How the Facebook Algorithm Works [2025]
Facebook's algorithm is fundamentally different from Instagram and TikTok: it prioritizes Meaningful Social Interactions (MSI) from friends and family over content from brands, businesses, and creators. Since the 2018 algorithm overhaul, Facebook explicitly ranks personal connections ABOVE page content—meaning business pages now receive only 2-6% organic reach on average, down from 16% pre-2018. The algorithm evaluates posts based on engagement signals (comments > reactions > shares > clicks), dwell time, video completion rate, and your relationship history with the poster.
Facebook's Meaningful Social Interactions (MSI) Framework
What is MSI?
"We're making a major change to how we build Facebook. I'm changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions."
— Mark Zuckerberg, January 2018
Translation: Facebook deprioritized content from publishers, brands, and businesses in favor of content that sparks conversations between friends and family.
Impact: Business Page Reach Collapsed
| Period | Avg Business Page Reach | Viral Post Potential |
|---|---|---|
| Before 2018 MSI Update | 12-16% of followers | 50-100% of followers + non-followers |
| After 2018 MSI Update (Current) | 2-6% of followers (70% decline) | 15-25% of followers (unless HIGHLY engaging) |
Example: Business page with 100K followers
• 2017: Post reaches 12K-16K organically
• 2025: Post reaches 2K-6K organically
This is intentional. Facebook wants you to pay for reach (Facebook Ads). Organic business page reach will likely continue declining.
How the Facebook News Feed Algorithm Works
Facebook uses a 5-step process to rank every post in your News Feed:
1 Inventory
Facebook identifies ALL possible posts you could see (typically 1,500-10,000 posts from friends, pages, groups).
2 Signals
Facebook analyzes hundreds of signals:
- Post-Specific: Who posted, post type, timestamp, engagement so far
- Your Relationship: How often you interact, how recently, type of interactions
- Your Behavior: Content types you engage with, topics you like, dwell time patterns
3 Predictions
Machine learning predicts your likelihood to:
- Comment on the post (highest value)
- React to the post
- Share the post
- Spend time viewing it (dwell time)
4 Ranking Score
Each post gets a ranking score combining engagement predictions, relationship strength, content type performance, and recency.
5 Feed Display
Posts shown in order of ranking score (highest to lowest), NOT chronological order.
News Feed Ranking Factors (In Order of Importance)
1 Relationship Score with Poster (Highest Weight)
What it is: How close Facebook thinks you are to the person or page that posted.
| Relationship Tier | Score | Signals |
|---|---|---|
| Close Friend/Family | Highest | Frequent bidirectional interactions, tags, messages, profile visits |
| Regular Friend | Medium | Occasional interactions, some comments/likes, infrequent messages |
| Acquaintance | Low | Rarely interact, no recent engagement, one-sided following |
| Page You Follow | Very Low | No personal connection, must earn engagement |
| Page You Don't Follow | Almost Zero | Only shown if EXTREMELY viral or sponsored |
2 Engagement Velocity (First 60-90 Minutes)
What it is: How quickly a post gains engagement after being posted.
The Testing Flow
- 0-30 minutes: Shown to 5-15% of most engaged followers/friends
- 30-60 minutes: If performing well → shown to 20-40%
- 60-120 minutes: If STILL performing → shown to 50-80% + some non-followers
- 2-6 hours: Peak distribution (if highly engaging)
- 6-24 hours: Declining distribution
- 24+ hours: Minimal distribution
"Performing well" means: Comments coming in quickly, reactions/shares increasing, high click-through rate, people spending time on post.
3 Comment Count and Quality (Most Valuable Engagement)
Why comments are #1: Comments indicate active participation (not passive consumption). Facebook's MSI framework prioritizes content that sparks conversations.
| Comment Type | Value | Example |
|---|---|---|
| High-Value | Highest | Lengthy comments (20+ words), back-and-forth conversations, from close friends |
| Medium-Value | Medium | Short comments (5-10 words), single emoji, from acquaintances |
| Low/No Value | Low | Single emoji/word, spam/promotional, from bots |
Engagement Bait Penalty
Facebook penalizes posts that explicitly ask for engagement:
- ❌ "Comment YES if you agree!"
- ❌ "Tag someone who needs this!"
- ❌ "Like if you love pizza!"
Benchmark: 5-10+ comments in first hour = Strong performance | 20+ comments = Excellent, viral potential
4 Reactions (Second Most Valuable)
Reaction Hierarchy (Facebook's internal weighting):
- Love, Wow, Haha (Highest weight) — Strong emotional response
- Sad, Angry (High weight) — Emotional response (but can signal negative content)
- Like (Lower weight) — Passive, easy engagement (being deprioritized)
The "Like" Decline: Facebook is gradually devaluing simple "Likes" because they're too passive. Facebook is testing an "Interested" button (like Instagram) to replace Likes in some regions.
5 Video Completion Rate (For Video Posts)
What it is: What percentage of your video do viewers watch?
| Completion Rate | Performance | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| 80-100% | Exceptional | Viral potential, huge distribution |
| 60-79% | Excellent | Strong distribution |
| 40-59% | Good | Medium distribution |
| 20-39% | Below average | Limited distribution |
| <20% | Poor | Minimal distribution |
How to Maximize Completion Rate
- Keep videos SHORT — <60 seconds ideal, <2 minutes max
- Hook in first 3 seconds — Auto-play starts muted, need visual hook
- Add captions — 85% of Facebook videos watched without sound
- Front-load value — Don't save payoff for end
- Use square or vertical video — Takes up more screen space on mobile
6 Post Type Performance
Post Type Hierarchy (Organic Reach Potential):
| Post Type | Avg Reach | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Native Video | 8-12% of followers | High engagement, high completion rates (2-3x higher than text/links) |
| Photo/Image Posts | 5-8% of followers | High visual engagement, easy to consume |
| Text-Only Posts | 2-10% (varies) | Personal updates from friends (high), business page text (very low 2-4%) |
| Link Posts | 2-4% of followers | External links deprioritized (50% lower than native content) |
| Shared Posts | 1-3% of followers | Minimal organic reach (exception: sharing to groups with commentary) |
The Link Post Dilemma: Businesses need to drive traffic to websites, but Facebook deprioritizes external links. Solution: Use native content FIRST to build engagement, then share link in comments or use Facebook Ads.
Facebook Reels vs News Feed Algorithm
Facebook Reels (launched 2021) has a SEPARATE algorithm from News Feed:
| Factor | News Feed | Reels |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Factor | Relationship score | Completion rate |
| Content Discovery | Mostly from connections | Mostly from non-followers |
| Goal | Meaningful social interactions | Entertainment (like TikTok) |
| Optimal Length | Varies by type | <30 seconds ideal |
Facebook Groups: Higher Organic Reach
Key Insight: Facebook Groups have a DIFFERENT algorithm optimized for community engagement.
| Surface | Avg Organic Reach | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Business Page Posts | 2-6% of followers | Invest in ads |
| Group Posts | 30-60% of members | Create branded community |
Strategic Use of Groups
- For Businesses: Create branded community group (higher reach than page posts)
- For Creators: Join niche communities, provide value first, promote second
- For Everyone: Participate in industry groups (build authority, not spam)
Groups can deliver 5-10x more organic reach than page posts for the same content.
Key Takeaways
Your Facebook Strategy for 2025:
- Accept reality: Business page organic reach will remain low (2-6%)
- Invest in Facebook Ads for important content (organic reach alone won't cut it)
- Use Facebook Groups (30-60% reach vs 2-6% for pages)
- Post native video and Reels (highest organic reach potential)
- Create comment-generating content (questions, discussions, controversial takes)
- Post during peak hours (maximize first 60-90 minutes)
- Use Hashmeta's CX platform to optimize timing, track engagement velocity, and manage all social platforms
The Facebook algorithm rewards MEANINGFUL INTERACTIONS, not passive consumption. Create content that sparks conversations, not just likes—and supplement organic reach with strategic ad spend.