Ahhh the magical, evolving animal that is Facebook. A couple of months ago, we laid out some changes Facebook made this year that have deeply effected the way we market on this platform. Now, four months later, we are still learning what these algorithm changes mean for us and our clients. Here are some takeaways from a little trial and error over the last few months:
Its Not About Size: Back in the day (less than 5 years ago) Facebook for business was ALL about developing your community base. Its not to say the more followers you had made you a better page (but thats kinda what we’re saying). Having a larger audience made your brand seem legitimate. Now, although audience size is still important, we are really focusing on engagement. Because of the new changes, no matter how large your audience is, your fans just aren’t seeing your posts. If you are paying for ads to attract new likes to your page – consider dropping your budget and putting some of that money towards boosting your posts. This will allow your followers to see the stuff you are posting, and it won’t increase your overall budget.
You Have to Pay to be Seen: This is just the sad, sad truth. But the good news is that although you have to pay, it DOES NOT have to break the bank. When Facebook first introduced post boosting, you had to pay a minimum, and you could only boost for one day at a time. Now, Facebook allows you to boost for as little as $1 and you can choose to boost for 1 to 7 days. There are also more advanced targeting features that allow you to boost to specific, pre-determined audiences. Although this might not seem like great news – we actually believe that this allows your content to be pushed to people who will find it relevant. Keep in mind that although you do have to pay to be seen, organic reach still exists – there is a snowball effect so make sure your audiences is engaging. In short: you can get much better engagement and for just a little money.
Don’t Get Lost: We’ve said it before, but we will say it again. Social media is a saturated market. If you are not careful, you will get totally lost amongst the weeds. It used to be that posting everyday and even more than once a day meant more people would see your content. Now, posting 3-4 times a week and boosting those posts gives you a better chance of being seen. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule (Business Insider posts upwards of 10 times a day on Facebook and they are ALL over my feed, taking over my life- but that is another story). By paring down your editorial calendar and really focusing on the content that matters to you and your brand, you are far more valuable to your followers.
All in all, these Facebook changes have been a learning experience. The landscape is forever changing and we learn something new everyday. The key to social media success is to be open minded. Be willing to try new things (even if it means paying to boost posts) and you will be rewarded.
