Manually posting content to social media sites can be a laborious time suck, and it’s helped fuel platforms such as HootSuite and TweetDeck that enable users to schedule tweets and Facebook updates.

Now, it seems that manually posting items could serve companies well. According to a recent study by Applum, posts that come through third-party apps receive an average of 70 percent fewer likes and comments per fan. Inside Facebook offers a breakdown on which apps have the lowest engagement numbers.

The lower engagement may be because Facebook’s algorithm punishes third-party updates.

Edgerank Checker suggests:

“In order to maximize your Facebook marketing efforts, we advise that you post directly on Facebook.com or use an Official Facebook App (iPhone, Blackberry, etc.). Posting directly will give your posts the greatest chance of engagement (which drives EdgeRank). Don’t immediately abandon 3rd Party APIs, they still have their place in social marketing. We recommend not relying on them day-to-day for Facebook updates.”

Facebook reportedly has a “whitelist,” according to Inside Facebook. It’s a list of companies that are “exempt from having content posted through their publishers consolidated across different Pages and clients,” reports Inside Facebook. “This protects them from a reduction in news feed impressions.”

Read more about the whitelist here.

Meanwhile, social media marketers, be careful how you use social media third-party services on Facebook.

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