As a savvy business owner, you know Facebook (and Instagram, we just refer to both as Facebook now that they are part of the same family) can be the lifeblood of your small business. Whether you use those tools or not, it’s a fact.
- Eighty-four percent of small businesses reported that Facebook was the most important social media channel for driving growth in 2018.
- In fact, 67% of small businesses reported that Facebook was the #1 social media platform contributing to their revenue, in 2018.
And this trend is continuing in 2019 for businesses like yours, despite so many changes coming from Facebook.
Did you know that Facebook recently made a series of announcements about key changes that will impact the way businesses use the tool? We dive into two of the largest changes below, and what this means for you!
Worthwhile and Close Friend Content
The most major updates over the last year have prioritized friends and family content above business content in the feed. Based on recent surveys, Facebook now has key signals it can use to determine who your closest friends are, based on who you are interacting and engaging with the most and who you are tagged with in photos. This is great for users, as it will improve the relevancy of the content you see when you log into the app.
From a business perspective, this will hurt business pages that rely on click-bait links (click here to learn more, tag a friend, etc.) as well as pages that do not have engagement on their content.
As a business, it is more important than ever to consistently create content that is valuable for your audience and promotes engagement to increase your visibility within the app.
Facebook Changes Reach of Comments in News Feed
Did you know that in addition to ranking posts within your feed, Facebook ranks comments as well?
This most recent update will ensure that posts with comments that have positive quality signals will be seen by more people. Posts with low quality signals will have their news feed reach reduced.
For example, businesses used to use contests as a way to drive engagement and increase their reach within the feed. A business page could post a contest, and the form of entry is to tag a friend. The goal was to increase exposure and engagement for the brand. Facebook is now considering these comments as low quality signals, meaning they will not benefit the business as they had in the past.
Remember, the goal of the Facebook newsfeed is to show people the stories that are most relevant to them. That drives almost all of the algorithm updates you hear about from Facebook.
It’s crucial for businesses to continue to utilize the platforms to the best of their ability. If you need assistance navigating these changes or want to learn more about them, just call us! We are always more than happy to meet for a cup of coffee and provide as much education as we possibly can.
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