents a challenge, we think that it will drive brands and their agencies on to find ever more creative ways of engaging with consumers.
