Updated March 1, 2025
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Good or Bad For Business?
Businesses that drive awareness and website traffic through social media may be concerned by new Facebook algorithm changes that target so-called Like-Bait posts. In fact, the updates may make it easier for relevant businesses with strong social media campaigns to connect with audience members.
What is Like-Baiting?
Like-baiting is the act of posting repeated statuses with the sole purpose of gaining likes. The posts aren’t particularly engaging — many of them include an image prompting users to simply like or share. Sometimes, the post gives a choice: “Like for hamburgers, share for pizza.” It’s an easy click, and in a fickle social-media universe, easy choices are often made. That results in like-bait generating thousands of interactions, which meant those Facebook pages were showing up more in individual feeds.
What Does Facebook Think?
Turns out, Facebook frowns on like-baiting. In fact, the site frowns on anything that is spammy in nature, including content that is re-posted consistently by many users. Facebook’s not alone in its outlook. Even though users consistently click on like-bait statuses, in Facebook polls, they rate those statuses as 15 percent less relevant than other content.
Facebook Algorithm Changes
In reaction to user ratings, Facebook changed its algorithms to reduce the amount of “feed spam” and like-bait content that appears in user feeds. That leaves room for businesses that are building a genuine relationship with users. Without dozens of spammy posts clogging up news feeds, users are both able to see your posts and have time to review your content.
Some large brands have reported decreases in Facebook engagement as a result of the changes, but that’s expected. It takes time for content strategies to catch up with Facebook algorithm changes. In the meantime, businesses should continue developing engaging content, interacting with readers, and reviewing performance to identify what strategies work best on social media accounts.
What do you think about the Facebook algorithm changes?
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