Study: Auto posting your Facebook updates hurts engagement

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.”