For Major Brands “Engagement Has Plummeted” On Facebook

A new report from Facebook analytics provider Simply Measured finds consumer engagement with Facebook posts from a number of the top Interbrand companies is down dramatically year over year. [Update: see postscript below.] The firm says that monthly engagement is off an average of more than 40 percent since May 2013.

Two brands on the list, MTV and Harley Davidson, saw increased engagement. In other cases, however, overall engagement had declined 50 percent or more. And per-post engagement is off by an average of more than 50 percent for these companies, says Simply Measured.

The firm largely attributes these drops to the declining organic reach of Facebook posts — or “throttling” as some have called it — resulting from algorithm changes. The report also notes that brands have increased posting frequency to compensate for a loss in reach. Simply measured says that among the brands it looked at monthly posting had increased by 20 percent.

Simply Measured doesn’t claim that these data can be generalized to all brands or companies on Facebook. But it raises that question: how much is engagement off for everyone? Are these numbers generally representative of what’s happening?

I’ve asked Facebook for a comment and will update the post if/when I receive one.

Postscript: I was made aware this evening that the study had been pulled down, leaving a “not found” in its place. It’s not clear whether the data were later determined to be flawed or inaccurate or whether some other problem existed with the study. Once we learn more we’ll update this post.