What the New Facebook News Feed Updates Means for Pages

In the latest announcement from Facebook earlier this month Pages will now begin to see an even bigger shift in visibility and engagement. This due in large part to their algorithm tweaking, which is now aimed at providing more focus on person-to-person interactions.
According to Adam Mosseri, Head of Facebook News Feed, the social network giant “will also prioritize posts from friends and family over public content, consistent with our News Feed values.” This is nothing new and should be no surprise to us that the News Feed was heading in a new direction. Part of these values outlined in 2016 includes placing personal connections above content from Pages that encourages “authentic communication.”
Many businesses and brands have seen a steady decline in the appearance of their posts in the Facebook News Feeds — if you want more Fans you’re going to have to pay for them through advertising. The good news is that there are several ways you can get around the latest changes and continue to grow.

Post content that matters

A good rule of thumb is to always share content that educates, informs, and brings value to your community. This can be done through video, images that provide tips and advice, and posts that ask for feedback. One of the most popular ways to personally connect with your audience is through Live Video, which has yet to come to Pages. Hosting this through your profile then sharing to your Page is a good way to increase your visibility.

Connect with active and engaged groups in your niche

There is strength in numbers, and if you develop active communication and a good relationship with some of the groups that you are a member of then you can attract more people to your Page. Most of these have their own set of rules and of course the intention is to build relationships rather than promote products or services. Offer helpful and valuable information that can help support your area of expertise.

Avoid “engagement bait”

If you are directly asking your Fans to comment on a post Facebook will take notice and “demote” your posts. What exactly does this look like? In December Facebook provided three examples:

• Vote baiting
• React baiting
• Share baiting

Facebook references engagement baiting as: “For example, “LIKE this if you’re an Aries!” This tactic, known as “engagement bait,” seeks to take advantage of our News Feed algorithm by boosting engagement in order to get greater reach.” The goal is to reach a high level of authenticity and to weed out any self promotion.

Share ‘likeable’ content that sparks a conversation

Sharing great images and video is still a big attraction to Facebook Fans and even group members. What people love to see are eye-catching graphics, memes that cause them to respond, and posts that add value to their personal lives. For instance, inspirational and encouraging quotes will often be commented on and shared. The key is to post just one of these a day in order to be effective.

Continue to interact with other brands

A tried and true way to bring more visibility to your Facebook Page is to interact and provide feedback on relevant Pages and groups in your niche. It’s good for them, and also creates awareness of your brand to their fans as well when they see your comments. Be sure to provide genuine, thoughtful feedback that does not go over the top by commenting on too many posts.

Build up your brand’s addition social networks

If your business has not been very active in places like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest now is the time to start. With the recent Facebook changes you will need to enhance your visibility even further by going beyond just one or two platforms. These are all good places to reach a larger audience and drive more subscribers to your website.

Invest in enticing advertising

Does your brand have a new product, event or service to promote? Now that both Facebook and Instagram work together for ads you can set aside a specific budget each month in order to attract interested prospects. The best types of ads create a level of expectation and encourages people to get the deals not found on your website.

Measure your Facebook Page Insights

Each week or month go to your Page to measure exactly how your posts are performing in the overall growth of your Page. Pay special attention to what your Fans like, their demographics, whether they came in from a promoted post, and how they are responding to your content. This information will provide information you can use to adjust you marketing strategy accordingly such as focusing more on video and less on graphics.
Hopefully these tips will not only save your business Page on Facebook, but will also encourage you to not give up all together. The suggestions presented here may look differently in a year from now as the Facebook News Feed becomes more focused on person-to-person interactions. Post content your fans will love and will want to share and engage in, especially through groups and Live Video. This will help keep your brand image front and center in their own Facebook News Feed.