Written by: Khadija Craine
Have you logged onto Facebook recently, and realized you’re seeing your family and friends more than usual?!? Well on January 11, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, announced Facebook would be returning to its roots. Zuckerberg stated in his Facebook post, “Facebook was built to help people stay connected and bring us closer together with the people that matter to us.” Zuckerberg expressed that user feedback and recent research has shown that public content has started to crowd news feed, shuffling important moments to the bottom and branded content to the top.
To re-focus on their founding goals, Facebook decided it was time to give people the stories that matter to them most. Facebook’s top priority is providing a news feed that keeps people connected to what’s important- people, places, things they relate to most and find valuable.
For those that enjoy Facebook for the sole purpose of connecting with loved ones and networking, this will benefit them greatly!
To all the business owners and brands that push their content to the public in hopes of it reaching new audiences … be advised, you will definitely need to tweak the way you use Facebook.
For the next few weeks, businesses that use Facebook will see huge a decrease in engagement. Here is why … Facebook is prioritizing conversations that spark significant interaction and create a meaningful dialogue between followers, whether it be a job ad, a friend asking for a recommendation or a funny video. Facebook is aiming to prioritize relationships among people rather than business.
Encourage Followers to Turn on Post Notifications to “See First in News Feed”
But don’t fret business owners, there are ways you can still succeed despite the latest Facebook update. Something simple that you can do to counteract these new changes is to tell your followers to change the page preference to “See First in News Feed.” Doing this will allow individuals that follow the page to see your business posts at the top of the news feed.
Business owners should continue to post engaging, quality content that encourages people to share their comments and thoughts. The more engaging a post, the more visibility it will receive in the news feed. Whether a post is asking a question, posting the latest topic, or simply asking for news feed suggestions, make sure the post prompts a response.
Avoid Engagement Bait on Facebook
If you’re a business page that uses engagement bait like “Like this post if you’re a Pisces” or “Share this if you love This Is Us” “Tag 50 friends that would love to see this!”, Facebook will begin decreasing page visibility and reducing the spread of spam induced and misleading content. Engagement bait is not considered valid interaction and therefore it’s Facebook’s watch list. 
Go Live!
And last but not least, create more live videos. As expressed in a previous blog post, social streaming is the present and future for consumers. The more live videos and interaction with friends and family the better. Zuckerberg wrote that “live videos on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos.” If your business has never posted a live video, today is a great day for your first one! And be sure to invite friends and family to join in and share the video!
As a business owner, it’s best to view this new Facebook update as a way to encourage you to identify your target audience, connect with them, and tailor your content to their needs in the most engaging and authentic way possible.
digitaldashpr.com 