In late April, Facebook announced three tweaks that will not only affect what you see on your news feed, but they will also shift how companies use the social network to influence its 1.4 billion users.
First, Facebook has “relaxed” a rule that prevented users seeing multiple posts from the same source. The goal here was to “improve the experience” for people who don’t have a lot of content. The second update focused on keeping the content people care about most – photos, videos, links and status updates – higher in the news feed. Lastly, Facebook now shows fewer “likes” or “comments” on articles and updates.
What does all this mean? Facebook is trying to give users more control over what they see by adding friends and liking Pages. The end result is that people will likely see more from their friends and less from companies. Facebook is more or less forcing businesses to reach users that haven’t liked their Pages through paid ads.
Per Facebook’s blog, the changes will “vary considerably depending on the composition of your audience and your posting activity… In some cases, post reach and referral traffic could potentially decline.”
Visit Facebook’s tips and best practices for more Page posting information.
How has your company’s Facebook strategy shifted because of these changes? We want to hear from you.