Earlier in the year Facebook announced some changes to their algorithm – the factors that determine which posts we see in our news feed when we open up the app or log in on our laptops.
It’s fantastic that so many businesses (millions in fact) use Facebook to market what they do, connect with customers and sell their products or services, and for many small businesses here across the globe Facebook replaces the need for a website!
Facebook has always been about connecting people and creating an environment that supports and encourages meaningful interaction. Over the years, naturally this has changed a little as a result of it’s growth. With this change, they’ve noticed that individuals are scrolling through more passively, and that this actually has an impact on people’s sense of wellbeing. Changing the algorithm is a step they are taking to address this and take Facebook back to what it was originally meant to be.
Over recent years, the community has let Facebook know that they don’t like being overly sold to by businesses and brands, so it’s no surprise that they are starting to re-focus on the community side of their network, connecting people, and prioritising content that will be more insightful, more beneficial and more meaningful to the user.
We think this is a great thing! Facebook is reflecting on what they wanted to be and what’s happening. Ultimately they want their users to spend more time on the platform of course, but like any good business, they want to make sure that that experience is a positive one, and when you are a company that connects over 1 billion people across the globe, you have to take responsibility for what that looks like.
In short, it means you’re going to have to work harder to get your content seen. More than ever you need to consider what you’re saying, when you’re saying it, and most importantly, why?
Again – this can only be a positive. Gone are the days of people just publishing for the sake of it (think filler posts like ‘Happy Friday’ and ‘Happy Monday’). Gone are the days of people thinking that posting every single day, perhaps multiple times a day, is necessary. (By the way, this has never been a winning tactic!)
What we should say is, gone are the days we’ll have to passively scroll past all these posts. Moving forward, we just won’t see them in the news feed.
Oh and if you haven’t had the memo yet…video isn’t going away. and neither is live. Once you’ve brainstormed some ideas that fit into the topics above, then think about how you portray that through video.
If you would like any of your social media questions answered, then get in touch!
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