Facebook was the first social media network to start making updates that would upset users. Creatures of habit – we didn’t want a new look, or changes to our profile. And in this case times haven’t changed as the 2018 Facebook update has businesses up in arms. As the social platform turns their focus solely on the number of comments a post gets (or in their words ‘meaningful person-to-person interactions’), many companies are wondering – should we be actively posting on Facebook? The answer is it depends.
Here are three tips to survive what many are calling the Facebook apocalypse.
Tip #1 Forget your posting schedule
Posting frequently just does not matter anymore. With an algorithm focused on ‘meaningful’ engagement between users, it would be more wise for you to think of engaging posts to launch occasionally. Spend the waiting time in between to learn what your audience likes with Facebook Analytics, and tweaking your tone of voice and strategy.
Focus on creating content that your audience will consider to be high quality. Read their comments from the past, look at posts that had a lot of likes – what do you think they loved about those posts? How can you use those topics to create future content that will inspire a lot of conversation? The goal is to develop posts that get comments with more than one word.
Tip #2 Ask your audience questions
Now that you have an idea on what sparks responses from your audience – think of call to actions that will get them talking. For example, seek opinions, advice or recommendations. If you own a veterinary practice, ask your clients what DIY products they use to help their animals health, and what benefits do the products bring. Then include one of your own examples to give them inspiration. If they don’t have their own DIY example, they may love yours so much that they want to comment on it.
But remember – Facebook has specifically said they will ignore any posts that directly ask their audience to ‘comment below.’ They want you to be more creative than that, and you can be!
Tip #3 Tweak your ad strategy – don’t kill it
The social media giant claims ads are unaffected by this new update. However, it’s safe to say businesses will be fighting to be seen in the news feed because of this change, and therefore will be spending more dollars on ads. The best strategy with your Facebook ads is to continue to follow tips #1 and #2 – strive to build that same quality of engaging posts. The more meaningful interactions you receive, the more your ad will be seen.
Have you changed your Facebook strategy since the recent update? Share some tips and tricks below that have been sparking conversation on your business page.
