Facebook finally owned up to what social media marketers already knew, that the organic reach of brand pages is diminishing. The social giant even went as far as encouraging brands wanting to be seen to buy ads on the platform.
1. Tag other pages
If you make a post that is related to another page on Facebook, be certain to tag that page in the post. Last month, Facebook announced that posts in which pages are tagged will start appearing in users’ newsfeeds even if they don’t follow the poster. Basically, by tagging another page, that page’s followers can see your post regardless of whether they follow you. This could exponentially increase your message’s exposure if executed well.
2. Include images or videos with every post
In Facebook’s January announcement about the algorithm changes, the site stated that text-only updates from pages didn’t receive as much interaction as those from users’ friends. Because of that, the social network moved text updates from pages to an entirely different category. As a result, Facebook said page administrators could expect a decline in the distribution of text-only updates. Adding an image or video to every status will prevent those posts from being categorized in the less-distributed category.
3. Increase interaction with followers
It’s now more important that every comment, post, or message on your Facebook page is answered. The site places higher value on pages with heavy interaction. By replying to comments and posts, you are encouraging more interaction with your page, thus increasing chances that your posts will end up in followers’ newsfeeds.
4. Use Instagram
Since Facebook owns the photo-sharing social platform Instagram, posts uploaded from the app will be more likely to appear in newsfeeds. Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion and is trying to drive more users to the app. For that reason, posts from Instagram may be given priority over others – but as previously mentioned, every post should have a visual element now, anyway. Easy integration between the two platforms should just make it easier to double-down on your social media strategy.
5. Tell your followers how to see more of your posts
Brands that have worked hard to build a loyal Facebook following may be feeling the sting a bit harder than most, now that their posts are less likely to appear in news feeds. It can seem like all that hard work is being flushed down the drain by the social giant, but don’t despair: You can simply explain to followers that changing their settings will let them continue seeing your updates in their feeds. Posting step-by-step instructions on how to change news feed settings, organize the friends list, and/or change story preferences can go a long way.
