Facebook video sharing on desktop and mobile

How News Feed Change Will Affect Your Business

The beauty of Facebook as a marketing tool is that it gives brands a low-cost way to have an online presence in order to inform and attract people to your brand.

According to an article released by Facebook: “Nearly a billion people visited Facebook Pages [in October 2014]. Of those visits, more than 750 million happened on mobile devices. Businesses should think about their Page as a cornerstone of their online identity.”

That being said, changes to the News Feed feature will roll out in January that will feature a new design as well as significant changes to the way brands reach consumers via Facebook.

Starting in January, the presence of organic (aka un-paid, non-promoted) posts will slowly start disappearing from users’ news feeds. Content that is particularly at risk are:

  1. Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app
  2. Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context
  3. Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads

So what does this mean for brands? Here’s a few of our tips for how you can come out on top despite the change:

1) Post often, post consistently

The more you post, the greater likelihood there is that users will see your posts. Think about it this way. If a user sees 20 posts every 30 minutes, and if you post 2 times a day, it’s not likely your post will be seen. If you post 5 times a day, however, this increases the likelihood that people will actually see and interact with your post.

2) Pay up–everyone’s doing it 

The days of free Facebook are coming to an end. In order for your brand to stand out, you need to create a solid, paid digital strategy to reach your fans. With the right strategy, at just a fraction of the cost of other marketing methods, you can still reach your key target of consumers. Consider promoted posts your new bread and butter when it comes to reaching your desired Facebook market.

3) Stop liking, stop selling– Start engaging

Facebook’s research shows that consumers do not respond well to brands that are constantly trying to get them to “Like” their page, or push for them to buy a specific product. They want to engage and communicate, not be sold to. Make sure your content promotes your brand in a way that engages the consumers for greater results.

4) Target! Target! Target! 

Facebook gives you the option to target specific users based on gender, location, age, and more. Use this to your advantage. Make sure your posts are crafted for your targeted audience, and then use advertising dollars to ensure you don’t just blindly throw your darts–make sure they hit the bulls eye every time.

5) Content is king

As Page content diminishes on News Feeds, keep consumers coming to your brand for the content. People actually enjoy brands that bring them relevant content, and the brands that do produce high-quality content will keep their fan base more than brands who do not:

“I follow a lot of local business pages for article shares and news,” commented Michael Parnell, manager at North Highland, adding: “Does this mean their articles won’t reach my news feed and I’ll now be forced to see even MORE pictures of babies and children from my friends, unless those businesses pay to reach me, even if I like them?”

Users like Parnell want brands to bring them quality content, so give the people what they’re  asking for by hiring an agency or social media expert that can keep your fan base loyal, engaged, and coming back for more.

The most important thing to remember is: Facebook advertising is not dead.

“For targeting specific audiences with predictable reach, Facebook advertising offers ways to achieve specific business objectives, like driving in-store sales or app downloads.”

Facebook is still a fantastic and necessary marketing tool for businesses; however, it’s time to level up. Take your social media advertising seriously, and make sure you go into the game with a strong strategy to achieve social media success.

See more from the original source: http://brinx.it/AQm

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Jaime Cardenas
jaime.cardenas@acmconnect.com