Meta Releases 4 Ranking Cues for Videos on Facebook

These four signals are used by Meta to determine which videos on Facebook should be viewed by more people.
SIA Team
September 6, 2022

Four key indications are shared by Meta, whose algorithm determines which films get widespread Facebook dissemination.

Meta said originality, audience retention, audience loyalty, and engagement are the indicators that have the biggest impact on video distribution.

“We want videos on our platform to be authentic, enduring, and entertaining, which can turn casual viewers into passionate fans,” Meta said in their recent blog on August 31, 2022.

Meta said producing original videos that viewers want to watch again and again will probably result in more exposure for users’ material. According to them, Facebook emphasizes videos generated by the individual or team responsible for their publication. They said they will also prioritize non-original videos if the creator adds anything valuable to the source content. 

Meta said that people should avoid releasing content in which they did not have a meaningful involvement.

Meanwhile, in audience retention, Meta said that retention is one of the indicators of how well the content was received by the audience.

“A slow and gradual decline in the audience retention graph can show that the topic and structure of the video match well with what your audience wants to see, while an early drop off may mean that the content isn’t what the viewer expected,” Meta said. 

To enhance audience retention for videos, Meta suggests organizing them around a storyline, creating them for on-the-go mobile viewing, and investing in high-quality production.

They said that the Facebook algorithm uses audience loyalty in addition to audience retention as a ranking signal for videos. When Facebook users search for a creator’s videos or visit the creator’s page to watch their material, the loyalty signal becomes even stronger.

To boost audience loyalty, Meta suggests uploading “extra” content in between high-production uploads.

Meta also recommends optimizing for Facebook search results by crafting concise titles and descriptions, as well as including relevant hashtags.

While for engagement, Facebook gives video content that sparks discussions and interactions priority. They said interaction between people, such as sending a video to a friend, can broaden distribution.

Meta reminded creators that they should refrain from adopting engagement bait strategies even though comments and reactions are ranking signals which serve as one of Facebook’s unfavorable ranking factors, as well as watch bait and click baits.