3 Ways to Thrive with Facebook Algorithms
Facebook caused unrest in the marketing kingdom, when they announced recently that it will make changes to its algorithms. Algorithms will favor posts from family and friends and personal connections between users versus posts from Pages and businesses.
For those of you who manage a Facebook page, these changes mean your reach will go down, and it will be harder for your audience to see your posts.
It goes without saying that changes are a given in social media. Trends come and go, and there is always something new to learn. When those changes occur, take them with stride, accept the new challenge, and do these three things.
Assess. Just what are the changes, and what do they mean for your work? Don’t be quick to judge whether these changes are bad. Evaluate what is new and and what you need to do to keep up.
Adapt. Figure out what you need to do to make adjustments so you are not adversely affected by the changes. In the case of these Facebook algorithms, Social Media Today offered a few suggestions.
Engage more with your users. Responding to comments from your audience indicates that there’s a real live person behind the page who is interested in having a genuine interaction with their audience.
“…The bottom line is that you need to be generating engagement with your posts, as real conversation will be favoured by the system. How much, exactly, the algorithm will lean this way, we don’t know, but if you start seeing declines, this may be the cause.”
Post more (to a point). These changes mean that it will be less likely that your audience will see more of your posts. From Social Media Today:
“…Algorithm-defined distribution means there’s no way all your followers are going to see all your posts, every day — which mean you’re able to post more frequently than you might have done in the past.”
Don’t get all spammy on everyone, but with a few more posts spread throughout the day, you can make sure you’re getting in front of users.
Analyze. Think about what’s behind the changes. Facebook wants to give users more of what they want. Facebook market research shows that their users want more meaningful interactions.
So give your customers meaningful interactions. Don’t just post for the sake of posting. Respond when they comment on your post. Offer them real, authentic content that actually offers them value. Give your audience something in return for the attention that they have given you.
Change in social media is an inevitability. So when faced with those changes, use it as an opportunity.
It is an opportunity to shake up your game. It is a test to see how your social media game compares to other content out there. It’s an opportunity to get fresh ideas and create something different and new, something that your audience can get truly excited about. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about them.
