Understanding How Post Types Impact Reach on Facebook

Even though Facebook’s reach is slightly declining in Ukraine, this social network remains one of the most popular in our country. Therefore, understanding the nuances of building reach on it is crucial, as it significantly enhances brand visibility and audience engagement. One of the key tasks is choosing the right type of post to achieve maximum reach. Another hotly debated topic is whether links in posts reduce reach.

Background of the Experiment

You’ve probably seen the phrase “link in the first comment” in posts on personal pages and brand pages. It looks odd, right? Another legend from SMM specialists claims that Facebook particularly dislikes links to YouTube, reducing the reach of such posts. Let’s find out if this is true.

A few years ago, we tested these myths, but we decided to see if anything had changed in Facebook’s algorithm. So, we conducted a new study to determine whether the type of post and the presence of links to any external sites or directly to YouTube affect reach.

Links in Posts

Posts with links indeed performed the worst. In our experiment, a post with a YouTube link showed the same results as a post with a link to another site. For comparison: posts containing only text (without links) received 3.3 times more reach on average. Thus, the myth that links in posts reduce reach is confirmed: you will lose 70% of your audience.

Posts with Images

We also created posts with images. In one of them, we added a link to an external site in the comment. Posts with images received almost twice the reach of plain text posts. The difference between an image post and a post with a link was 5.5-6.1 times! We also checked whether links in comments reduce reach. It turned out that such links do not reduce reach. So, the next time you see a post on Facebook with the text “link in the comment,” know that the SMM specialist is doing it right.

Posts with Videos

And of course, we posted a video. Unsurprisingly, it received the most reach. The advantage of video over other formats: 1.5 times better than an image, 2.8 times better than text, and 9.4 times better than a post with a link to an external site or YouTube.

In the experiment, we did not test the type of post Live video (stream). But from previous experience, we know that streams gain reach comparable to regular videos, sometimes even surpassing them. To ensure good reach for a Live Video, it should be at least 5 minutes long.

Overall Results

For visualization, we took the types of posts with the worst reach as a conditional unit.

Tips for Marketers and SMM Specialists

1. Invest in Video Content: Video content is the most effective for engaging the audience. Facebook prefers videos uploaded directly to the platform, positively impacting reach. Since videos achieve the highest reach, it’s worth investing in creating quality video content that will be interesting and engaging for your audience.
2. Use Images: If creating videos is not feasible, posts with images are an excellent alternative. Ensure high image quality and add interesting and relevant captions.
3. Engage Through Text: Text-only posts can also be effective, especially if they provoke discussion or evoke emotions.
4. Avoid Links: Posts with links have less reach, so use them sparingly. If you need to share a link, try to do so in the comments to the main post.
5. Consider Other Factors: The type of post is not the only factor that affects reach. Pay attention to the content’s essence, emotion, and tone, the presence of a call to action or question, and the overall information background on social networks on the day of the post.
6. Analyze Data: Regularly analyze the results of your posts to determine which types of content work best for your audience. Use this data to adjust your strategy.
7. Paid Advertising: Studies show that organic reach on Facebook is continuously decreasing. Only 2-5% of your page’s followers will see a post unless you use Facebook ads to promote it. If you need to increase reach, allocate budget for Meta Ads.

Conclusion

Understanding how different types of posts impact reach on Facebook is key to a successful marketing strategy. Use video content and images to achieve the best results, and don’t forget to analyze your outcomes to continually improve your strategy.

Ukrainian version of publication >>