By adaptive - May 22nd, 2014
Some useful tips for brands to follow in face of Facebook's recent changes
If you’re a brand and you haven’t adapted your social media strategy after Facebook’s news feed algorithm change, you’re leaving money on the table. As a social media strategist with experience in multiple industries, I understand the effect that Facebook can have on the bottom line. One post with a picture of a Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccinoand fans will flock to your stores.
Facebook and its influencers can have a strong impact on driving traffic to your website and their reviews can definitely impact your sales. The way brands position their content and engage with consumers after the new Facebook launch on January 21st will influence your business in a number of ways.
Here are some of my tips on getting your brand into the news feed of the right influencers:
Hybrid Facebook Advertising
You didn’t think this change was going to cost you any more of your advertising budget did you? Sorry to say you’re wrong, but if you want the reach and engagement you were used to before you’ve got to cough up the cash.
If you’re content strategy isn’t up to par with Facebook’s standards, your ad spend will need to increase if you want to maintain your current reach and engagement. Facebook advertising is the only option to significantly increase impressions to conversions.
Test a hybrid paid media strategy by coupling paid ads such as promoted posts, column ads, and sponsored stories with organic media to obtain a high level of fan penetration. Start by promoting a post that has already gained a higher level of organic reach than usual to ensure you’re dollars are being thrown in the right direction. Also, think about advertising your content over products. Promote engaging content like e-books, webinars, and podcasts are a great way to integrate your products with clickable content.
Here’s an example of Wishpond’s Sponsored Post:
CTA’s Are Second-String
The new algorithm is all about interactivity and how shareable a post is. If your post lacks a visual element and a link it’ll be buried. Replace text only posts with a link, photo, or video. These have the highest engagement rates.
Social media users are becoming more attuned to what looks like a blatant sales gimmicks, and they’ll avoid them at all costs. That’s why creating a post that focuses on engagement rather than your selling point, as well as having a visually appealing feature, will see greater click-through rates and virility than a boring status update touting your new product.
Make sure you’re using your links correctly, too. A link post will create an image with the link embedded and give that post higher priority in newsfeeds than a picture with a link in the description.
See Ya Later Grumpy Cat & Cute Puppy Memes
I love a grumpy cat and condescending Willy Wonka meme as much as the next guy, but they just don’t do the trick with Facebook anymore.
Facebook started to classify memes as “poor quality posts” after too many marketers took advantage of how easy it was to make memes eye-catching, entertaining and relevant to their brand. So although your meme may get fans laughing, that’ll only happen if they see your post, and chances of that are slim.
You might call it too much of a good thing, but Facebook was calling it losing revenue, hence a new algorithm.
Spread the Love With Community Management
User engagement metrics is obviously what we’re aiming for when we’re talking about measuring the success of our social media strategies, but now we have to prove ourselves to Facebook too. This means that unless you entice your readers to click and share, Facebook will put the boring stamp on your post for you and bury it.
Give readers a bit of teaser content at the top of a post to get them to click and read more, or leverage other page’s similar target audiences by tagging them. This will help you organically give your content some reach.
Also, put as much time and energy in to brand building as you do in crafting content. When your fans are making the effort to respond to what you’re posting, their thoughts shouldn’t go unacknowledged. The reason it’s called social media and not just media is because it’s not a one-sided conversation.
Take a look at Wendy’s:
Choose Your Time and Frequency Wisely
If content is king, then timing is queen. If you’re not posting at the most opportune moments for your brand’s target audiences you could be missing out on major exposure simply due to poor planning.
Take the time to identify the peak times your audience is logged in to Facebook as well as noting industry-aligned pages you’re looking to target. Be sure to tag other pages so your post displays in their fan’s newsfeeds.
In addition to timing, don’t get too overzealous with frequency. You know that friend who has no less than five status updates a day, which ultimately makes you un-friend them or choose to hide their posts? Don’t be that friend. Keep your number of posts a day to two to three at the most to make best use of advertising dollars and user engagement efforts.
The bottom line is that the new algorithm throws the impressive number of fans your page has out the window. It’s the number of fans who engage and are invested in your brand that will set your page apart from others.
When it’s all said and done, by the time you master the new algorithm there will be another Facebook change right around the corner. Stay adaptable and tuned in to your audience’s wants and needs, and you’ll be ready to take the next curveball Zuckerberg throws out.
Bio:
Anna brings a unique sense of inspiration into everyday work from quotes on Twitter and to her favorite new Atlanta brewery. Anna has been working with clients like Hearst Publications, staySky Hotels & Resorts, and Love That Pet to help boost social engagement for over 4 years. Say hi to her on Twitter @annaleacrowe.