How This Can Benefit Your Business
Facebook is constantly evolving. With the many changes made in the last few years, as well as new trends across social media marketing in general, businesses absolutely need to be paying attention to the new directions that Facebook is moving in.
Paying attention to these shifts can prove incredibly lucrative to any business looking to expand their social media reach. It’s all about having your finger on the pulse, that’s the key to succeeding at any kind of marketing.
The trouble is, many of the changes, especially when it comes to business and organisation pages, have seemed less than positive for businesses looking to use Facebook as part of an effective sales funnel.
However, if you know what you’re doing, and you understand the shifts, then these updates and changes can actually work out in a business’s favour.
Here are thirteen various changes that can definitely prove useful and positive for your business.
Facebook Has Only Grown More Ubiquitous
While you might hear some naysayers saying Facebook is dying down and advocating for Instagram and other social media forms, Facebook has really only continued to grow and become more omnipresent.
As well as having 2.27 billion active users, Facebook is continually developing new technologies. They’re here to stay, and that’s something all businesses should accept and embrace.
Constantly Evolving Algorithms When it comes to Content
One of the biggest areas of Facebook’s continual evolution is the development of a more quality, organic approach to content. Nowadays, the algorithms prioritise original, high-value content more and more, with focus on the value to the individual user.
That means for any business, creating quality, original content is key. No one can succeed when it comes to Facebook marketing with the same old recycled, repetitive posting.
Lowered Business Content Priority
One of the big changes that occurred in the last year was the downgraded prioritisation of business page content. Every big page had their reach cut, and while that might sound downright deadly for businesses, it carries a very positive upside.
While page reach was cut, Facebook rolled out their new paid marketing strategy. Hugely customisable, targeted and powerful, Facebook marketing became a tool every business should be utilising.
Businesses Need to Pay for Advertising
This was definitely one of the biggest changes to shake Facebook in recent years, and it killed many smaller pages, but if you’re a business with the capital to invest in marketing, Facebook just became a whole lot more straightforward and powerful.
Facebook Marketing Has Become Incredibly Targeted
One of the biggest benefits of the upgraded Facebook marketing system is that while you’re reaching far fewer people, the people you are reaching are much more likely to fit within your customer profile.
The modern Facebook marketing algorithm allows for powerful targeting, making sure that you’re getting good value for your money. That’s also good for smaller businesses too.
In years gone by, as a smaller business, you’d constantly be dwarfed by the massive spending disparity between you and big companies. Extremely targeted, paid marketing circumvents that to some degree.
Page Likes No Longer Equal Engagement
One of the fundamental truths that now needs to be accepted when it comes to Facebook marketing is that page likes no longer equal engagement in any way.
For instance, a business page with 300,000 likes might see less than 5% engagement, meaning they reach around 15,000 followers. Conversely, a page with only 30,000 likes, but with a solid budget for Facebook marketing might reach a similar number of users.
Everyone Can See Page Content, Without Liking
This might sound like a detriment, but users being able to see the content posted by businesses without having to like the page is actually a huge benefit.
The fact is, it massively boosts exposure. With most business pages only reaching around five percent of their followers, any opportunity to gain exposure must be exploited.
Facebook Encourage More Organic Content Generation
This isn’t surprising. Almost all social media platforms and even web giants like Google are trying to create a more organic, personalised browsing experience.
That’s bad for businesses with a lazy approach to content creation. You can’t copy and paste old content anymore, and you need some variety. A business with a strong approach to content creation can really use this to their advantage.
Facebook Influencers Can Be a Powerful Marketing Method
In recent years, the use of influencers across social media has become more and more common, and while the reach restrictions might have impacted the value of Facebook influencers slightly, this approach can still prove fruitful.
While you might think influencers are more of an Instagram marketing tactic, utilising popular Facebook pages can still yield solid results.
Micro-Influencers Are Now a Thing
The past few years has also seen the birth of the micro-influencer. With so many different businesses and industries looking to reach out to small niches, micro-influencers can be the key to getting your product seen by the right crowd.
Characterised by having a significant, but fewer than 100,000 strong following, micro-influencers can be cheaper than their more popular counterparts, but particularly potent for niche businesses.
Live Facebook Broadcasts Are Prioritised
One of the measures employed by Facebook to encourage organic interaction and engagement is prioritising live video. Because it’s simply impossible for businesses to easily copy and paste content into a live video, it can be a solid way to garner more attention for your business page.
Video Performs Extremely Well on Facebook
It’s not just live video that performs well on Facebook either nowadays. Video in general receives vastly more views and interaction than any other kind of content on Facebook. Getting making some video content!
Fresh Content is More and More Prioritised
At the end of the day, succeeding on Facebook comes down to a couple of things. Having the budget for Facebook marketing and advertising, and producing good quality, diverse and above all, fresh content. That’s the way the whole platform has been moving in the past few years.
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