After a few years of Facebook newsfeeds resembling flea markets, last month Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a news feed algorithm adjustment in order to prioritise content from ‘friends, family and groups.’ So personal, user content will be coming top of newsfeeds, while publisher or page content will be increasingly less visible.
Fear not, this doesn’t mean that Facebook is no longer a useful platform for businesses. As the changes roll out across the platform, it’s just a case of adapting to this new algorithm. And we’re here to help!
Page posts that generate conversation between people will show higher in News Feed, so here are three quick tips that will make sure your social media continues to engage and reach your followers:
Consistently creating quality content, that people WANT to share
Just as you would carefully consider content for your website, a press release or any marketing material you put out, social media is just the same. Our favourite statistic here at Twelve is from our favourite Tweeter, Rob Temple of Very British Problems, who has said he sometimes takes a whole day to write one tweet!
To create authentic awareness and engagement with your social media channels, avoid a slew of promotional messages and instead, focus on crafting meaningful content that provide value to users, that they find interesting and want to share with their networks. This will drive engagement which is now so important across Facebook and Instagram with their new algorithms.
Going ‘Live’
Video is by far the most popular form of content shared on social media, so you should use it in your social media mix through ‘Live’ and Stories features on Facebook and Instagram:
- Videos on Facebook see an average of135% more organic reach than images.
- ‘Live’ videos receive 6X the engagement as non-live ones (which bodes well for their sharability and potential for such engagement as comments and Likes).
- They also comment more than 10x more during live videos.
- 1 in 5 organic Instagram Stories from brands see at least one direct message from a consumer.
The new algorithm takes into account all actions of engagement like replying to a Story or sending a Story to someone. The more engagement, the likelier your posts will show up in feeds. Live videos are also bumped up in Stories feed on Instagram making them, and therefore your brand, more visible.
Top tips
Make time to respond to comments and engagement from your followers:
- start a conversation;
- ask relevant questions;
- and respond to comments quickly and personally.
Build relationships with your fellow Instagrammers and Facebook users and not only will they follow you, and engage with your content, but you’ll attract their following over to your account too.
