If you get overwhelmed with endless and boring pictures of your distant family members’ kids on vacations, or people imposing their political and religious views on you, debates that leave you drained and yet make no difference to the world, I am here to tell you – FACEBOOK is not to blame.
Facebook is only a technology, a platform that allows you to connect to people of your choice. When that connection happens, Facebook is trying to figure out your preferences and shows you more posts from those people, you have engaged with – perhaps liked their recent picture, or commented on a post. When you engage with someone, this sends a signal to the algorithm that you may want to see more of each other.
The algorithm is NOT an evil invention. There are two billion users on Facebook. The algorithm is merely a filter to try and show you what you like ( based on your previous interactions) so your Newsfeed does not look like this:
It would just show you a fast running real of everybody’s posts. The more connections you have and the more Pages you like or groups you are in, the faster the newsfeed would be – simply making it impossible to consume information and engage. This is why the algorithm is a good thing.
Now to address the question of controlling what is shown to you.
You have to do some work!
Unfollow people that post negative content. This will not unfriend them, but you stop seeing their posts. It can be done on any post in the Newsfeed but clicking on the three dots on the top right of any given post.
Or if you just want to take a break, you can choose to “Snooze” them for 30 days.
You can also make sure that there are many more posts from people and pages that inspire you by choosing “See First” on their posts, just go to their profile and click on the Following button to see the options.
“See First” setting sends the signal to prioritize posts from this person ( or you can do the same thing on Pages) in your newsfeed.
Generally you should have third of your newsfeed filled with posts from people who inspire you, third from people who are on the same journey as you, perhaps just a step ahead, so you can get fresh insights relevant to where you are and the last third should be filled with people that engage with you and may become hot leads (if you are running a business those are people who fit your ideal client avatar).
NEWSFEED CONTENT
1/3: Inspiration
1/3: Peers
1/3: Prospects
What happens next is that you stay on track. You don’t see posts from people who drag you down, you surround yourself with people who are facing the same challenges building their visibility and those who benefit from seeing you in the first place. This gives your mindset an instant uplift and helps you stay focused.
Does this help? Let me know in the comments below.
Originally published at juliettestapleton.com