[FAQ]

Hello!
Just a curious question. My Facebook Watch feed is so random sometimes. Sometimes, it shows me videos from pages I actually follow, but most of the time, it is full of random clips from creators I have never heard of.

I get a lot of cooking videos which I like, but then suddenly I also get a lot of those prank videos which I don’t enjoy. How does Facebook decide what to show? Does it just look at what videos I ‘like’? I want to ‘train’ the algorithm to show me better content. Any ideas how it really works? Thanks!

[Jeff Bullas]

That’s a great question, as the Watch feed is actively trying to learn from everything you do.

The Main Signal: The algorithm primarily decides what to show you based on which videos you watch and for how long, combined with your likes, comments, and shares.

It essentially ranks all available video content based on how it predicts you will personally react to it.

The most powerful signal you send is watch time. If you watch a five-minute video to the end, you are telling the algorithm you are very interested in that topic and creator; if you scroll past a video after only a few seconds, it learns you’re not. You can definitely train it. The best way is to be intentional with your text-based engagement by actively searching for, commenting on, and sharing the video content you enjoy. For the content you don’t like, do not engage at all. The fastest way to remove it is to click the three dots on the video and choose ‘Show me less’ to provide direct, negative feedback.

Cheers,

Jeff

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