Graphrank Facebook’s New Algorithm.

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App Developers

Facebook is using a new algorithm to determine what app news goes onto your newsfeed and what does not. It was once known as the Edgerank where this algorithm determines everything that goes into the newsfeed, however, now a newer algorithm has been released to govern over the application feeds and it is known as the Facebook’s Graph Rank. This new algorithm is said to be a direct response to the many complaints where users were getting too much activity from application that they are not interested in at all. Apparently, this new algorithm is gear to show you applications that you are directly connected to so that your newsfeed will not look like a spam board.

It was said that at first Facebook tried to stop all the viral factors that have been allowing apps to grow but when they attempted this, many app developers became very frustrated, and it hindered the growth of their apps. Therefore, Facebook have come up with Graph Rank and this is so that a balance kept satisfying both the app developers and the Facebook user at the same time.

What the app developers need to know.

Here are some facts that most app developers or marketers who use applications to market their products on Facebook should know. Firstly, Graph rank needs to be taken seriously by app developers much like how Edge rank is taken seriously to Fan page owners. The Graph rank algorithm is directly impacting those who are using applications that work on Facebook.

What this means is that if you want an effective way to reach out to your prospects who are dwelling within Facebook, then you need to understand the rules, and play by the rules or you will find that your efforts in developing your ads all going to a waste.

What your friend think… actually matters.

Yes in graph rank, whatever your friend’s taste on apps will be taken into account. What this means is that if your friends are hot over heels over a new app called ‘milk me’ then Facebook’s graph rank will place priority to this app and show it on your newsfeed in order to get you interested in this app as well.

The algorithm also puts more weight on friends who you’ve interacted with more recently, and if they have been showing keen interest and high level of interaction between your friend(s) with the app, then you will most likely be able to see the app updates that is getting popular among your friends list on your newsfeed. All in all… this factor is placed into the algorithm so that apps that get interested by your circle of close friends will be prioritized.

Graph Rank Factors Proximity.

Another factor that Graph ranks takes into account are the proximities of your friends and you. This means, the closer your circles of friends are to you or the closer they are to each other, will determine the importance of the app to you and your circle of friends. This app will then be given priority to be shown in your Facebook’s newsfeed. Hence, if you have friends who are playing ‘milk me’ at the other end of the world but non who are living close to you are playing this game, you might not even see the app or the app news on your newsfeed.

Similarity with Edgerank.

With Graphrank, there is a significant similarity to the Edgerank where the affinity, and the time decay factor are also in place. To those who do not know, the time decay factor is a factor used to determine how recent the trend and ‘hotness’ or an app is. If the app is not getting as much attention as it should for the past few days, it shows that the trends is starting to die out and Graphrank will start to lower your app’s scores and reduce your Graph rank’s score.

The weight factor.

Much like in the Edgerank, where a comment is said to have more weight than a simple click on the ‘like’ button, on Graphrank, the type of update is playing a considerably similar role in the weight factor. If your application is undergoing a video update it will always outweighs a photo update. This means with each update you should at least try to make a big impactful update instead of making smaller updates all the time to get more exposure as opposed to the time prior to Graph rank where you would break your updates into multiple and smaller updates so that your app updates get shown on user’s newsfeed more often.

With that said, if you are applying new features to your applications, your app will be getting a lot more weight than some unimportant update. Graphrank is a very smart way to help filter out junk newsfeed and only keep those that matters to the users on their newsfeed.

What this ultimately tells us is… if you are an application developer, or if you plan to use Facebook applications to market your offers, try your best to understand the factors that gears towards exposing your applications on newsfeeds and use the graph rank algorithm to your advantage. You will find that if you are doing things right, you will be able to get a lot of ‘viral’ traffic and new users and your apps will still be able to work for you as effective as it was before. Sure it is a little bit trickier… but it can still be done.

App Developers

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About the Author: Wilson Cowden

There are many people who get stuck in a rut because of all their cumbersome duties and responsibilities that come attached to owning a franchise, but the experience does not always have to be a dreadful one if creativity enters the picture!

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