It was clear to me from the post that, according to Mark, Facebook is inundated with content from companies and brands, meaning that posts from friends get lost in the News Feed. Logically, then, Facebook should start prioritising posts and content from my friends. He must have been serious, because back in February, Facebook’s developers introduced a more accurate algorithm that measures the reach of posts on the site. What’s remarkable is that the more accurate algorithm shows a lower reach. On our site, reach has fallen by around 60–70%.
According to AdAge, companies were spending 5% less by the end of 2017. In Facebook’s case, that amounts to $50 million a day. We might speculate that Facebook is less concerned with the well-being of its users than with a better bottom line.
New newsfeed: posts from friends and groups.
Mark promised that Facebook would start focusing more on social interactions. You can expect to see more posts from friends or groups that others are liking or discussing. At the same time, Facebook will continue to penalise ‘like-baiting’, i.e. posts that force interaction. Calls to action such as “tag a friend who…” or “like this if you agree” are considered coercive.
The News Feed will be organised as follows: Priority will be given to the personal profiles of your friends and people in their immediate circle. Only after these will business posts be displayed. The criterion will be how users comment on, share and like a particular post. The least space will be given to pointless clutter that people probably don’t even want to hear about. As a result, Facebook should indeed transform into a platform where you can explore interesting topics, share experiences and discuss.
Undoubtedly, the new format would lead to you spending more time on it. (Have you read the recent statistics that people are spending less time on Facebook? A coincidence? We don’t think so.)
Businesses will have to invest
An algorithm focused on social interaction will, understandably, mainly harm businesses – as they will be displayed less frequently. Not to mention the ban on clickbait posts. Brands have no choice but to adjust their social media strategy.
Let’s start with the bad news: it’s going to cost you money. The good news? Some competitors will give up, and others will refuse to pay Facebook.
1) Forget about organic content
Creating posts that achieve decent organic reach has always been difficult. Now it will be practically impossible. Don’t waste your time trying to create a viral post. Very few topics have viral potential.
Focus on posts that you can promote. Posts should be useful, relevant or topical – so that they solve a problem for your followers, keep them informed of news, or otherwise help them in their daily lives.
In practice, it’s worth promoting every post on Facebook. However, use paid advertising to show each one only to users who might actually be interested. Focus primarily on the quality and added value of your posts.
2) Get to know your audience better
If you haven’t done so already, develop your personas. I recommend the Value Proposition Canvas method. This method will show you what problems users are actually facing. You can then offer them solutions on social media.
A third of our blog’s readers come from paid advertising; we most often show them guides and tips on how to deal with common marketing problems. Let’s face it, good advice is always welcome. This applies not only to Facebook, but also to other networks. Test your adverts and don’t overwhelm users with nonsense. An article on how to set up an SSL certificate can be targeted solely at IT professionals; naturally, you’ll target an article about Facebook differently.
3) Start thinking genuinely customer-first
Advertising is almost a dirty word these days, and marketers have only themselves to blame. They’re constantly focused on higher conversion rates, better CTR and so on. They don’t see customers as human beings. Despite the fact that it’s service and the user experience that matter most.
View marketing in the context of the overall service – yes, service, because the support surrounding the products you sell is also decisive. Invest in improving the online shopping experience (in technical terms, we’d say: focus on UX). The user is presented with all the information they’re looking for, and as a result, your website’s conversion rate will improve. However, the conversion rate is merely a consequence, not the number one goal.
On social media, don’t overwhelm users with your offer; instead, offer an improved experience or a solution.
4) Evaluate and optimise
As you’ll have to pay more for your posts, you’ll also need to monitor them more closely. Keep an eye on performance so you don’t waste money on the sort of information that nobody’s interested in.