Last week, Facebook announced a major change to their algorithms with a strong focus on what people want most, “meaningful social interactions with family and friends over passive consumption”. This change will affect what people see first and foremost and that is an increase in content from family and friends. So, what does this mean for businesses and how do businesses remain relevant in the midst of the 2018 Facebook Algorithm changes? It means that content from businesses will be seen less in personal newsfeeds and almost certainly businesses will see a decrease in organic reach, but this should really not surprise anyone. For at least a year, Facebook has been alluding to this change, and most businesses, if paying attention have noticed that organic growth has dropped forcing many to change their strategy to include paid Facebook Ads. However, with this new change even paid ad views could be affected, and some marketing experts are predicting that ads may be dropped from personal newsfeeds completely.
“Last week I announced a major change to encourage meaningful social interactions with family and friends over passive consumption. As a result, you’ll see less public content, including news, video, and posts from brands. ” Mark Zuckerberg
So how does a business stay relevant and tap into the more than 1.4 billion users on Facebook?
- Be engaging and authentic. Focus your posts on what it is your demographic wants to know about and post high-quality information.
- Invest in Facebook Ads. This is still one of the best forms of marketing available with great ROI.
- Get over yourself and start using video! Mobile video ads typically outperform traditional ads in terms of brand awareness and recall.
- Set up a business Instagram page and link it to your Facebook business page.
- Set up a Facebook Group page and link it to your Facebook page. Use it as a forum to set yourself up as the expert and engage with people who want to discuss relevant information about certain issues, information, advice, and tips that are the focus of your business.
- Let your followers know about this change and encourage them to adjust their newsfeed preferences and prioritize who they see first to include your business page.
What else is new with this Algorithm change? In an attempt to cut down on the spreading of low-quality news, Facebook will now ask people whether they’re familiar with a news source and, if so, whether they trust that source. The idea is that some news organizations are only trusted by their readers or watchers, and others are broadly trusted across society even by those who don’t follow them directly. Based on responses, the feedback from the Facebook community at large will determine the ranking.
Sources:
Facebook Makes Major Changes to the News Feed: Here’s How It Will Impact Your Business
Ad Revenue Growth Continues To Propel Facebook
About the author
Wendy Navarro, CEO
Wendy is the results-driven CEO of Nashville Area Digital Marketing Agency NAVARRO CREATIVE GROUP. Since 2015, she has been helping clients transform business expertise into brand authority by leveraging innovative marketing strategies.
