Unpopular take: That viral post about Facebook killing organic reach is overblown

I've been running a small gardening page on Facebook since 2019, and I keep seeing people claim the algorithm completely killed all unpaid reach around 2021. But my numbers tell a different story. I actually saw my highest engagement in spring 2022 when I posted a video of pruning hydrangeas. What changed wasn't the algorithm suddenly hating everyone - it was that people stopped making content people actually want to share. My page still gets 3,000 to 5,000 organic views per post if I focus on practical tips instead of clickbait. The big drop I noticed was around June 2020 when everyone started chasing trends instead of sticking to their niche. Has anyone else tested this by comparing posts from before and after a specific algorithm update, or are we just repeating what some influencer ranted about?

3 comments

3 Comments

sean_barnes244d ago

Same here, my canning content still pulls 2,000 views easy.

green.noah4d ago

I mean, it's wild that canning content still holds up that strong in 2025, right? But here's something nobody's talking about - the algorithms might actually be rewarding that older, slower content because it keeps people on the platform longer. Like, a quick 15 second dance video gets scrolled past in half a second, but a 10 minute canning tutorial? People actually watch the whole thing, pause it, come back to it. That engagement time is gold for the algorithm gods. Plus, canning has this weird timeless quality to it, like it's not chasing trends that die in a week. It feels like a safe bet for the platform because it's not going to get flagged as spam or sensitive. Maybe that's why the views stay steady instead of crashing.

olivia6704d ago

@sean_barnes24 I actually see it a bit different. Canning content might hold steady but that 2,000 view number feels low compared to what other niches get. The algorithm rewarding slow content makes sense in theory, but in practice I see shorter videos blowing up way faster even if they don't stick around as long. YouTube wants engagement sure, but they also want new viewers clicking in, and old canning tutorials don't pull in fresh eyes like a trending topic does. The views staying steady is more about a loyal small audience than the platform really pushing it. Plus, if the content isn't getting shared or talked about outside the niche, it's slowly fading not thriving. What's your take on whether those numbers are actually growing or just coasting?