Facebook’s recent announcement that they will be changing their news algorithm to show less public content, including videos and posts from publishers and businesses, has left many brands panicking about whether or not they need to re-assess their current advertising approach. But while this may seem like a big pivot for the social behemoth, there are still ample reasons why marketers shouldn’t be too worried.
What Sparked The Facebook Algorithm Change?
It should come as no surprise that Mark Zuckerberg and the team at Facebook HQ have been under tremendous scrutiny over the past year, and this algorithm change likely sparks one of the first of many that strive to establish more transparency and authenticity.
As Zuckerberg himself puts it, “Pages making posts that people generally don’t react to or comment on could see the biggest decreases in distribution. Pages whose posts prompt conversations between friends will see less of an effect.” While it’s still unsure exactly what this imminent change will look like, brands should expect to see their overall organic reach drop over the next couple months. Publishers will need to put more of an emphasis on promoting content that encourages “meaningful interaction”.
It’s worth noting that “meaningful interaction” should not be confused with “engagement-bait” and using the latter to try and drive more engagement on the feeds you manage will not garner successful results.
How Marketers & Publishers can Adjust
Now more than ever, brands need to ensure they leverage paid media spend, which shouldn’t be impacted too heavily in comparison to the brands that are still simply driving organic traffic. Additionally, there may be even more of an opportunity for publishers who go the extra mile and devise strong and compelling content strategies.
Ultimately, marketers who can combine both rich media that ignites a discussion and a laser-focused paid plan with proper targeting and channel allocation are poised to benefit the most from the Facebook algorithm change.