What Facebook’s Newsfeed Changes Mean for Brands

In case you missed it, Facebook shared its plan for additional newsfeed changes. Effective in January, Facebook will decrease the number of posts made by brands – unless those posts are paid for. Putting this development another way, if you are a brand running a Facebook page and would like to share news of a new product you are offering or a flash sale, Facebook will most likely not  let you run that post unless some marketing dollars are behind it.

According to Facebook, these changes are meant to keep marketing messages as marketing messages, not organic conversation topics that clutter up user feeds.

Facebook holds copious amounts of data on their user base, opening the door to precise ad targeting.  For media planners alike, including yours truly who used to buy online media, this is incredibly useful.  What’s confusing to some, however, is that the notion of ‘social media’ was meant to be an organic medium for conversations to take place and for content to magically appear on your feed, based on targeting and timing.

It appears that those days, at least via Facebook, are over.

So what is a brand to do?  Here is a mini playbook in how to sort out Facebook’s new strategy.

1.)   Take advantage of Facebook’s target capabilities

There is nothing wrong with purchasing an ad on Facebook – it’s another way to promote your content and have it seen by an additional subset of people. Accepting the new reality of Facebook now will set you and your team up for discussion testing budgets, A/B content testing and other features of Facebook advertising. And yes, it does work.

2.)   Review your social platforms

If you put the majority of your social eggs in the Facebook basket, it’s time to switch up your strategy.  Have you considered the built-in SEO boost that Google+ can provide? Has anyone on your team conducted a hashtag search in Instagram to find a new crop of brand lovers?

3.)   Get to know your site again

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – your website is YOURS.  All of the content you create and the traffic you review is a treasure trove of information.  From the ability to create various landing pages for different social platform traffic to responding to customer service questions via your Contact Us form, you control the user experience.  Going back to the basics and amping up your company’s website is must-to step that many brands forget to review.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

Blagica Bottigliero
VP of Digital Media