Last Thursday, Facebook announced major changes that they will be making to the site. Facebook hopes that these changes will improve the overall user experience. However, these changes will also have an impact on social media marketing. Read below to learn how the new Facebook update will affect your business’s marketing strategy.
What is the Update?
Facebook’s update revolves around the newsfeed. They will be making changes to the newsfeed to become more focused on content from friends and family. Users will see less business and news posts and more content that is personal to them. Facebook hopes to create a more positive and personalized experience for its users through these changes.
What Does This Mean for Businesses?
The obvious impact of these changes is a decrease in available space for businesses on people’s news feeds. Businesses could likely see a decrease in engagement, reach, and referral traffic. These changes will further the trend of the decrease in organic social media marketing. Businesses will likely see an increase in the role of paid social media because of these new changes. In short, these changes mean that businesses will likely need to spend more to maintain visibility on Facebook.
What Your Business Can Do
Although the new Facebook update poses new challenges to businesses and social media marketers, it is by no means a death sentence. There are a few different tactics that businesses can use to stay relevant and visible.
Create Hyper-Engaging Content
Now more than ever, it’s important to create organic content that is very engaging. The new update encourages positive discourse and aims to spark more interesting and meaningful conversations. Therefore, you can still manage to maintain visibility with exceptionally engaging content. Now more than ever it’s important to listen to your audience in order to create content that people want to discuss.
Make Use of Ads and Paid Content
Paid content has become increasingly important on Facebook, as organic reach becomes more difficult. Make use of ad space outside of the news feed such as the right column of Facebook’s main page. If possible, increase your business’s social budget and create more sponsored content. With the decrease in organic Facebook, paid social is the best way to maximize your reach.
Encourage Active Following
There are a few different wants to keep your organic posts visible, even with this new update. Your followers can opt to receive updates when you post new content. They can also use the “see first” button, which allows users to opt to see content created by their favorite people or pages first on their news feed. In order to get your followers to opt in to these active following options, you should create a few posts that educate your followers on these options and encourage them to use it. Creating interesting content that your followers want to see is the best way to ensure that they’ll want to stay updated on your content.
ImageWorks, LLC | CT Social Media Marketing
Having trouble managing your social media? Wondering how to figure out proper posting techniques on your own? Don’t be afraid to call in the experts! Whether you are just getting started or have an engine in place that needs fine tuning, ImageWorks can help you join the Social Media wave to get yourself recognized and generate more business. Market yourself and your brand to the 100’s of millions of online interactive users.
We understand that social media can be overwhelming, and it's not always easy to change with each update or refresh. If you are looking to boost your social media marketing then you may want to take a step back and reevaluate the online presence you already have.
