The Facebook news feed is changing, here’s how it could impact your business

You may have heard that Facebook is making changes to the structure of the platform’s news feed. Instead of a focus on news articles and videos from pages, the social media network will go back to its roots and prioritise content from friends and family.

These changes will inevitably shake up the way businesses use Facebook to reach their audience and the nature of digital advertising going forward.

Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg has said that the changes are being made to encourage people to connect with each other more. Whilst this might be good for those hoping to see more baby posts and holiday snaps, the impact it will have on advertisers is sure to be more profound. As businesses find their posts being replaced by user content, organic reach will most likely drop.

 

For those not too familiar with the world of social advertising – organic reach is the number of unique users who come across a post naturally in their news feed without a page having to put money behind the post or placing an advertisement.

This doesn’t mean that Facebook is a lost cause for businesses, but it does mean that they will have to be smarter with how they proceed on the platform.

Producing content that is likely to engage with readers will help keep posts performing well. The tips we shared in a post last year on how to make the most of Facebook’s algorithm still ring true with these changes.

 

The last point there may leave some business owners reeling at the prospect of paying for social media attention, however thinking carefully about paid advertising and ensuring every cent is put to good use is now more important than ever.

It could also be time for businesses to think about taking their eggs out of the Facebook basket and focusing attention on other forms of digital advertising. Google, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat all remain viable alternatives for reaching audiences. Branching out and investing time and money in different platforms will lessen the potentially negative effects of the Facebook changes.

If you want to get your business ahead in the world of social advertising, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Emote Digital today.