Facebook ‘fixes’

Following Zuckerberg’s vow to “fix” Facebook in 2018 the latest newsfeed algorithm update promises more emphasis on interactions between friends and family over “public content”.

After years of businesses, publishers and social media managers creating bespoke content tailored to the channel with the ultimate end goal to make it onto users’ newsfeeds, Facebook is to change how it works, making posts from businesses, brands and media less prominent.

Does this mean they are taking the media out of social MEDIA?

The algorithm change means videos, photos and updates shared by businesses known as “public content” will be replaced in favour of “personal content” from friends and family.

Check out Zuckerberg has to say about the updates here in full.

But what does this mean for small businesses on Facebook?

Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s head of News Feed conceded: “As we make these updates, pages may see their reach, video watch time and referral traffic decrease. The impact will vary from page to page, driven by factors including the type of content they produce and how people interact with it.”

What can you do to prevent the decline of your social media presence?

 Put simply, now more than ever, your content is the key to your success or failure on Facebook. Quality content has to be priority. The updates mean the newsfeed will favour posts that adopt genuine engagement from users. This means more shares, more likes and more comments. Your content needs to create a genuine interaction and promote a dialogue between your brand and its community to be in with a chance of appearing in their feeds. It needs to be relevant and it needs to inspire action.

With this in mind, there’s no point in creating great content, if it doesn’t look great too. With these new updates comes an increased importance on optimising for mobile. For your community to engage in your content it needs to be first and foremost accessible in the easiest way that they understand and relate to – and that’s mobile. That’s how you’ll reap truer engagements.

As Zuckerberg says make time spent on site, time well spent.

Social media isn’t just a place to push products. It’s a place to show off your personality, share your content and interact with your audience. Having a strong social media brand is all about the personal connection – one that naturally translates into true engagements.

Need help planning your social media content? We can work with you to form a campaign plan that speaks directly to your social followers, whether that’s with a one-off post or a series of updates. Get in touch and we’ll guide you through to put your brand in front of the people that matter.