Facebook will change (again) in 2018 and it’s something businesses, brands and marketers need to know about.
As a digital marketing company, one of mediums we assist nearly 100% of our clients with is Facebook. There are over 2 billion monthly active Facebook users and there are 1.15 billion mobile daily active users. We get it: Facebook is the place to be.
If you’re a business owner or marketer, Facebook’s announcement last week is going to throw a hurdle into what you’re used to: Users’ News Feeds will no longer feature your page’s posts unless you pay. Last week, Facebook announced six markets they are testing this in. I predict these markets will be a mirror to permanent changes we as marketers, small businesses and brand representatives will see as we roll into 2018.
Here are the facts of Facebook’s announcement:
Facebook launched a secondary newsfeed called Explore.
Explore will feature posts from Facebook pages users don’t follow but may be interested in.
News Feed, will continue to host posts from friends and Pages users do follow.
Organic Facebook reach could be coming to an end. News Feed in 2018 could (will?) be for paying Pages only.
“People told us they want an easier way to see posts from friends and family, so we are testing two separate feeds, one as a dedicated space with posts from friends and family and another as a dedicated space for posts from Pages,” a Facebook spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to Mashable.
Here is my advice:
If you are currently clicking “boost post” on your page: Stop. This is not the most effective way to reach your audience and Facebook has a (free) platform that is much more intuitive (but complicated) and offers deeper targeting. Either learn how to use it now (as it will become very important) or align with a company who can take over Facebook placement/monitoring for you.
Keep creating great content (or find someone to help you). No matter what, Facebook will always deliver content/images/videos they know their users would like and want to see. If you’re creating content in hopes of organic exposure (like we all are), don’t stop. You may need to work with someone (or learn) how to get them out, but if the content is great, people will still share and Facebook will always let them.
Stay up-to-date with these changes. Adapting with technology is king, I promise. Facebook is an incredible tool for reaching audiences young and old, and people of every belief and value system. Don’t let this change discourage you or say, “Well, I’m done with Facebook now!”
As a small business ourselves, we are passionate about helping other business owners and the people who work for them. Like our Facebook page our visit here often: We will work hard to provide updates, solutions, tips and share every piece of knowledge we can to help you.
Cheers,
aYj
Sources
Kerry Flynn. Facebook tests removing publishers from news feed – unless they pay. Mashable. Retrieved October 24, 2017 from: http://mashable.com/2017/10/23/facebook-explore-publisher-post-organic-reach-drop/#Gw3drCnfDPq2
Zephoria. The top 20 valuable facebook statistics – updated October 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017 from: https://zephoria.com/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/
