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Facebook is changing its Newsfeed algorithm once more, to the detriment of businesses and publishers. It says it wants to make meaningful interaction a priority, and will now show posts from family and friends higher in people’s Newsfeeds.
What does this mean for Facebook Business Page owners?
Your content won’t be seen — unless fans choose to see your posts first, or you publish content that generates meaningful conversation and engagement, Facebook says. The more a post is liked, commented on and shared, the more likely it will appear higher in newsfeeds.
The reasoning behind the change, Facebook found Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post, is that studies have shown meaningful interactions with people you care about contribute to overall happiness and well being. And Facebook says it cares about its users.
What Can Facebook Business Page Owners Do?
This is not the first time Facebook has adjusted its algorithm to show family and friends posts over business page posts. It made a similar announcement in June of 2016.
I wrote a post back then that pretty much covers what Facebook suggests now to page owners to have content seen by fans first. You can read it here.
Here’s a recap of that article of some important steps you can take to make sure your fans see your content:
1. Reach out to your fans and inform them that they might not see your content any longer due to these changes.
2. Let your fans know they have the option to make sure your business page posts are seen on their Newsfeed first. Here’s a post you can share with your fans that shows how to set their Newsfeed preferences on mobile. See below for how to set your Newsfeed Preferences on desktop.
3. Use video, especially Live Video, to get engagement. This is advice direct from Facebook.
4. Share content that generates conversation. Go beyond giving useful information: when sharing your content ask your fans questions, respond to their answers and comments.
5. Join Facebook Groups and share content, news updates, and events that will generate engagement and conversation.
6. Boost posts or create ads. Zuckerberg and friends did not say Facebook boosted posts and ads would suffer the same fate as organic content.
It is my assumption that aside from the happiness and well-being of Facebook users, the company also wants to boost revenue. Those dollars come from Facebook advertisers.
For desktop, here’s how Facebook users can set their Newsfeed preferences:
A. From your Newsfeed timeline, click on the Newsfeed icon on the top left side of your page, and choose Edit Preferences.
B. Choose Prioritize Who to See First
C. Click on the pages whose posts you want to see first in your Newsfeed. You can also select which friends and family members posts you want to see above all others as well during this step.
In Summary
It’s a pay to play world now in social media for businesses. There is no way to avoid that fact. That doesn’t mean you should stop creating good content, or try to get organic engagement. Following the steps above will help. But you should also have a solid digital advertising strategy in place that will help you reach your target market.
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