If you run a Facebook Page, you probably noticed that there was a change in your reach since September 2012. This is because Facebook revised how its EdgeRank algorithm worked for Pages, making it a little more difficult to get your updates to your fans.

Following is a quick run-down of the EdgeRank system and what you can do to get your posts seen by as many fans as possible. No-one wants to be putting out great content that isn't seen, and best practices may not be quite what you expect, so take a look!

Why Did EdgeRank Change?

Cynical Facebook Page managers will say this is because Facebook wants you to pay for exposure, which is true. However, with many Facebook users getting bombarded with updates from Pages instead of updates from their friends, this change has been welcomed by regular users. But, as a Facebook Page manager, what you really need to know is how to get your posts seen. What can you do to improve your EdgeRank?

Here's some great ideas.

How Is EdgeRank Calculated?

EdgeRank is calculated per individual relationship as well as by determining a Page's overall popularity. This means that the more a person interacts with your page, the more they sill see from you, just as they do for friends. Also, any post with a large amount of interaction will be more likely to be seen by others.

Ideally then, the best tactic is to increase interactions with your posts. However, since the EdgeRank change, there are certain types of posts that both seem to rank better than others and are more likely to cause interaction.

1. Ask Your Followers To Add Your Page To An Interest List

If your fans add your page to an Interests list, then actively use their interests lists to browse Facebook news feed content, they are much more likely to see your posts. So, educate your fans on the value of Interests lists. It's worth it!

If you need a little educating yourself, check out this post on creating Friends and Interests lists. You can create Interest lists from the left hand sidebar of the Facebook Home page, just under "Apps" and "Friends".

2. Post Photos

Photo posts have a much higher engagement than any other type of post. Text updates, links and videos fall flat when compared to photos, not to mention questions or platform posts.

Some page managers even recommend going so far as creating a thumbnail of a video and posting a link to the video from the photo, rather than posting the video itself. Another tip to remember if you want to post a link is to paste the link first, close the preview of the link, then add a photo before posting.

It's also worth creating several great photo albums, which will engage your audience further once a single post has caught their attention.

If you don't have any great photos ready, or you want to add captions, you can create fun images using Memegenerator, ROLFBOT or Someecards. Try it for yourself!

3. Be More Interesting

There are numerous ways to involve your audience in your page updates. The trick is deciding which ones to try and analysing how well they worked later. We've previously covered many great ideas which work equally well for user engagement on Facebook pages and increasing the popularity of groups. Some quick examples of how to make your Facebook page interesting include updates such as competitions, inspirational quotes, asking questions and posting fill-in-the-blank sentences. Also check out Facebook's own recommendations.

4. Post Less Often

You are fighting against many other pages for the attention of your fans, so rather than spamming them constantly, simply spend the time creating better content. Schedule your posts so they are not too frequent, but always ensure they are quality posts. Another tactic is to create different content specifically for each target audience and limit the post's exposure to just those people.

5. Write More Text

It's not confirmed by Facebook, but many page managers believe that long posts which require users to click "see more" will result in higher EdgeRank. Whether or not this is the case is uncertain, however your fans will appreciate the quality content and this may result in more likes, comments and shares, which definitely will increase EdgeRank.

6. Time Your Posts Well

The timing of Facebook updates is important when considering EdgeRank. Your post will rank more highly if your post is recently released, than if it is older.

Sadly, many pages will pump out updates during working hours, then go quiet for the evening, whereas users are generally working hard 9-5 and keen to engage on Facebook after about 7pm. So, make use of Facebook's scheduling tools and set your best post for the day to run at about 7pm in the time zone where you have the most fans. Due to limited competition from other pages and users with some time up their sleeves for Facebook, you should see higher engagement levels for this post.

7. Consider Paying For A Promotion Boost

When a post you've made is doing well, consider boosting that popularity with some paid promotion via Facebook. This may then reach users who haven't recently been engaging with your posts.

8. Actively Promote Facebook Posts Elsewhere

Cross-promotion is great when it comes to social media. If a post is doing well on Facebook, let your Twitter followers know about it too. Don't post the exact same thing on Twitter, rather you should say "Come join the discussion on Facebook" instead. Wait until it's already got a decent level of engagement on Facebook before you do this, though, or it may backfire.

What do you do for your Facebook page that works? Which posts see the most user interaction?