What Facebook’s New Algorithm Means To Your Social Media Strategy
Sometimes social media strategy feels a little like your wardrobe. You find yourself knee deep in old methodologies and tactics that no longer fit or have gone out of style. Never have those changes been more evident than in recent updates to search engine algorithms committed to delivering the most relevant content to users and filtering out spam. Facebook, possibly one of the best resources for local search, has recently sent shockwaves of panic through the hearts of smaller publishers, like small businesses, as they brace for further erosion of organic reach.
What is the purpose of the new Facebook algorithm?
In a nutshell, Facebook wants to push the most relevant content to users back to the top of the News Feed. According to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in his January 11th Facebook post, “As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.” He hopes that this new focus will spark social interaction by prioritizing posts from family, friends, and groups over those from Business Pages, unless those business posts are people-centric.
What does this mean for your business Facebook Page?
Organic reach on Facebook has been diminishing for months, so this really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Going forward, showing up in your audience’s News Feed will depend a lot on how your audience has reacted to your content in the past and how you stir up interest among your audience with more engaging content going forward. Creating high quality visually appealing content has never been more critical. Businesses that want to continue reaching consumers on Facebook will need to look for creative ways to earn more impressions.
What does this mean for your social media strategy?
Facebook is a channel, not a strategy. For all the potential threats the new algorithm poses to your Business Facebook page, there are also opportunities to diversify your social media strategy and be more effective across the board. Stop and re-evaluate your marketing strategy and make some modifications.
A few suggestions:
- If your organic reach is suffering on Facebook, look for other social media sites that your audience uses (there are lesser known social media sites, like NextDoor that still reach millions organically) and connect with them there.
- Use Facebook for paid advertising. A comprehensive marketing plan has a budget for paid advertising. Even if you are a start-up, you can’t expect all marketing to be organic and grassroots. Facebook advertising is very affordable when compared to other social media sites like LinkedIn and traditional advertising, like print.
- Encourage your Facebook audience to adjust their News Feed preferences. This will allow them to choose whom they prefer to see first in their News
- Use more dynamic content. Anything moving catches the eye, especially when it’s done right. Add Facebook Live streams to your content strategy or post videos directly to the platform. Streaming video is 6x more likely to get engagement than regular videos so give it a try, but think professional grade, not home movie.
Moving Forward
Facebook isn’t the only social media channel trying to optimize the user experience so to leave now is premature unless your audience is migrating away from the platform. As with all effective long-term marketing strategy, it’s all about relevance and engagement. This change puts the onus on you to stop spamming your audience with things they don’t want to see anyway and publish content, be it text or visual, that makes their lives better in some way. They’ll talk about that and that’s what Facebook wants to see. And as with all marketing strategy, be sure to establish your metrics to determine what is working. The data you collect will be the biggest indicator of when it’s time pursue greener pastures.
Do you need help building a Facebook strategy or modifying your current one? Contact us today and let’s work through it together.
