In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook. The social network emerged back then with the harmless proposal of bringing together classmates and friends from the university and showing what these people did on a daily basis.
Over the years this proposal has evolved and many brands have seen in Facebook the possibility of reaching a larger and more qualified audience.
The lives of entrepreneurs and brands were going smoothly… until Mark Zuckerberg declared, at the beginning of 2018, that he would make an announcement that would take the social network back to its origins (at least in theory).
And he has put it into practice! From now on, the Facebook algorithm will further prioritize posts from family and friends, in relation to posts made by pages. The change aims to improve the user experience, which has claimed much of the number of ads that appear in the section.
But what does that mean for entrepreneurs and brands?
Next, discover what changes in the Facebook algorithm and how corporate page owners can adapt to this new scenario without losing the engagement of his followers.
What changes on Facebook with the new update?
Until last year, Facebook used data such as the number of likes, comments and shared posts to define the positioning of the pages in the news sections.
But, according to the announcement made on January 11, from now on Facebook will predict which posts have the most potential for interaction, based on user behavior, and these will appear at the top of the section, along with messages from friends and family, which are also prioritized by the new algorithm.
In practice, for the user it means ‘less ads and more organic posts from family and friends’.
However, in the case of pages, there will be a loss of the reach of the posts, which was already between 1% and 2% organic delivery and, consequently, of likes and shares. Pages that spend little on ads, and don’t care about creating “shareable” content, should feel even more affected by the new content distribution.
What can brands do to lessen the impact of change?
The scenario is pessimistic for those who use Facebook as a means of dissemination, but that does not mean that you will not be able to achieve good results using the network.
To help you, we share some tips for entrepreneurs and brands to better adapt to this new scenario.
Continue to provide quality content
With the change in the algorithm, Facebook will deliver to the user only the messages that are relevant to them, which means that you have to continue to work hard in producing quality content if you want to appear at the top of the section of your followers.
If you focus your efforts on topics that are of interest to your audience and maintain an active relationship with those who follow the page, they will continue to see value in your content and, of course, share it.The idea is that, in the not too distant future, users will once again spend more time on Facebook and see the topic of their interest there.
And you, are you really fulfilling that goal?
Take advantage of the change in the algorithm to review the way you converse with your followers and to understand if the of your strategy still fits your business.
Obviously, the growth of the brand implies the arrival of new users, so our suggestion is that you make sure that your speech is of interest to as many people as possible.
Broadcast live
A recent study carried out by Facebook itself showed that generate up to 6 times more engagement than videos produced in advance.
The main advantage of this type of content is that it provides for a more active communication, with which users manage to answer the questions they have about you and your product.
On the other hand, frequency is a key factor, just like in any other format, so as not to annoy your followers. Our suggestion is that you make the broadcasts live when you have something relevant to say and prioritize the times with the most interaction on your page so that more people can participate.
Of course, it is important that you let your followers know in advance that you are going to do a live broadcast so that they can plan and watch it.
Remember to leave this content visible on your timeline, so that other users can see the video in the future. This increases the possibilities of interaction of the publication.
Use your other communication channels more
Whoever is on Facebook or Instagram is there for them, and not for your brand. That is why it is important to invest in other communication channels to create your own audience, and not be dependent on social network algorithms.
Here in the blog, we have already mentioned several tools that can help you build a genuine relationship with your audience, such as either . These are more autonomous communication channels that allow you to talk to your audience without great restrictions.
Make sure you are present where your audience is and create content in line with the characteristics of each network. Thus, even if Facebook limits your reach, you can deliver your message to those who really need it.
Ask your users to turn on notifications for your Page
Few know it, but Facebook users have the option to modify the notification settings to see the content of the pages they follow in their news feed. To make it effective it is necessary to access the page and select: Follow> In your news feed> See first, according to the following picture.
It’s up to the page to find creative ways to display this functionality and encourage people to change their preferences, without being intrusive.
Other idea! Why not create a post for your followers that goes something like this… “Do you want to be the first to find out about our promotions? Select the ‘see first’ option on our page and don’t miss a thing”.
Promote relevant posts
The they are still the fastest way you have to reach your audience and, depending on the segmentation, they can bring excellent results without having to invest a lot of money.
With the change in the algorithm, entrepreneurs and brands can continue to advertise, but it’s important to select the right posts to boost to ensure the investment pays off. engagement.
Our advice is to always prioritize the posts that add the most value and not boost all the posts on your page. At the end of the day, it is important that you know the interests of your followers, and the ad can hide this information behind the number of likes.
Stay tuned!
Many people are seeing Facebook’s algorithm change as destroying smaller entrepreneurs and brands, who have little money to spend on ads. But in reality, this is a sign that the market is constantly updating and you have to keep an eye out for changes.
Always keep in mind that the audience of Facebook, Instagram and other social networks belongs to them. So regardless of how your page performs, focus on building a direct relationship with your audience on other channels as well. This way you will not depend on the delivery of social networks.
Finally, if your focus is to generate value for those who follow you, they will continue to want to hear from you, even if that information does not appear all the time in the section.
And you, what do you think of the change in the Facebook algorithm? Leave your opinion in the comments!
Regards and until next time!
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