Facebook Algorithm Changes That Affect YOU
Noticing a decline in your Facebook reach? There is a reason for that.The days of free engagement and promotion seem to be nearing an end on Facebook. Since the company has gone public and is so integrated into our ongoing marketing strategies, they have made a few critical changes that affect how YOU are getting seen in the news feed of people who like your page. This may frustrate you, but there are ways to stay in front of your audience and reaching the group of loyal followers who has opted into your message is still way less expensive than some of the shotgun approaches of traditional media. In December 2013 Facebook announced
“Because the content in News Feed is always changing, and we’re seeing more people sharing more content, Pages will likely see changes in distribution. For many Pages, this includes a decline in organic reach.” Facebook December 5, 2013
Change #1 was a change to the algorithm pertaining to Facebook business pages. Without going into specifics Facebook is basically saying there is only so much content that we can show people in any given day. Content that is being engaged with and or shared by people will be seen. This leaves many business pages frustrated with the pay to play mentality.
Digital strategist Shelly Kramer writes
” I think that we marketers have been smoking the Facebook crack for a long time and if we didn’t see this coming, it’s our own fault. Facebook is a business. They’re a publicly traded company and their mission is to make money and a return on investment for their shareholders. Their job isn’t to provide a free platform for businesses to use to attract customers and sell more stuff to more people.”
Change #2 was announced in early 2014 affecting the reach of certain types of posts. Facebook is becoming increasingly used on mobile devices (over 50% of users log in mobile). Visual content is much more engaging on mobile devices. The algorithm change will affect text only updates as well as text with links not using “link share” (shown below).
When posting a link, Facebook will pull the metadata from the link source including synopsis and a range of images. It is important that your content have an image that Facebook can “grab.” Don’t fret, even if Facebook can’t pull an image from the post, you can upload one from your computer.
The takeaway from “change #2” is to remember to NOT click the ‘X’ next to the metadata that pops up.
Photo Credit HUBSPOT
THREE TIPS FOR STAYING VISIBLE IN THE NEWSFEED
1. Stay consistent
You can’t be the hit and miss Facebook updater. Not only does your infrequency lesson the amount of brand awareness you generate, you continually weaken your affinity with users making your key posts less visible. 2-4 times per day is recommended.
2. Vary your content
Mix up your content with a variety of images, links, video and text updates. With Facebook’s new video auto play rolling out, video content will grab the attention of users scrolling through a news feed. You can use Facebook analytics to determine what type of content and timing of posting is most effective.
3. Time to consider promoting posts
Even if it is just a small $5 per day budget, you may want to experiment with promoting posts. Remember, people who have opted into your page are already more likely to do business with you. This small amount of money is a micro targeted ad to your existing demographic of loyal customers.
Facebook Marketer Mari Smith says, ” You can’t put all your eggs in Facebook’s basket. 2014 has to be the year of diversification and integration.”
THE FINAL MESSAGE
Facebook marketing is going to get more and more difficult but with 1.2 BILLION active monthly users, it cannot be ignored. Develop a strategy, define a budget and dive in. Need help? Message me on Facebook.com/NectarMedia or visit our training calendar to see what classes we have available.
Other Great Articles to Read:
18 Ways to Improve Your News Feed Performance
no comments