Graph Search, EdgeRank, & Your Brand

A guest post by Craig Robinson

Contrary to popular belief, one doesn’t need to be a computer expert to leverage things like EdgeRank, a ranking algorithm, and Graph Search on Facebook. While even the mere words “algorithm” or “protocol” might cause your eye to twitch, the good news is that you won’t need to immerse yourself in an SEO starter course to properly formulate content to your utmost advantage.

All you really need is to understand how something like EdgeRank works, and to do that, you must understand what EdgeRank was designed for.

Understanding EdgeRank

To put it simply, EdgeRank was designed to give an “Edge” to the better, more relevant content in order to be displayed on a Facebook user’s News Feed. An Edge, specifically, can be defined as anything that happens on Facebook in terms of an interaction, meaning status updates, shares, Likes, or typically any action that takes place within Facebook.

EdgeRank is the algorithm that works to rank these Edges, using three relatively simple variables: Affinity, Weight, and Time Decay.

• Affinity: This variable can be described as the relationship a Facebook user has with an Edge, and it’s a one-way relationship. The Affinity factor here is something that’s built up over time, by way of cultivating a relationship through a variety of actions: Likes, clicks, messaging, comments, sharing, and other actions taken.

• Weight: This variable deals with the value of any particular Edge, and it is calculated by the strength of one action vs. another. For instance, if a user Likes a post on Facebook, this gives it weight, but actually commenting is something that gives more weight. Facebook thus assigns value to all Edges based in part on their weight.

• Time Decay: This variable is simply the time that the Edge has been alive. Generally speaking, the older any particular Edge is, the less valuable it is, and thus Facebook cycles higher-weighted Edges through News Feeds in order to keep things fresh.

Now that you know a little about EdgeRank, let’s take a look at some tips you can use to help you leverage it. And while you’re at it, don’t forget that these tips also apply to Graph Search – Facebook’s protocol for socially-related, in-house material that focuses on finding tailored results per user.

Leveraging Tips and Principles to Increase Your Facebook Presence

1: Engage, and Engage Some More

The more engagement you have, the better you’re going to score via EdgeRank. So releasing material that really puts an emphasis on action and interaction means that you’re more likely to show up in someone’s News Feed.

2: Be Thorough as a Brand

When you’re filling out your Facebook brand page and your company information, including personal information about you and your business and its products/services, be thorough and honest. This not only helps develop trust, but it will help tremendously with Graph Search results.

3: Participate on Facebook

Actually working to be sociable and engaging on your end will result in increased reciprocation, with people more willing to engage with you. Brands that are engaging are able to develop increased followings, increased actions, and ultimately will appear to more of their audience.

4: Focus on Quality

Quality should be a staple of any social marketing approach, but it’s especially important when dealing with engagement and increased EdgeRank numbers. No one wants to bother engaging with a brand that can’t be bothered to focus on quality material.

6: Post on a Clock

Remember that EdgeRank cycles out material based on their clock. So if you’re on top of this and are posting quality material at a regular rate, you can begin to schedule your material in order to leverage more views via more News Feeds.

No matter the topic, you’re more than likely to find that quality and engagement not only go hand-in-hand but also matter a great deal to your overall success on Facebook. The same holds true with leveraging EdgeRank and Graph Search. There’s nothing complicated here; just calls to focus more on your engagement in order to improve your brand’s reach.

Craig Robinson is an online writer for Qwaya , a facebook ad campaign tool. He loves to write different topics about social media tips and strategies. Besides writing, he also enjoys engaging with different communities and social forums.