Everyone who uses Facebook, whether for social or business purposes, has noticed changes to their news feed. Facebook junkies who scroll through their news feed in search of their best friends most recent trip to Starbucks are also seeing posts from the “friend” you met once 15 years ago. And businesses are finding it harder and more expensive to get their latest sales items in front of you. Here’s what Facebook’s recent algorithm changes mean for individuals and businesses.

Individuals

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, believes people will spend less time on Facebook because of the rising popularity of other social media sites such as Instagram, which Facebook owns. Zuckerberg and his team want whatever time you spend on Facebook to be “quality” time.

You’re going to see more content from “friends” Facebook believes you will find “engaging.” For most individuals, that’s a positive! You’ll see fewer ads from major brands and stores and more stuff about your college roommate’s third spouse.

There’s a ton of misinformation going around about Facebook limiting the content you see to 25 or so friends. Is this true? No.

The rumor began last year and was proven to be false but it gained stream after Facebook announced it was adjusting its algorithm.

Facebook algorithm changes are causing concern for many (point2homes.com)

Here is a statement from Facebook that was issued today:

“We rank News Feed based on how relevant each post might be to you, and while we’ve made some updates that could increase the number of posts you see from your friends, your News Feed isn’t limited to 25 of them.”

If engaging or commenting on more friends post makes you feel better, then have at it. My opinion this is what Facebook wants to occur.

Tip: If you want to increase the engagement of your Facebook posts, use Video instead of still photos. In fact, their new algorithm favors video feeds.

A video, whether it be on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat is the way to go. Post of only text will generate hardly any engagement so up your game and learn how to shoot and edit video clips on your mobile device.

Here’s a video from Facebook that explains the change:

Businesses

Facebook has been and continues to be the king of social media and like it or not, you’ve got to be there. And professional marketers and businesses will find it harder and more expensive to reach current and potential customers.

It appeared Facebook was getting pushback from many users who felt inundated with ads and news stories. In order to keep users happy, they adjusted their algorithm to allow people to see more content from “friends” and less from businesses. That is unless they want to pay more for it.

The bottom line in both a figurative and literal sense is marketers are going to have to produce better and more engaging content to attract and retain customers. It also means marketers must understand their target market and produce content they will find as engaging as their neighbor’s upcoming yard sale.

If you’re a business, small or large and you’re not sure about all the changes with social media platforms, email me at paul@paulstanley.org and we can discuss if hiring a social media professional makes sense for you.