Facebook wants to be the Global Yellow Pages of 2016 and beyond, and its recent algorithms adjustments are designed to accomplish this feat, especially in the realm of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMB). The ease of creating a Facebook page and its global reach represents a truly appealing platform for launching new advertising campaigns. Yet, the changes will have many business owners looking for freelance writer services to harness the power of Facebook.
Along with having your own website and other online marketing planks, Facebook is a primary outlet on the Internet, and SMBs can successfully utilize the site to maximize advertising dollars.
What do the algorithm changes do? First, the adjustments have produced reductions in the quantity of organic reach that Facebook business pages receive. This may sound dire; however, quality of organic reach is a SMB’s best friend, rather than quantity.
The new algorithm changes prioritize content that comes from direct postings by friends. The Facebook blog explains it this way, “content posted directly by the friends you care about, such as photos, videos, status updates or links, will be higher up in News Feed so you are less likely to miss it.”
In addition, Facebook users will see fewer updates regarding the likes and comments by friends on the same posts. That makes for a cleaner news feed, which Facebook has bet that will produce greater results on clicks and purchases.
So, an SMB, or anyone else, can no longer spam their audience on Facebook’s news feeds. This is good! Spamming does not represent a cost effective method of marketing to your audience, and if your business has invested a portion of its budget on spamming, you can now redirect those dollars to more reliable methods.
By adding measurements to the quality of content, Facebook will assist you in reaching the right audience to boost your revenue. When discussing new Facebook content requirements with a freelance writer, keep in mind these consistent traits that the site will new filter out as too promotional:
- Posts that encourage users to enter sweepstakes or promotions with no intrinsic context
- Posts that only encourage users to install an app or buy a product
- Posts that recycle ad content
Now, Facebook will limit the organic reach of your business page, and some pages have lost a significant percentage of normal traffic.
How do you harness the redirected power of the largest social network on the globe? Work with your freelance writer to produce sophisticated content that builds upon your existing advertising campaign and adds value to the message. Custom, quality content that is well-thought out and meaningful should be the focus. Driving promotions, sales, sweepstakes and deals through the social media will result in penalties that hurt your reach.
Each Facebook post must now have value that intrigues and educates your followers and prompts them to share the post.
When mapping out your 2016 marketing strategy, make quality of content the priority and consider hiring a professional freelance writer who is abreast of the latest algorithmic requirements to maximize your advertising budget.
Wendy H enjoys working with clients to produce unique, high-quality, custom messages to capture and intrigue their audience.
