One aspect of Facebook that frustrates me is sorting fact from fiction. When rumors start catching on, they snowball. People suddenly think they see something that didn’t exist before, or they exaggerate results.
This isn’t always the case. But it often is. That’s what makes it so difficult.
The recent reports of Reach going up for Facebook Page Status Updates while going down for Photos is no different. Some valid points were raised. But then, it just got out of hand.
Reach for Status Updates is up 20%
Reach for Status Updates has doubled!
Reach for Status Updates is up 10 times!
Reach for Status Updates is up 1 Gazillion times while Reach for Photos is 1 NEGATIVE Gazillion!
I like facts. I hate small sample sizes. And I hate metrics that have little meaning.
One thing that bothers me about this latest dust up is that Reach, in and of itself, doesn’t mean a whole lot. Granted, it could significantly impact the things that matter — like Engagement — but it’s not necessarily the case.
That’s been my issue from Day 1 of “The Reach Issue,” dating back to August 28 when Viral Reach fell off the table. My engagement continued trending upwards. Isn’t that what really matters?
But I also understand that my data makes for a very small sample size. That’s why I created Facebook Insights Helper. It made it easier for others to spot trends and verify facts.
And it’s also why I’ve now created the Facebook Reach Tracker. I want to see if there really is an issue with Reach by post type.
I can’t make a whole lot out of my data yet. I rarely use Status Updates, and the when I did recently it was to ask people if their Reach for Status Updates was up. Well, that Status Update went nuts, but you can hardly say that means something.
So, do me a favor. Download the spreadsheet and let me know what trends — if any — you’re seeing in Reach and Engagement by post type. Just fill out the form below!
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What are you seeing? Share your results below!
