The number of times Facebook has announced changes to its algorithm is enough to make any social media strategist or community manager throw up his or her hands in defeat. But, perhaps this isn’t such a bad thing, after all.
The latest
On Nov.14, News Feed FYI published the following statement by Facebook: “Pages that post promotional creative should expect their organic distribution to fall significantly over time.” This came on the heels of an ongoing survey conducted with hundreds of thousands of users asking them how they feel about the content in their News Feeds. Facebook acted on these findings. Effective January 2015, brands that continue posting overly promotional, unpaid (organic) content will appear less frequently in users’ feeds. This refers to posts encouraging “people to buy a product, install an app or enter a contest or sweepstakes.” Facebook took this opportunity to tell brands that the social network is not a free platform for publicity. If the intent is to promote, advertisers should pay for the service just like they would in any other medium.
Example of an overly promotional post:
The impact
It’s easy to interpret this move as yet another “punishment” for brand presence on Facebook. As it stands, contests such as post giveaways are one of the few ways to get a decent organic reach nowadays. Yet, if we take a few steps back, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Quality content over quantity
- Respecting users’ expressed interests
So how will all of this impact your unpaid (organic) posts? It won’t if you have a strong content strategy, an editorial calendar that is well structured and thought out, and you sponsor the appropriate types of posts.
Facebook is meant to provide relevant, high-quality content that will inspire and/or inform a community. The social network’s recent announcement forces companies—and their agencies—to reevaluate the way they do business. Facebook is an opportunity to market goods and services in an environment that at its core is a fun, social experience. This most recent move by Facebook should simply motivate brands and agencies to do what we’ve been doing all along—and push ourselves even further.
The bottom line
Brands and agencies can still promote contests, apps, and product purchases, but the posts need to be done the right way. That means putting media where it belongs, which includes promotional content. In doing so, this will not only ensure our client’s credibility, but we’ll have a greater chance of reaching brand’s desired communities. Getting a spot in the News Feed is fierce competition now; all the more reason for agencies to take a deeper look at our content strategy so that we can ensure the brands we represent receive the attention they deserve and the investments are worthwhile.
Although we have yet to see the exact impact Facebook’s News Feed changes will have, there’s no cause for concern. Our goal, as always, is to provide content for our clients that users will want to engage with. At the end of the day, Facebook is only trying to uphold the same standards.
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