What You Need to Know About the Latest Facebook Update | Zizzo Group

What You Need to Know About the Latest Facebook Update

Facebook. Oh, Facebook. You’ve gone and changed your news feed once again. While you probably heard the collective screams of social media managers everywhere, after taking some time to process things, it may not be as bad as it first appeared.

For those of you not familiar with the changes, Facebook wants to replace what’s featured within your feeds to focus on “meaningful social interactions” (i.e. more content from family and friends). Over the years, the platform has been instrumental in the way we consume and distribute news online and, in several instances, how media outlets produce it. However, recently Facebook has found itself receiving blame for the spread of misinformation, fake news, and hate-based content. Quite the precarious position.

So, what does this mean for your Facebook marketing moving forward?

First, you can expect even less organic reach for your page.

Second, if you haven’t started to shift media dollars into paid social, now is the time to do so. In order to get the same reach, views, impression, and other key measurable data, brands will have to spend more within the channel.

Finally, before you start to lose it on your end, remember that social media has always been about content – quality content. If your fans interact with it, then you’re good. If not, well it may be time to rethink your strategy.

With that in mind, here are some ways to maximize your interaction and engagement with your audience:

 

Stick to the Basics

When in doubt, you can still find your way into your customer’s Facebook News Feed with the tried and true strategies that you’ve (hopefully) been employing this whole time. If so, not much will change for you. As a refresher, you should aim to:

 

Push Video (Especially Live)

Sound familiar? As we’ve stated before and we will say it again, video is a key component to help drive reach and engagement. Live video should become an even more important part of your strategy, because if offers the opportunity for instant interaction with your audience.

But remember, don’t produce videos for production sake. They have to be meaningful. Always use the principles above as a guide to help shape the content your produce.

 

Leverage Facebook Tools

Facebook has developed several new tools including the “See First” option. If your followers activate this option, it does what it says; it puts your content in their feeds. This will help to try to ensure they will not miss your updates.

Creating a post, detailing how your followers can activate the “See First” button is a good step to make sure your content is not missed.

 

Create Facebook Groups

Creating a Facebook group might be a good option for your business if you have core or niche audiences. Running a successful group will require time and effort, but in the long term can produce a great network of brand advocates that you can use for additional marketing initiatives.

The beauty of groups is that you can tailor them to whatever make scenes for your business including employees, email subscribers, or key customer groups. Within the group, you can ask and answer questions or offer special content to provide those “meaningful social interactions” Facebook is wanting.

 

Seek Feedback

It sounds simple but it might the most effective tool you have to help shape the type of content you produce. Posting questions about the type of content and executions your audiences seek or the pain points they are experiencing are great ways to get feedback that is targeted and actionable.

 

Implement a Paid Strategy 

If you were running Facebook ads previous, excellent, continue down that path. As I stated previous, if you are not, you should start. A strategic plan with good creative that can foster meaningful engagement and conversations will help drive your organic reach in news feeds.

But remember, it’s not about throwing dollars to show your content to everyone. That will not be beneficial to your brand. You need to approach any Facebook advertising spend like you would a media buy. If you understand your audiences and target them with the right content at the right time, again you will increase your “meaningful social interaction” opportunities.

 

On the surface, these changes can appear frustrating. But I’m going to shine a little positivity at you: As social media marketers, this gives us all the opportunity to reevaluate or current efforts, weed out the junk that fills up our feeds, and produce the type of content that can build long, sustainable connections with our audiences.

It’s time to be thoughtful with our content and trade in the “quick win.” Facebook is providing us that opportunity. Are you going to take it?

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