Facebook’s priorities have recently come under scrutiny from its users. Many feel that the social media platform has become overrun with advertisements and news articles.
Users feel that the network is giving more ‘airtime’ to publishers and video. Personal connections are what made Facebook the global brand it is today and it’s important for Facebook to preserve these roots.
A new algorithm will focus on moving content from closest friends and family higher up the news feed. Sharing has remained strong on Facebook, but the number of users’ original posts have declined. The move is to try to get users to begin writing posts again – improving the user experience.
What this means for marketing
Whilst being a slightly frustrating change for marketers, the alteration isn’t shifting what’s allowed and what’s not. The implication is that the same content will always be there by scrolling further down.
Marketers who are complaining about the changes are missing the true marketing potential of Facebook. By improving the user experience, Facebook will keep its users coming back, remaining engaged in Facebook – creating a larger audience to advertise to. These changes should be welcomed.
Facebook have said that the changes may cause referral traffic to decline. However, publishers and pages that receive traffic from users sharing, liking and commenting on posts will be less affected.
With Facebook prioritising posts that inform and entertain, it is the marketers’ job now to work harder to create content that will be shared. As always, good content marketing will still get attention and engagement.
Tweaks to the news feed shouldn’t significantly impact your overall social media strategy. However, the reach achieved through promoted content will not be affected by the changes so there is no doubting that the amount of paid advertising on Facebook will increase. A shrewd move perhaps by Facebook in the light of ad blockers growing popularity.
For help in creating a social media strategy for your company, call The Ideal Marketing Company today on 01858 374 170.
