Your social feed is most likely filled with frenzy-generating headlines highlighting Facebook's latest News Feed update. That's because it's a big one, and it's forcing brands and publishers to alter their social strategies and figure out how to better approach the mega platform early on in 2018.
At RebelMouse, we're experts in growing organic loyalty and building audiences, despite the platforms. We've developed tech and strategy to increase traffic, growth, and revenue that can iterate alongside any algorithm change. Here are some of our materials that have become a publisher's lifeblood to surviving and thriving in the new media landscape:
- A Rebel's Guide to Building Organic Loyalty
- A Rebel's Guide to Winning SEO with Social Media
- 3 Truths to Win at Search
- Content, Marketing, and Media: What to Expect in 2018
This recent landmark shift is part of a broader effort by the company to increase the well-being of its users. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the platform to address the new direction of the News Feed.
"I'm changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions."
By fostering these meaningful social interactions, the goal is to build stronger relationships and a stronger community that allows users to feel more connected, in turn increasing happiness and long-term health.
So Who Gets the Boost?
Facebook will begin to prioritize more posts from friends and family, specifically those that spark a discussion in the comments section. This harks back to the original intent of the platform, to be an outlet where friends and family built meaningful connections through the content they shared.
This means you'll see more content like live videos that generate discussions, celebrities, Groups, local businesses, and your occasional trusted news sources. Adam Mosseri, VP of News Feed, revealed to TechCrunch that Oprah's 2018 Golden Globes speech is a prime example of content that might perform better after the updates.
What About Publishers?
The effort to promote the well-being of its users is certainly a positive change that we can get behind. But the core worry is that it's at the expense of brands and publishers who have been working tirelessly to create the kind of meaningful, useful content that shows up in the News Feed. Now their visibility may be reduced to nothing.
"As we make these updates, Pages may see their reach, video watch time and referral traffic decrease," Zuckerberg continued on.
Don't Abandon Hope — This Can Be an Opportunity
While it might seem like a lost cause to promote any of your content on Facebook as of now, this isn't the case. Now, more than ever, it's time to up your content game and keep focusing on what your core audience craves. If building organic loyalty has been a main focus of your strategy since day one, you're ahead of the game. Users that are addicted to your content can still choose to see it by updating their News Feed preferences.
It's our goal to keep up with the algorithm changes, so you can focus your time and energy on churning out quality content. We'll continue to track the impact of this important algorithm change, and how you can optimize your strategy to win at social in 2018. Stay tuned.
