The 2018 Facebook algorithm: A gamechanger for businesses
12th January 2018 saw Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook, announce ‘major change’ to the way Facebook is built and the user experience for 2018 and beyond. Forbes reported that ‘Facebook will change its algorithm to promote more personal content rather than news.’
Recent years has seen the amount of branded content, advertising and posts from businesses skyrocket as organisations got wise to the obvious low cost opportunity to reach a wider audience. If done well, content marketing via Facebook goes viral and reaches far and wide for little, if any spend. Then users began to feedback that they were seeing things they hadn’t asked for, weren’t interested in or didn’t want to see.
The only way forward was to spend. Advertising via Facebook became widespread, the ability to profile your audience and carefully target your message, even employing dynamic content, was an effective way to get a ‘relevant’ message to ‘relevant’ users. It was a great solution. Too great, since everybody started doing it! Users are now often bombarded by brands, businesses and paid for posts and are seeing less and less of their friends’ and family’s content.
The man himself, Mark Zuckerberg says in his announcement;
‘…I’m changing the goal to helping you have more meaningful social interactions. The first changes you’ll see will be in News Feed, where you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups.
As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.’
Don’t panic, adapt.
TWA’s tips for getting the most out of Facebook for your business;
Know your audience
If you aren’t sure who you’re talking to, then use Facebook insights to identify who your most engaged audience is – if you don’t know them, how can you engage with them?
Use the ‘see first’ feature
Users can opt to view yours above other content (go to the Page, click “Following” and then select “See First”)
Keep it relevant!
Ensure your content is planned, engaging and relevant to the user, or they simply won’t view it and you’ll have wasted your time and money.
For great reach, use video
Facebook Live Video is a great tool. Film a quick product vid, how-to guide or a fun testimonial which your target audience will find interesting – and they’ll like, share and comment on it. If you aren’t sure who to target then use your Facebook insights to identify who your most engaged audience is!
Finally, set a budget
Like any other kind of advertising, the only absolute way to use Facebook and get any kind of ROI from it is to commit some realistic budget and set a strategy for its use.
