At the beginning of this year, Facebook announced a massive change to their algorithm to enhance users’ experiences and make their time on Facebook more valuable. With a heavier focus on content from friends and family, and a decrease in the number of Buzzfeed listacles (articles that are essentially numbered lists), the change seems like a good one for Facebook’s more than 2 billion active users. But what does this mean for brands looking to connect organically with consumers?
The short answer is that it doesn’t look good.
As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “Our focus in 2018 is making sure Facebook isn’t just fun, but also good for people’s well-being and for society.”
Unfortunately, research shows that increased scrolling through branded posts are making users unhappier. So, with an even higher value on interactions, posts that you are more likely to comment on, like or share are going to be pushed up in your newsfeed while less engaging posts won’t show up. And while users can still change their settings to see content from brands they like, most people never change their settings.
So how can brands combat this?
First, pages that produce engaging, interactive content will still be able to find places in users’ feeds.This means it’s more important than ever to ensure you are sharing quality information about which people want to comment.
Second, increase your ad budget. The easiest way to work around this change is to increase the dollars you spend on Facebook. Boosting especially will be critical – by spending even $10 to get a particularly good post to your target audience, it will bring more attention to your page.
Third, use more videos in your posts. Videos historically are favored by Facebook, because they tend to be more engaging and produce more interaction. This is especially true with live Facebook videos. If you have a fun event coming up or something important to share, consider going live to share with your followers.
This change won’t mean it’s impossible for brands to get content on their target audience’s feeds – but it does mean everyone will have to work harder. Daigle Creative is ready to help our clients do just that.