With Facebook’s latest shift in its News Feed algorithm, brands need to adapt in order to survive the changes.
Facebook’s new algorithm is prioritizing posts from friends and family and showing less “public content.” While it’s great that the social media platform is making efforts to bring people closer together, these changes present a challenge to businesses, and as digital marketers we are here to help you determine the best way to move forward with your social media plan.
Here are some strategic dos and don’ts to help you reach your customers on Facebook in 2018.
DO
Create quality content that inspires discussion. In its big announcement earlier this year, Facebook stated that it will “prioritize posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people.” If your content generates meaningful conversation among your fans, it’s more likely that your content will get seen.
Encourage your followers to use the “See First” option. Remind your fans that if they want to continue seeing the great content you’re sharing, then they need to choose “See First” in their News Feed preferences. Here’s how to do it.
Use video in your Facebook strategy. Videos get high engagement in Facebook’s News Feed. In addition to posting recorded videos, try incorporating live Facebook videos as well. This promotes transparency and lets your followers get to know you.
Utilize Facebook advertising. The bottom line is that you have to pay to play on Facebook, and now that the reach of organic posts is taking a big hit it’s crucial to pay attention to advertising. Optimizing your Facebook ad strategy by boosting posts or creating advertisements can go a long way to making sure your content gets seen.
DON’T
Use click-bait. We’ve all done it—asking fans to “like this post,” and for a while it actually worked really well. With the latest changes, though, these posts are seen as spammy, and Facebook is “demoting individual posts and Pages that use engagement bait.”
Rely on Facebook for traffic to your website. You should absolutely continue to provide links to your site in your posts so that your followers know where to reach you. But with the diminished organic reach that the new algorithm is bringing, don’t count on those links to provide traffic. It’s time to come up with a more effective strategy for web traffic.
Bombard your followers with too many posts. Choose quality over quantity. The point is to provide meaningful content that will get your followers interested and talking. It’s better to post engaging and relevant content less often than massive amounts of posts that don’t mean anything to your followers.
With these latest changes to Facebook’s News Feed, businesses and brands are facing some unique digital marketing challenges. The best way to find success going forward is to prioritize content that authentically engages your followers. If you need help developing your social media strategy, drop us a line for a free 30 minute consultation.