If you’ve been on Facebook, you’ve seen (and probably don’t like) engagement bait.
Engagement bait posts are posts that intend to encourage users to interact through likes, comments, shares, and other actions in a spammy way. For example, “LIKE this if you were born in 2000!” would be a post seeking artificial engagement to abuse the Facebook algorithm and reach more users.
Well, clearly, Facebook has had enough. In a statement released on their website, Facebook announced it will be “demoting individual posts from people and Pages that use engagement bait.”
Pages that continually use these tactics will be subject to stricter punishments from Facebook. The goal from Facebook is to promote their goal of authenticity. If the post is deemed inauthentic to Facebook, it will be subject to these demotions. Facebook did note that posts that ask for help, advice, or recommendations, such as circulating a missing child report, raising money for a cause, or asking for travel tips, will not be affected.
If your Page uses engagement bait on posts, expect it to decrease your reach. If you are a page admin, focus on making your posts relevant and meaningful to your fans–without using spammy tactics.
How do you feel about engagement bait? Let us know below!