In the wake of another shift in the Facebook algorithm, brands have been (begrudgingly) adapting. Video is now the content hero, always a sure win for post engagement. The Algorithm has put a lot of stress on Social Strategists, who are faced with going back to the drawing board every time they wake up to another announcement from the Mark Zuckerberg brigade.
Organic Facebook reach for brand Pages has been on the decline, leading brands to either open up the pocketbook to extend their reach or pivot some focus toward other channels. Meanwhile, over on Instagram, engagement is nearly 60 times higher for brands (Marketing Land). It's unrealistic to re-work entire content creation and execution processes around a variable over which we have no control.
A brand should be so much more than another bandwagon rider on the latest trend.
People respond to brands because of a well-told, relevant brand story that they - at some point across the storyline - connected with. Not because of a single post or video.
To quote Forbes, "Great stories make people feel something, and those emotions create powerful connections between the audience, the characters within the stories and the storyteller... When you can develop an emotional connection between consumers and your brand, your brand's power will grow exponentially."
We were glad to run into this article from Facebook IQ, because it backed up through research exactly what we believe in. There isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy for speaking meaningfully to an audience. It's a combination of static and moving imagery and messages that capture people. And altering combinations will meet different people at the right place, at the right time.
Stories work because humans are moved by emotion. Every person interprets a story differently. And through storytelling, people can place themselves in the story, wherever they may fit at the time.
Maybe one day someone runs across an image you've posted. And they take pause in the News Feed. An emotion in their brain sparks for a fading second. And in a single swipe, they're swallowed up again in the Media Onrush. A few days later, they stumble upon a video your brand posted - on Facebook or a different channel entirely. That spark lights up again, this time in the form of an impulsive "tap".
And suddenly, your brand is on their radar. You mean something in their world.
As long as your brand story is designed to accomplish a single, focused, measurable objective, the telling of that story can and should be done in a variety of ways.
Take a casual scroll to see some tested campaign combinations.
About the testing: Facebook helped an advertiser run this test over an 8-day period in November 2014. Each group was targeted with a single ad (either video or static) during each phase. The "Control Group" didn't see any ads from the advertiser during the campaign period.
Yes, video - or whatever the future may bring for the flighty Algorithm - may always hold a relevant place in telling your brand story. But there is no single formula that serves as the answer for all brands. Brand storytelling that resonates effectively - and makes people feel something - is done in a variety of relevant formats, where good content - not big engagement is the goal.
It's just a matter of finding that sequence that works for your brand's objectives. So, let your hair down a little bit. Cancel your next emergency meeting and open your mind to new channels and strategies beyond what Facebook finds important. You might just hit it off and find a spark.