How is Facebook Changing?
Facebook has rolled out an algorithm update that negatively affects business pages. We’ve come up with solutions to help your page come out on top.
Have you noticed some new tweaks to your Facebook newsfeed lately? You’re not the only one. On January 11th, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be altering your news feed, reducing the number of posts you would see from businesses and organizations. Why? Well, they surveyed Facebook users and found that they are more interested in seeing content from their friends and family. They “want to make sure that the time we all spend on Facebook is time well spent”
Zuckerberg said, “As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.”
So, if you want people to see more of your business’s posts, you’ll need to foster these meaningful interactions. How can this be achieved? There are two ways: One, by having your followers change their news feed settings, and two, by increasing your engagement. Keep reading below for instructions on both.
You can check out Zuckerberg’s full post here.
1. Change your newsfeed settings
Facebook for Desktop
1. Go to Facebook.com and log in. Select the drop-down arrow in the top right corner of your page.
2. Select “News Feed Preferences”.
3. Select “Prioritize who to see first”.
4. Select the pages and profiles you want to see appear first in your news feed. The pages and profiles you select will show a blue badge with a star.
5. Select “Done”.
Facebook iPhone App
1. Select the three-line menu option in the bottom right-hand corner.
2. At the bottom, select “Settings”.
3. Select “News Feed Preferences”.
4. Select “Prioritize who to see first”.
5. Then, select the pages you want to see first on your news feed. The pages and profiles you select will show a blue badge with a star.
6. Select “Done”.
Facebook Android App
1. Select the three-line menu option at the top right.
2. At the bottom, select “News Feed Preferences”.
3. Select “Prioritize who to see first”.
4. Select the pages and profiles you want to see appear first in your news feed.
5. Select “Done.”
Also: Make sure that when you like a page, you also hit “Following”. If you see a page that you’ve already liked and you’re not following, be sure to hit that setting.
2. Increase your engagement
This one requires minimal effort on your behalf. First step: Have you liked your business page? If not, go ahead and do so. Once you’ve done that, make sure you’re regularly commenting, liking, and sharing your business’s posts. This gets the word out to people you’re friends with, as well as increases the numbers for your page. A win-win!
Second step: Send out an email blast to your friends, family, employees, and coworkers asking them to like your page. We’ve created some templates for you to make it even easier! These are available below. Choose one, fill out the necessary information, add your recipients, and you’re golden!
| Hi there! Did you know that we’re on Facebook?! Connect with us for updates, information, and more! [Click here] to give us a like. We appreciate your support! Sincerely, [Business Name] |
| Hello, Have you liked our Facebook page yet? You can see our updates, new information, tips, and more! [Click here] to become a fan! Thanks for your support, [Business Name] |
| Hi! We’re social! [Click here] to give us a like on Facebook to see updates, information, tips, and the occasional pun. We appreciate your support, [Business Name] |
Don’t Stop There!
It’s going to take some time, but the more you have interactions with your business page, the more others will, too. Encourage others to share and comment regularly.
And, a bonus: Did you know that the new “reactions” option on posts actually has more weight compared to just “liking” a post? To explain, when you press and hold down on the Like option on a post and select “love”, “wow”, “haha”, or any of the others, this actually brings your post up higher in the rankings. The reason for this is that it’s taking more effort on your end to engage with a post.
Soon, Facebook for business is going to become a pay-to-play platform. After reaching your engagement goals, the next step is to boost posts or run advertisements, so keep this in mind when budgeting throughout 2018.
Boosting posts is a great way to fight out of this algorithm update. If you see a post that’s doing particularly well, you can put a media spend on it based on your discretion. Plus, your post will reach more people based on the targeting methods you choose. If you’re interested in boosting your posts, contact Bill, our Sales Lead, at bill@findeight.com.