The New Facebook Algorithm & What it Means for Marketers | Surge MS

A recent announcement from Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, states that a new algorithm will become active in 2018 which will affect what we see in our news feeds. The goal of this algorithm is to make Facebook users’ feeds more personal and encourage friends to interact with one another – something that Zuckerberg feels has been declining on the network over the past few years.

In his statement, the Facebook CEO says users will see less public content, e.g. posts from businesses and the media. Instead, they will see more meaningful content from their friends, families and communities they’re involved in. It’s going to be heavily centred around content that invites interaction. This change contributes to making people’s time using Facebook more valuable, but how will it affect the work of marketers? We’ll have to pay more attention to our pages, but we can still succeed…

Business managers need to be savvy and proactive to continue to run successful Facebook campaigns once this algorithm rolls out. It’s no secret that Facebook has been a driving force for business’ online marketing efforts in recent years, and for it to continue to elevate us online, we need to be prepared for what’s to come with new, creative ideas that will be of genuine interest to our audiences.

With this change, content is key. There’s no need to be worried about your business’ Facebook marketing if the content you share is compelling and meaningful. You can look at this algorithm as a way of streamlining content; cancelling out poor advertisements or any posts that can be considered as spam or clickbait.

A good place to start when tackling this algorithm is getting organised. Brainstorm some ideas that your audience would love and put a plan together for your Facebook activity. Once you’ve started sharing, closely track the reach and engagement levels of your posts. If you share some content that generates little interest, ask yourself why and know what to change in your next post or campaign to get the right results.

Especially when you have a lot of jobs to juggle, it can be difficult to come up with a unique content strategy. If you’re feeling uninspired, here are a couple of starting points…

Even with these ideas, there’s no set type of content to share to your Facebook business page to get the maximum level of exposure. You just need to make sure you’re thinking outside the box and avoiding sales-focused or spammy messages. Think of the kinds of unique content you would want to see from your favourite brand, and work from there. After all, varying the content of your posts will not only keep your followers guessing but award you brownie points from Facebook.

There is no set date for Facebook to start making these alterations live. Even when the algorithm does start to kick in, it will take a while to fully roll out. At the moment, It is advisable for business page managers to keep a close eye on their insights so the necessary changes can be made as soon as possible.

This movement and its repercussions may seem daunting when us marketers put so much thought, time and money into our Facebook business pages. However, we should see it as encouragement to pay extra attention to our content. We have the opportunity to make our business page a social channel that allows us to be more accessible, innovative and customer-focused.

Your new and improved Facebook page will make your company more current and engaging. While directly promotional messages can be great, on social media, they are often more effective when they’re subtle and minimalistic. If you avoid clickbait and repetition, all the while sharing posts that are authentic and timely, you shouldn’t see too much of a change in the overall performance of your business page.

Could you benefit from a free review of your social media marketing? Contact our team – we’ll be happy to help!