Just before the holiday weekend, Facebook made an announcement that can have a major impact on the reach business page content enjoys. They’re tweaking the algorithm that controls how posts are displayed in users’ News Feeds: content from a user’s friends and personal connections will be prioritized over content from brands and publishers.

As Reach Goes Down, The Value of Shares Goes Up

Facebook says this change will cause a decline in the reach and referral traffic currently enjoyed by Business Pages. The only counter to this is user shares – page posts that are shared by individual users may experience less of a traffic decline than those who rely on direct page views.
With that in mind, it’s important to know what type of content your followers are most likely to share. Emotionally uplifting content, particularly humorous material, generally gets shared more than drier material. Infographics and video perform well; both are a great format for how-to content. Of course, coupon codes and promotional offers are also shared widely – particularly if you use content & design to encourage sharing the offer with a friend.

Facebook Live is Being Aggressively Boosted

Recent research from Poynter reveals that Facebook is aggressively boosting Live videos while they are live. This may be a short-term phenomenon intended to increase the visibility and appeal of Facebook Live to the masses. Poynter’s experience is mind blowing. Their best performing post of all time had reached 36 people – but when they tried Facebook Live, they were seen by 6,000 people. If you haven’t used Facebook Live in your promotional plans, you may want to take the time to explore this new tool and see what it can do for you.

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Facebook’s change to the News Feed algorithm will not impact the reach of promoted posts and displayed advertising. Business owners will continue to be able to control how many people see their posts based on their budget choices. Facebook is continuing to expand the number and type of ads it’s offering, and also controls advertising on Instagram. Advertising is the cornerstone of Facebook’s monetization plan, so don’t expect to see that changing anytime soon!