How often do you notice posts from pages on your personal Facebook news feed? Take a minute and look. What you will find is those using apps to post for them tend to be grouped together. This is exactly what happens to your own posts if you use apps to post feeds and updates from your blog and website.

Facebook changed the news feed to provide users with the most relevant stories only. While they can change their settings, they may not realize they are even missing your posts. Odds are, they saw the group of posts, but only really noticed the first in the list. If it isn’t yours, you miss out on an opportunity to engage with a fan.

To prevent this problem, manual posting is necessary. Before we discuss why it works, let’s discuss how posts are ranked. Posts from pages only rank higher in a news feed when there is engagement between the fan and the page. This includes comments, shares, likes and even visits. If your posts aren’t being seen, the engagement levels are next to nothing.

Facebook does rank manual posts higher than those from apps. For instance, a single game’s activity is usually grouped together for all friends. This organizes a person’s news feed, but doesn’t necessarily help you. Mixing in manual posts allows you to break away from the group.

Once a fan starts to engage more, they will also see your posts from apps. Either your posts will be at the top of the group or they will be listed separate. Fans can then choose to subscribe to all your posts, ensuring they are always noticeable in their news feeds.

You don’t have to stop using apps. If you have multiple content streams to post, it is easier to use RSS feed apps to post your content automatically. However, take the time to make manual posts as well. Perhaps you could choose your most important content stream and post manually for a while. Whatever strategy you choose, mix in regular manual posts to ensure fans notice you. Get their attention and you’ll gain more fans and better overall results.