Facebook is trialling a change in the way you view content, and the implications for business owners are huge. Content posted from publishers and “business pages” could move from your Timeline to the Explore Feed.
Facebook says they want to give people TWO FEEDS – one for content from friends and family, and the other for content from businesses and publishers to avoid mixing the two. :
Facebook is currently trialling this in 6 countries: Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Slovakia, Serbia, Guatemala, and Cambodia.
After an uproar from smaller publishers, Facebook issued a SECOND statement, and added the words, “We have no current plans to roll this out globally.”
The full Facebook statement: “With all of the possible stories in each person’s feed, we always work to connect people with the posts they find most meaningful. People have told us they want an easier way to see posts from friends and family, so we are testing two separate feeds, one as a dedicated space with posts from friends and family and another as a dedicated space for posts from Pages. To understand if people like these two different spaces, we will test a few things, such as how people engage with videos and other types of posts. These tests will start in Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Slovakia, Serbia, Guatemala, and Cambodia. We have no current plans to roll this out globally.”
In the trial, the majority of content that shows up in your Timeline is posts from friends and sponsored posts (e.g. Facebook advertising).
Only 2%-5% of your “fans” will see the posts from your Fan Page or Business Page. Of those, most are users who interact with your brand regularly.
However, many social media watchers expect a version of this to be rolled out globally, and The Guardian suggests that many premium publishers have already cottoned on to the trend.
The impact on small publishers in the trial is evident with the journalist from Slovakia noticing a massive drop in engagement. Here is a link to the article he wrote on Medium.
WHAT IS THE EXPLORE FEED?
The majority of posts from your “Fan Page” or Business Pages will disappear off into another area called “Explore” and the views and engagement will rapidly drop off.
The “Explore” feed is could be viewed as an alternative news feed, and it’s hidden in the side menu next to “Pages” and “Groups”. It is the symbol of a rocket.
Facebook selects news and posts from sources that you may not be familiar with, but it thinks that you might like. For example, if you like personal development or cooking bloggers, your feed is likely to be filled with videos and posts from some new sources of information.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
This is of course exciting for business owners to have this opportunity to connect with a new audience – however, we have to be certain that people will actually go to the Explore Feed to look at this content, and for now, only time can tell what the impact this will have on Facebook users.
What we do know is that if business posts are moving out of the timelines, then you need to be looking at alternative ways to be SEEN, HEARD and VISIBLE in someone’s feed.
If you want to be using the biggest social media platform in the world – aka Facebook – then here are the alternatives….
GOING WITH GROUPS:
I know there was a stir a few month’s back with groups closing, but from what we know so far, groups are still a great way to connect and interact with your potential clients and customers.
The most successful group business owners are those who engage.
Choose a name that people will understand for your group. Think “what is says on the tin” and don’t be too clever for your group name. e.g. My friend Ruth Kudzi has “Career Change Mums” – excellent name! It says exactly what the group is about.
Or the Online Entrepreneur Collective
Be consistent with what you post.
HOW TO APPEAR IN THE FACEBOOK TIMELINE:
Paying for Facebook advertising to get back in the timeline is one such option. The engagement with video ads is much, much greater than for photo ads.
WHY SHOULD YOU BE USING VIDEO?
Because by 2018, video will take up 79% of consumer internet traffic…
This means that people are watching videos, and if you’re not talking on video, and selling your wares on video, then your business isn’t visible!
Facebook Lives is one of the most effective – and FREE – ways to market your business on the internet!
Click here to learn how to GO LIVE LIKE A PRO and master your videos.
Here’s a few reasons to be doing VIDEO for your Facebook ads.
You get higher engagement when you do video ads, and connect more with your clients. It’s easier to build the like, know and trust factor.
People are used to watching TV, so they connect with the online entrepreneurial stars of video. They will develop a relationship with you much more quickly on camera because they think they “know” you.
Fewer people are confident on camera, so you’ll STAND OUT if you’re doing video.
The cost of a photo ad in comparison to a video ad is significantly cheaper! The cost of conversion for video ads is less, and you get higher engagement than you would with a normal ad (please see check out the post on Why Video Facebook ads are CHEAPER for more). The cost of a video is usually around $0.03 cents per click (and it’s usually UNDER $0.01 cents!!!).
