If you don’t use Facebook just ignore this. It’s just an FYI I wish I’d known before.
I’ve had a couple of people recently ask me why I don’t blog anymore and that seemed weird because I’ve never stopped blogging but they insisted that they hadn’t seen anything from me on Facebook in forever and Victor also said he never sees my posts on Facebook saying that I have a new blog post out and I assumed they were just crazy but I thought I’d do an experiment just to see if Facebook was hiding my posts with links to my blog.
I posted two posts at the same time asking people to “like” if they saw it in their feeds. They were identical except one also had a link to my blog. Within four minutes the post without the link had 5 times more likes than the one with the link and Facebook was like, “This post is doing better than 95% of the other posts on your page so you should pay us to get it out to more people” and that seems ironic since it was a post showing that Facebook was kinda being a dick, but whatever.
Final numbers 2 days later:
Post with a link in it ~ 4.4k likes. (Facebook says 26k people reached)
Post without a link in it ~ 12k likes. (Facebook says 57k people reached.)
Lovely people who understand Facebook more than I do explained it’s an algorithm issue because Facebook doesn’t want to show stuff that has links because it makes you leave Facebook, but that you can get around it a bit by instead putting the link in the first comment of the post, so I tried that and asked people to “like” if they saw it and it got 9.4k likes (66k people reached). That seems pretty definitive. I decided to share this with you in case you’re having the same issues, although probably by the time I write this Facebook will also find a way to hide any posts that links in the comments too or just erase me from existence. Hard to tell.
If you’re going to have problems, this is a better class of problem to have.
(Amen. ~ Jenny)
Yea, I feel ya, I post something on FB sometimes and it has 3 billion likes down from 5 billion likes …wait a second, that never happens….
insomniagirl.net
Yea, I feel ya, I post something on FB sometimes and it has 3 billion likes down from 5 billion likes …wait a second, that never happens….
https://insomniagirl.net/
What is this facebook thing you speak of?
Hiya! I work for FASO . com and we’ve had the same issue for our clients… this article is pretty interesting…
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/facebook-declining-organic-reach
Seems FB prefers that you pay for “boosts” and such, even though there is some question about whether that’s always legit (ie some have found that FB employees were the ones “liking,” to make it look like it was working).
I get emails when you post so I didn’t miss anything. I did only see the non-link post on Facebook. I guess I need to rethink how my blog posts there. I have noticed that my referrals from Facebook have gone down. Thanks for the experiment.
I don’t know if they have also found a way around it, but if people ask to see your publications first on their news feed they should always be able to see them when they check their wall: https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=149179342085573
Hope it helps!
Yes, it didn’t occur to me until you mentioned it, but I haven’t seen anything from you on Facebook for ages.
Thanks, Jenny! I’ve been struggling with the wrath of Zuck too and did not know the link in the first comment trick! Appreciate you sharing your learning. Us little gals sure can’t afford to boost every post, even if we did want to, which we don’t!
You are not alone in this. I’ve heard other bloggers complain about it as well. FB wants to sell you more “business tools.” Putting the link in the first reply is great, but with someone like you who gets many, many replies, that top reply gets buried quick. Be sure to end every post with a line saying where to find the link. It seems silly, but trust me. We will still find you! 🙂
Was the staring deer in Wisconsin?
Which is weird, because me experience with my page is the opposite. Photos get seen. text posts do not. Which proves that there is no reasoning with how to get your stuff seen on facebook : there is no way. unless you pay.
I never stopped seeing you, but apparently only selectively, even though I have your posts set to appear among the first. Since I also follow you on Twitter I don’t really miss your blog entries, though. It pays to be on multiple social media platforms and have too much time on your hands.
FB is doing all kinds of creepy things. I notice patterns in content all the time. Not ads or interests but actual behavioral themes. Today’s was check your anger before acting or speaking. I swear I’m not making it up. Pick a day and watch your feed and see how the things they say, products shown, or images used tie together. I was feeling like I was crazy for awhile but I don’t think so.
Thank you for sharing that… it explains a lot!
I was having the same problem. But lately, Facebook doesn’t even show me friend’s posts without links. Basically, fb is just being an asshole.
E
For the record, I always saw your blog posts with the link, but I have selected “See First” on your FB page so I think that is the reason. I have also subscribed to your blog so I get email notices when you post, too. That way I never miss one. This is how important not missing a single word of your blog is to me. 🙂
Generally, because I’m friends with you on FB + I follow the Bloggess page, I see them right after the other in my feed. Also, apparently the F in FB is not for Face…
Posts with photos always get more attention, too. So perhaps the best way for success (until they change the model again) would be to do a post with a photo, and have the link in the first comment.
Yet another reason I’m glad I don’t use Faecesbook.
I absolutely hate FB so I cut back on social media. Just too much noise and aggravation. Now the only thing I use is Twitter and your blog. I have a feeling that shortly I’ll ditch Twitter and just rely on you to distill the outside world for me. This could be wondrous or completely insane but either way I win!
This is part of why I really dislike Facebook. I just want to see what people post, in rue order they post it in. Why’s it gotta be difficult?
Facebook IS a dick. I’m glad I left, many moons ago. My account is still active, because it’s like the Hotel California: you can check in any time you like but you can NEVER leave. They can’t force me to look at it, though (yet) and so I haven’t, in years.
Er… In THE order, rather.
I also dislike autocorrect.
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I saw this on FB, and the deer comment. I scrolled down, went back to the top… and you were gone! FB has not been showing all of my “follows,” either.
Vis-a-vis the deer- remember, it is mating season. Maybe the doe has a “me too” story she wants to share with you.
I completely gave up on Facebook a while back for my blog promotion. It’s like, hard. I’m actually a very lazy person.
I will give this a try, thanks for the tip 🙂
Facebook is a dick.
If you don’t click or like somebody’s post, they don’t come back. Then you click and like someone’s post that you really didn’t like but you were being polite and you get nothing but their posts. I give up trying to understand. We see you, Jenny.
I’m getting more and more glad that I’m not on the “book of face” just for these reasons. I have enough hoops to jump through in my regular life; I don’t need them in my cyber life.
An aside: how in the hell did autocorrect turn “not on” to “Nixon”???? Glad I caught it!
That is a really good tip to know about Facebook pages. Thanks Jenny. You’re a star.
I am going to have to try that with my blog… because FB is not getting my money. I am not a fan of their current patterns. Just seeing crap I don’t want and missing important stuff I would like to see!
I’ve had the same issue when posting on FB with a link to my blog. I guess this explains it and I may do some experimentation on my own. For the record, I only saw your post with no link at all in my newsfeed and had to actually go to your FB page to see the other posts. I think honestly, FB just wants us to pay to boost our posts because obviously they get more out of that. It really sucks!
Jenny, your blog is quite popular everywhere now. What would be the net result if you left Facebook? Would it mean the loss of 57K readers?
(I’m not sure. I still like Facebook even though it pisses me off, but I’m definitely a twitter girl at heart. ~ Jenny)
Thanks for the PSA. I am signed up to receive an email every time you post, just so I don’t have to rely on FB to tell me. FB is awesome, but they definitely engage in practices that solely benefit their business model– just like every other business!
I utterly despise FaceBook. And it doesn’t surprise me at all that they are pulling shenanigans like this.
Success on Facebook is a moving target. =( This is why I have you in Feedly. <3
Hi Jenny – disclaimer – I’m a web developer. Facebook is a walled garden – it always has been, and always will be. Not many seem to remember that when Twitter, Facebook, etc were still small, they all played nicely with each other – you could import friends from each service into the others. Then when they got a bit bigger, the connections were severed, and the walls went up. It’s been interesting in recent weeks to read comments from the Facebook founders that it was designed to hook people from the start – there was no intention to provide anything useful.
This is the reason I follow you on FB, Instagram and twitter. I don’t even like twitter I just have it to follow you and your the only reason I got Instagram. I’m a Jenny blog stalker but don’t worry I’m to lazy and introverted to be an actual stalker. Your safe we’ll from me at least 😂
I signed up for email notifications of new blog posts from so I don’t have to worry about missing a post on FB, which is already choked with pictures of kids/pets/food/quizzes/please pray for me but I’m not telling you what for posts……
Thanks for sharing this. I am trying putting my blog link in the comments now too and it turns out I get more traffic. This only matters if I survive the next couple of weeks with a sick Viking though. But it’s still good to know. :o)
I have noticed that I see posts that mention facebook more quickly than ones that don’t. Also if you mention something like “today” or a date, it doesn’t show up right away. For example the soccer team says something about an upcoming game, I see the post after the game. If the computer thinks you are advertising something, it stalls posting it.
I hate Facebook. It was originally supposed to be a way to connect with people. Now it’s a way to maybe connect with people it’s you’re willing to pay them to show your posts to other people. And they’re screwing up Instagram, too. It’s so obnoxious.
I’ve been working on a similar issue with my Facebook book page. One post gets 1500 reaches and another gets 9 reaches. So thanks much for your input. I’ll have to see how the links thing works. Love your posts!
Luckily, your blog emails me to tell me every time you post, so I never miss out. But now that you mention it, I do only see your facebook posts AFTER I’ve already read the corresponding blog post. Now I’ve gone and made myself paranoid. WTF, Facebook?
I never noticed it until you ran that experiment. But now I notice even showing “most recent” it is either old, and not recent, and I’m still missing A LOT of stuff.
But I’m also old school, for you because at some point I signed up to be emailed every time you post, because yay I get to see new posts. (and if i wasn’t such an email hoarder this wouldn’t clutter either, but I digress), in this point. Emails are awesome!
This is why I hate Facebook and why I dumped it.
I look at my Pages feed regularly, and your posts show up frequently.
I simply tell Facebook to show me your posts first and I never miss them!
Of course, they also don’t just list comments in a good way. If you get loads of comments on your posts (and you do), unless everyone also likes your comment, it gets buried and we have to go digging or click to show all comments (which means yours should be towards the top, and then we just have to scroll through everyone else’s). As a person and also as an artist, I hate FB. Sure, they have to do business, but they did such a good job that most people don’t go outside of FB and it’s the main or only place everyone checks (instead of, for instance, an artist’s web site). Blergh
Harumph! Shame on you Facebook!
I have also found that if I do not like or share FB posts, that FB account will disappear from my feed.
I don’t use Facebook. Unless it counts when I read a book. Then I do face book since that is the only way my eyes work. Wow, I can feel all the eye rolls out there coming my way. I deserve it.😕
For the record your comment that was like WTF I need to link in my comments? came up in my feed and had to search out your lost with the link in the post. Never saw it otherwise.
In the end, if we find a way to get off of FB and bring our networks with us? This will be why.
Quit trying to decide for me what I want to see Zuckerberg!!
You’re almost never on my Facebook feed (despite “liking” you), but I ALWAYS read your Tweets, so I never miss a blog. Clearly, Twitter wins.
How strange – I almost always see your blog links on FB, but I didn’t see either of the two experimental ones…just the cryptic on that led to this post!
I never see your facebook posts…but I check your blog every few days…so it all works out?
I’d given up on using Facebook (at least the muggle version – Bloggess Pals is still my go-to for all things awesome in the virtual world). But I’m going to have to try the link in first comment thing. I’m hoping to get a whole dozen people to see that i’m blogging.
Facebook has been messing with our heads and hiding the stuff we really want to see for what it decides we should see instead. It’s totally gaslighting us.
Wait wait, hold up, you mean there are people who know of your existence but don’t obsessively check this blog every single day?! Gasp! (My morning is not complete without a stop here!) I’m curious if FB does this with all posts with links, or just professional pages who they can try to get to buy boosts.
WordPress Reader, baby. Even though WordPress has been a real douche canoe lately.
Yep, Facebook is a dick. It’s been pay to play for a while now and, commercial implications aside, it simply sucks not to see the people/Pages you’ve conciously said you want to follow just so FB can make another billion. They’ve pretty much killed Instagram too since buying it, the algorithm there means I get a quarter of the likes on my photos than I did two years ago when I had half as many followers (and not it’s not a quality thing). Zuck has truly taken the social out of social media. Maybe I should revitalise that blog of mine ;D
That’s why I put the blogs that I really want to track (like this one) in my RSS feed reader, Feedly. I have Facebook set to show me posts in chronological order (by adding /?sk=h_chr to the end of the URL I use to get there), meaning that I avoid the whole algorithm nonsense because I see ALL the posts, but it means I miss huge chunks of stuff because I usually only check Facebook a couple of times a week. I tell it to notify me when my very best friends post anything, so at least I keep up with the really important stuff.
I’m old and not very computer literate, so I don’t know how to find your blog. I don’t do Twitter or Instagram. I’m pretty okay with FB and email. I would hate to miss anything you post, because I think you are incredibly funny. So I hope I will still be able to read your posts on FB.
What a dick thing to do, Facebook. Boo.
Thank you for sharing this. It does not come to me as a surprise though. Life is better when you accept the fact that we, the people, are bovine units and we count as far as we are squeasable, exploitable, abusable. It is not as bad as it may sound. Just relax and enjoy but be aware.
Ahhhhh that explains a lot. I’m writing a series of posts for single mothers and did notice that the posts with links sounded like crickets while posts with memes were getting more interest, etc. Thanks for passing on this information!
Hugs,
M.
Facebook is not your friend, and neither is Mark Zuckerberg.
Isn’t it way past time for some new, cool upstart site to usurp Facebook and relegate them to the cyber-netherworld. Whither Myspace?
I get you in my email. Reliably and consistently.
I’m rather ‘new’ to FB, but, my husband and I can be in the same room and I can say, “Tag me in it, Honey.” and FB will NEVER give me the notification.
So, he’ll send it in a PM.
I have you marked ‘see first’ in my FaceBook, but I’m lucky to stumble across your posts… and I NEVER get a notification that you have posted 🙁
I like your BETA testing process.
Nice.
Facebook is ridiculous. I hear a lot of the same complaints from other small business owners. They want everyone to pay to be seen. The thing that makes me mad is, if theres a coupon code i need or a contest on fb, i can’t view it without an account. My employer forbids us from having fb, so i can never go on without a log in. Screw fb!
Hmmmm … After reading some of the comments here I’m thinking we should start our own FB.
Yep, I’ve noticed the same thing happening with a page I built for my Patreon. I went to Facebook to get more traffic to the Patreon page – and I’m not sure there’s a point to using it anymore for that purpose.
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Yup. I’ve had this exact problem with my business page. The “experts” are like “nope it doesn’t work that way.” But you just got the same results I did so I say we’re the experts now.
OHMYGAWD THIS!!! This exact thing is what happened to me just 2 weeks ago. Not to my blog. I’ll explain: I haven’t had any issues with your blog I don’t think. I mean, I basically stalk the shiznit out of you erywhere. 😁 Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. I refuse to miss a post. 😁 But on Facebook I follow one more well-known blog. And this guy also posts cartoons and memes and other things in an effort to stay visible also because of FBs stupid algorithms. Well for months, literally months, all I saw were things that didn’t have links! I saw his cartoons, memes he’d post, everything but blog entries. I had notifications turned on for him and STILL wouldn’t see actual blog entries. A couple weeks ago I went so far as to write him and ask him why he never blogs anymore! He wrote back eventually and said he’s still been blogging constantly. And he didn’t understand why I would see, and get notifications for, his other stuff but not his blogs.
Your entry explains it. Stupid Facebook algorithms. Sucks. I’m sorry Jenny 🙁
There is something else your followers can do to ensure they see your posts. Go to The Bloggess facebook page. Where it says “Following” at the top of the page, click to get the drop down menu. Where it says “In Your Newsfeed”, select “See First”. This will help get them around Facebook’s crappy algorithm.
Wow. Just wow.
Facebook is a dick & you can’t trust them. They have their own goals, which aren’t anyone else’s.
I handle social media for a public library and we’ve had the same issue. I found that image posts get the most views, so we just pay images and then add the link.
Awesome advice, thanks Jenny! I had no idea! Will certainly change the way I post our Blogs!
I fucking hate Facebook. I don’t really live there anymore. I visit to see if there are posts in the work-search groups of which I am a member. Facebook tells me that my “page” is not getting enough attention (really, FB? since I haven’t posted to THAT since, um, 2014, maybe? probably more like 2012? seriously, I don’t even know, since I haven’t VISITED my own goddamned “page” since the last fucking time I posted there… so wtf, FB?)… Sometimes family will post photos, but unless FB directs me there, I miss even posts from family.
I link to my blog on Twitter, which then posts to FB. My HUSBAND only knows I’ve blogged if he gets an email notification because he subscribes… he NEVER sees my blog posts on FB. But since most of my tweets that post there are actually retweets, more people who “follow” me on FB get to see my blog posts (because they’re original, vs. RT) than other shit. I frankly don’t care. The people who read me number in the significant-thousands FEWER than the people who read YOU. I don’t even know how to figure out if people are finding me by typing random shit into Google, because despite my excellent public education, I cannot for my fucking life figure out how to work Google Analytics.
Maybe you could teach us, the “moronic masses” who blog just for fun? I’m curious, but I can’t devote precious brain power to figuring it out… and unfortunately, googling “how do I make Google Analytics work for my blog?” only sends me into a black hole. There are some things too meta even for Google.
… suffice it to say, I did NOT see either of your Facebook “please like this post” posts. Sorry I screwed up your test.
OMG You have just solved the mystery as to why my links are not showing to so much ppl on Fb although they are on my page while a video of a puppy gets so much more views.
Then again puppies are cuter
Thanks for sharing your actual experience and data on this. I had heard that social media apps were making behind-the-scenes changes over the years that wouldn’t immediately be apparent to casual users, but would be visible to people in the know. Since most of the social media sites seem to have a goal to keep users on their sites, I guess we need to find work-arounds. However, I liked embedding the link on the main post because I like to see the message and graphic that shows up with my post, which is not always the main picture or first paragraph of my latest post. Oh well.
Good to know, thanks. Glad we’re all just existing as algorithms.
Every day in every way, Facebook sucks more and more. Zuckerberg is a sociopath. And not the good kind.
That’s so mental! Bloody facebook has become a fame whore, just out for herself.
Glad to see you’re still blogging!
I miss the old Facebook, before the profit motive took over.
It is so fucking annoying. I can never figure out what does or doesn’t get my blog posts seen on FB. I just want to write things and be worshipped for them. Is that so much to ask?! Honestly, I blame Google for getting rid of Google Reader.
Holy crap that makes sense. Explains why when I post from my business page, it doesn’t get much attention. Thanks for the head’s up! Hope your issue gets better too.
This is why RSS readers need to remain an option. I never miss a post.
I saw two posts this weekend – one with a link and one without but the one with the link came in 2 days after the one without…. if that makes sense.
So fucking messed up! I literally just had a conversation about this with my boss/colleagues. This whole new FB ‘we are just going to change the rules and let everyone figure out how to play by losing’ strategy is literally pummeling small businesses. Our readership/reach went from 23million to 4million in what felt like overnight.
Here are some articles you all might find helpful to understand the changes and how to navigate them. Thanks for sharing your experience…we grassroots folk have to stick together!
https://marketingland.com/facebook-reward-links-97390
NOTE: Check out the articles linked in this one as well, also very helpful.
FB & Youtube are both mucking with the little bloggers.
One of the lights of the internet has gone on hiatus because of it — all of you go look up Glove and Boots and fall in love with Mario & Fafa and Gorilla and follow them so they go back into regular production I hopehophope…
Gorilla Game of Thrones. Uncle Joe vs the Squirrels. Parodoke. Thor-igami: Crafts with the god of thunder.
https://www.youtube.com/user/gloveandboots
This monetization game is brutal.
Just writing here to tell you I gave birth in those “Fuck this Shit” socks and they were a hit with the nurses.
Yup. I also gather that if you don’t constantly “like” posts from a page you follow, FB “decides” for you that you don’t want to see further posts. Logic probably being that you’ll freak out and pay them for more exposure. Ever since they went public with their stock, they’re ruining the whole experience >:(
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Well, this is good to know. It’s likely not “a thing” for me, since I have about 1000 times fewer followers than you (does that only make sense to me? new math? 1000 times fewer? negative 1000% more?) Anyway….. facebook likely doesn’t give a twist about me, but thanks for the heads up. Now to run a test.
This is precisely why I subscribed to your blog. You’re delivered right to my inbox.