Facebook’s announcement last Thursday that it will be conducting an overhaul of the current News Feed to prioritize posts shared by users’ friends and family over content shared by businesses and publishers, in an effort to invigorate ‘meaningful interaction,’ has struck fear in the hearts of marketers everywhere.
Updates to the Facebook algorithm are nothing new. The social media giant has been tinkering with and tweaking the process that determines which posts land in which users’ News Feeds for years, and many brands have seen organic reach decrease with each change. But this update, slated to roll out over the next few months, is a wake-up call to all brands using Facebook as a marketing tool.
By all accounts, it’s about to get even more difficult for brands’ messaging to reach their target audience organically on Facebook. Here’s what we believe brands can and should do to survive Facebook’s latest algorithm update:
1. Be REALLY Engaging
At its core, social media is about encouraging interaction between people. Mark Zuckerberg is telling us that he will prioritize meaningful interaction above all else, so if you do nothing else, get your audience interacting!
How much your brand’s reach declines may depend on the type of content you are sharing, and how your audience responds to it. Create an active user experience for your audience by not only posting information that is relevant to them but by encouraging their participation in a conversation. Pose questions, prompt the sharing of opinions, create a dialogue.
And then be prepared to hold up your end of the conversation. It’s time to get back to being human on Facebook, by having an actual human being who, in real time, is responding to comments, answering questions and building more genuine relationships through your brand’s Facebook presence.
2. Analyze
Now more than ever, it’s critical to pay attention to how each piece of content you share on Facebook is received by your audience. Noting the performance of each post, by analyzing its reach and the level of engagement it prompts, provides you crucial insight into the next thing you should be posting. Identifying your audience’s engagement preferences and habits will enable you to create a content strategy grounded in success.
3. Pay to Play
If your brand hasn’t yet carved out a budget for a solid paid strategy to get your content in front of your Facebook audience, the time has come. Even if, as some are predicting, the ad spend required to see benefit from a paid Facebook strategy increases as a result of this update, advertising on Facebook remains one of the best bang-for-your-buck deals as far as marketing ROI.
4. Diversify
It is always good advice for marketers to avoid putting all their eggs in one basket, so if your brand has been relying too heavily on Facebook as a means of engaging with your audience, it’s time to branch out. Consider launching or reinvigorating your brand’s presence on other social platforms where your target might spend time. Revisit an email marketing plan for another means of reaching a well-targeted audience or initiate a remarketing strategy to engage visitors to your website.
5. Don’t Panic
Above all, try to stay calm. If there’s a silver-lining, it’s that this update will likely reduce the amount of ‘noise’ generated on Facebook by other brands. Your brand can weather this algorithm storm by striking the right balance between creating organic content that will stimulate meaningful interaction within your audience, and a paid strategy that will maximize the return on your marketing investment.
A Call-to-Action For All Brands
Brands should see latest update to Facebook’s algorithm as a call-to-action to get their Facebook marketing house in order. It’s time for your brand to get serious about its Facebook. Let the social media marketing professionals at CMDS help. Give us a call at 732-706-5555 to find out how your brand can not only survive but thrive in the new Facebook landscape.