In early December Facebook announced a slight change to their Newsfeed algorithm. It seemed small in the grand scheme of things. Facebook claimed this change would favor high-quality news stories and articles and lower less newsworthy content.
Initial results are already showing a significant drop in the organic reach of a brand’s Facebook page. Less people are being reached now than a month ago. A study by Ignite Social Media shows certain brands experiencing a drop in their organic reach as much as 88% in the past month! Engaged followers of brand pages are missing out on much of the content shared by these brands, even though they’re dedicated followers.
Each of my clients has a Facebook page designed to leverage the power of Facebook for leads, engagement, and social media marketing. Putting a SEO tourniquet on a highly effective marketing tool is probably the easiest way to upset an army of marketing experts. Do you really think Mark Zuckerberg cares though? (Spoiler alert: he doesn’t.)
Ultimately, this entire upheaval comes back to the timeless principle: don’t build on rented land. Marketers and social media analysts are making a significant fuss over a platform outside their control. Here’s the truth… Facebook will continue to morph and change for years to come. So will Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and any other social media platform.
The key to long-term brand success is producing fantastic content that’s exceptionally effective for your audience. If you’re creating and sharing the best answer to your audience’s questions, you have the luxury of navigating multiple social media platforms without exclusive loyalty to any of them, including Facebook.
I don’t think we should abandon Facebook, but know that even it’s massive influence has limitations at the whims of others. I expect at least a slight pendulum swing back to the previous algorithm, but even if nothing happens, the quality and relevance of your content is still within your control.