Ever since Facebook gave us the ability to share the posts of others, it seems like their algorithm is forever changing and getting smarter than ever. For example, if you do a Google search for a new car, you are probably surprised how quickly ads for new cars appear in your Facebook newsfeed. Is it possible to see more Facebook content we want and less of the clutter? Of course.
Facebook recent updates strive to show you less ads and posts from businesses and more posts from friends. This is great on a personal level but may be bad if you’re a business owner. Fortunately, running some targeted social media ads is very affordable and effective.
Will sharing a status help me see more Facebook friends?
Absolutely not. It all comes down to how much you interact with your friends. So, if you share someone’s post you are more likely to see more of that person but not anyone else.
If you click on a friend’s profile, you will notice several options if you hover over the boxes next to their name. Under the “follow” button “default” is selected automatically. This means you will see this person’s posts but how much of their posts you see depends on how often you “like”, comment and share their posts.
What if I want to see less updates from someone?
We all have friends or family members that we love, but let’s face it. We all have someone in our life that publishes a lot of content we would rather not see. To see less of their updates, click on that button that defaults to “following” and change it to “unfollow”. You will still remain Facebook friends, but you will have to click their profile to see their updates.
What if I want to see more updates from a friend or business?
If you prefer to see more of certain friends and businesses, click on the button that defaults to “following” and select “see first”. This option will ensure that every time you login, you will see these friends or businesses post at the top of your newsfeed.
How does Facebook know what content to show me?
Social media platforms seem so smart it is scary nowadays. Many people have speculated that the app listens through your microphone to know which ads to show you. Facebook claims this is not true. It would take tons of storage capabilities for the app to listen in on so many people all the time.
Facebook (as well as many other companies) does access as much public information as it possibly can. Information such as baby registries for example, can help the platform to know a young woman is pregnant. It then targets ads for baby items to her.
Social media platforms also speculate certain characteristics about you based on pages you have “liked” or “followed.” If you have liked Nike’s page for example, Facebook may speculate that you are an athlete. It will then show you related ads from other sports themed businesses and pages.
How do I control what ads Facebook shows me?
To help Facebook better determine what content to show you, you can click on ads and let them know you prefer not to see them when they appear.
By liking certain posts and pages, Facebook determines religious preferences, political beliefs, and more. You can also see what information Facebook has gathered from you by visiting https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences. Then, you can manipulate these preferences by unselecting specific pages.
To learn more about how Facebook ads work, visit Facebook.com/ads/about/.