Last month, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that there would be changes to its algorithm to prioritize content from the user’s family, friends, and groups. Zuckerberg explains that “you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media.” As these changes go into effect, business pages could start to see a decrease in organic post reach.
Here are some tips on how you can make sure that your content continues to be in front of the eyes of your customers:
Increase Your Ad Budget & Start Advertising If You Don’t Already
SocialFlow analyzed 3,000 businesses between the months of January and May 2016. Organic reach per post declined 42 percent during that time. A sure-fire way to make sure that your posts are being seen by both your fans and relevant users is to sponsor your Facebook posts. With Facebook ads, you can target a specific audience in order to get the most bang for your buck.
Facebook’s Business Manager has several different advertising templates that are categorized by marketing objectives. Some of the most popular Facebook advertising campaigns include user engagement, traffic to a certain website, and like campaigns. Focus on your overall goal for the advertisement and choose the right advertisement type for your business. For example, if you want a bigger audience reading a blog post on your site, you would choose a traffic campaign.
Post Thought-Provoking, Engaging Articles, Blogs, & Pictures that Prompt Discussion
Users are more likely to see Facebook posts if their friends and family are commenting and interacting with it, according to the New York Times. The purpose of the algorithm update is to promote “meaningful interaction” between Facebook users, namely comments and discussion. This means that brands should focus on encouraging conversation between Facebook users by including questions in their posts or by posting timely content that is relevant to both industry news and the brand itself.
Don’t Fall Into the Trap of “Engagement Bait.”
Much like clickbait, engagement bait tricks users into completing a certain action, such as “voting” by reacting or commenting on a post. Due to user complaints, these posts are considered spam in Facebook’s new algorithm and consequently will be demoted in the news feed.
Live Video is Key!
One of the best ways to foster discussion on the internet is through live video! Currently, Live videos are being viewed three times more than pre-recorded videos. Livestreams promote conversation and can attract users because of the host’s ability to answer their questions directly and in a timely fashion. Posts like this will be favored in Facebook’s new algorithm.
Need help adapting to Facebook’s algorithm change?
