Since Facebook nearly killed organic reach more than a year ago, you might have stepped up your company's or your clients' Facebook Advertising game, and rightfully so. Now, just a few days ago Facebook announced updated controls for the News Feed.
As a consumer, I'm loving this update, but as a marketer, I'm taking a closer look at my social media strategy for Facebook and continue to be challenged by the Internet giant (not like that's a bad thing). Find out what the 'See it First Update' is all about and what it means for your business.
What it Does
'See it First' lets users prioritize up to 30 Pages, friends, and/or groups they want to see first in their News Feed.
It's great for consumers because it lets them see posts from the Pages, groups, and friends they care about most right at the top of their News Feed. It's bad for businesses that are not kicking some serious behind on Facebook because they might not make the cut.
A Look at See it First
The update is now available on iOS. Expect it to roll out in the next few weeks on Android and desktop.
Here's what it looks like.
See it First also includes an updated design on which users can:
- Discover new pages
- Unfollow people to hide their posts
- Reconnect with people, previously unfollowed
How Marketers Should React to this Update
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Creating awesome content and building relationships with your customers and prospects matters more than ever; it has been said before and you can bet will continue to be said.
If you ran a bunch of Facebook Like Campaigns and just left your new followers hanging after they liked your page, I predict this going to hurt you. You can still earn their attention but since your posts won't likely be at the top of their News Feed, you might find it a little harder to reach them.
What many fail to remember is social media is all about building relationships. How are you engaging and entertaining your followers? What are you doing to get their attention and earn their trust?
The formula I swear by is:
At this point, I don't think it could hurt to let your customers know about this update and suggest they add you to their top 30 in order to never miss a post from you.
Facebook Content Creation Inspiration
Can you agree with me when I say ... as marketers, two of the hardest things to do are constantly create original content that says something out of the box that has not be said before and to constantly be creative at the drop of a dime? Check out these articles for inspiration.
- How to Write Better Content for Social Media
- Anatomy of a Perfect Facebook Post: Exactly What to Post to Get Better Results
- A Guide to Social Media Success for Small Businesses
- How to Create Great Content for Facebook
- Facebook Posts: 9 Examples That Work vs. 4 That Don't
- How to Craft Perfect Posts for Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter
- 10 Tips for Creating Content on Facebook That Gets a Thumbs Up
- 10 Successful Facebook Marketing Examples
- 6 Posts That Build Engagement on Facebook
For more information on this update and the latest Facebook updates, visit Facebook's Newsroom.
I want to hear from you - what do you think about this update and what do you plan on doing to make it work for your business?