No matter what we think of the Facebook News Feed changes, we need to help our clients understand how to handle them. (Image credit: Inquisitr.com)
Saying Facebook has made a change to its UI is like saying I woke up this morning and ate breakfast. And I eat breakfast every day. I like oatmeal. Cinnamon and Spice is my favorite. Apples and Cinnamon and Maple Brown Sugar rock as well.
So why am I blogging about this specific Facebook change and my love of Quaker oats? Because Facebook’s recent changes effect the News Feed experience. The place where we spend most of our time on Facebook interacting with others. The place where 99.5 percent of interactions with brands take place on Facebook according to Jeff Widman from Brand Glue.
Anytime Facebook changes the News Feed, anyone with a fan page needs to understand the implications. Especially our clients. Have you shared the news with your clients or company yet? Here is a summary of the change and five ways brands can battle the Facebook News Feed changes.
What changes did Facebook make?
Facebook changed the News Feed to try and serve up more relevant and contextual content to users. Since people look to interact with friends first on Facebook, those posts are most likely to show up prominently as Top Stories in the new design. Plus, users can now customize their experience and mark News Feed updates as top stories, unmark them as top stories, hide stories from a certain user, etc. All of these variables make it tougher for brands to stay relevant to – meaning stay in the News Feeds of – their fans.
How can brands work to stay on their Facebook fan’s radar screens?
1. Work to foster engagement. Facebook’s EdgeRank determines whether something is a top story based on lots of factors, including your relationship to the person who posted the story, how many comments and likes it got, what type of story it is, etc. For example, a friend’s status update that might not normally be a top story may become one after many other friends comment on it or like it. Therefore, Facebook posts from brands that ask a question or seek fan feedback (e.g. Facebook questions, trivia, caption requests, voting) are likely to do better and “make the list” when it comes to fans’ News Feeds. What won’t work is marketing at people through status updates. Because those types of posts notoriously get fewer comments or likes.
2. Share more photos, videos and links with photos/videos. Facebook users are more likely to interact with photos and videos than text updates (see points No. 3 and 4 via the link). And as part of Facebook’s changes, photos and videos now show up bigger in News Feed posts. Make sure to use the visual canvas Facebook is giving you to get users’ attention.
3. Talk about current events. Whether or not it relates directly to your brand, people like to discuss news as it happens. So talking about the latest headlines and then tying them back to your brand when applicable is likely to foster more conversation, which is likely to mean higher News Feed placement.
4. Ask fans to like and share…but don’t overdo it! It’s ok to ask your fans to like a post or share it with their friends. But make sure you give them a reason to do so. And don’t always ask them to do this. A good rule of thumb to start with might be to consider this type of ask on one of every 7-10 posts. Overdoing the asking can get annoying, not unlike friends who constantly ask you for favors IRL.
5. Continue to engage with fans when they do post on your wall. Like with any offline interaction, we are more likely to remember and form affinity to people who seek us out and engage us in conversation. So continue positioning all posts on your fan page wall – as long as they aren’t spam – as opportunities to build relationships and make your brand top of mind with another customer.
Lastly, keep in mind that these Facebook changes are new and we’re going to learn a lot more as we get used to the new layout. Check out the Facebook blog for more in-depth updates on the News Feed changes, new subscribe button, friend lists and more. Colin Alsheimer also has a great breakdown of the Facebook News Feed updates here.
These things are going to be more important than ever. Especially since all of these changes are pissing people off. If people leave or quit logging on as often as a result of this, businesses are going to lose out on a lot of engagement with their 'fans' and possibly out on leads that turn into new customers.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeAnthony_Rodriguez You're assessment is right on. And because there is so much going on in Facebook now, people are even less likely to actually go to a brand page. Companies have to reach uses via apps or the News Feed. And they will never be part of the group a user has the highest affinity rating for. Because that group will always be actual people. So starting conversations via status updates that seek engagement is going to be key.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeConversation from Twitter
Ekaterina thank you - I just asked for this today