When it comes to marketing in the digital world there is one thing you can count on, change. Whenever search engines and social media channels release a new algorithm update, marketers scramble to adapt their websites and social media pages to accommodate the changes.
The News Feed Algorithm Breakdown
In late December 2013, Facebook updated their requirements for all business pages. This
recent change impacted what shows up on a customers news feed. To improve the content, Facebook applied changes that now reward pages with high quality blogs, news stories, and articles. This may seem all fine and dandy on the surface, but the changes pose a challenge for Facebook pages that rely on organic traffic for lead generation and engagement.
With that being said, based on organic newsfeed results, how much of your content marketing strategy will be impacted by this update? A recent study conducted by Komfo, a social media marketing suite, studied 5,000 Facebook pages of various followings from August to December and the results were shocking. Among the pages studied, 42% saw a decrease in fan penetration. On the other hand, the click through rate rose 28% and viral amplification saw a 31% increase.
These recent updates bring up the question, why would Facebook move away from supporting organic results on users news feed? The answer goes back to the old saying, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Although it’s free for businesses to create a Facebook page, business owners need to turn to ads for expanding their reach.
Engage Your Fans Through Ads
In the world of Facebook, the days of purely relying on organic results and fan engagement through non-ad supported content are over. Showing up on a potential customer’s news feed has became a bit more challenging. The good news is that Facebook is still the primary social network for many people around the globe and a great way to get your brand found. To better reach your customers, create unique and engaging content and support the content with relevant ads; you will see better results.
Are You In The Know?
Successful social media marketing is no easy task. To better leverage the power of social media channels, we are now enrolling for our upcoming full-day workshops. Classes will be held April 8th and 29th, 2014 in Boulder and Denver and seats are filling up fast. Register online for our online marketing and SEO training classes or call us at 720-263-1736 for more information.