In January 2018 Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be changing its news feed algorithm to prioritise content from “friends, family and groups.” “As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard—it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.” The aim is to create to create a better environment for people. In February Facebook announced that people were already devoting 50 million fewer hours a day to the social network, which comes out to two minutes per person on average.
1. Posts from business pages will go down in ranking
It's great to have a formal presence and you don't have to delete your business page but be aware that your news feed ranking, no matter how engaging the post, will go down.
2. Posts from friends, family and groups will go up in ranking
It's time to set up a group interest page around your industry that is more than a platform for sales or announcements. You may want to consider changing all your website links from your Facebook business page to your new group. It might also be useful to inform your customers through email about your new group too.
3. Posts with meaningful engagement will go up.
Meaningful engagement does not not simply mean more 'likes', but conversations and interactions. But be warned - 'click bait' posts will not go up in ranking e.g type 'yes' if you agree. Your Facebook group needs to provide content that either; informs, educates or entertains. Try and think outside the box; carry out surveys, what would your group be interested in reading about or watching ? Can you enlist some of your current followers to help with engaging content?
4. Live videos will rank higher than recorded videos. Live videos get 6 times greater interaction than recorded.
Live videos get 6 times greater interaction than recorded. Athough many of us hate the idea of being filmed, let alone being filmed live, live videos will improve your news feed ranking. Is there someone in your organisation that loves social media and would be happy to take this role on? Can you devote a few minutes a week to showing a live video of your new products, or how an existing product works? Can you produce an entertaining video (even on a small budget you achieve something engaging): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdcS4FmKWD
5. Facebook is showing fewer ‘viral’ videos
The kind of videos that used to clog up our news feeds will appear less. The theory is that the less time we spend on this type of video the more time will we will spend on engaging in quality content.
These changes don't have to be a threat to your business, and if you provide engaging and entertaining posts relevant to your followers you may even see an increase in traffic.
How can I help you?
I can set up and run your social media campaigns to communicate with your customers and help generate a social media following with greater interactions. Contact me today to discuss how I can help grow your sales: [email protected], 0771 313 8538
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Email marketing by Joanne Champion Consultancy