Early 2018 Facebook changes, what they might mean for your business.

You'll have no doubt noticed or read that Facebook has made some changes to how and when it displays post in our news feed.

In a nutshell, they’re trying to make users experience more enjoyable, interactive, less spammy and relevant to what individuals want to see.

Personally, I don’t want to see ‘get rich quick’ posts about how I can become a millionaire by sitting on a space hopper for three hours a day, it’s rubbish and if I see too much like that I would eventually stop using Facebook, as would others and this is not what Facebook wants, so they’re making changes to keep their audience happy.

And we need to do that too.

First steps are to get your page and domain verified via the Facebook Business Manager so your website links and featured images are pulled through accurately and pretty.

Then it's time to focus on making your audience's experience enjoyable, something that makes them smile, feel good, things they can get involved with, relate to.

Think about what engages you to return to shops, to buy editorials or visit friends? You'd rather meet up with a friend who doesn't just talk about themselves over and over again wouldn't you?

You could start with simple additions to your posts to encourage people to think.

Question

What questions could they answer? What questions would they enjoy answering? Let them know they're important to you by getting them involved.

An example to start would be to end your posts with a question, e.g.

• Isn’t it?
• Don’t you?
• Is it just me?
• Who agrees?

Collaborate

Include other people in your posts, other companies. As an example I'm working with a pet care business to make their page a little more engaging, so we'll be looking to tag in other businesses to begin some new business relationships and start to reach their audiences.

You could tag in people you work with, people in similar industries, or people you want to work with.

Tilly (Red Setter) loves her new coat from {Facebook page of where coat can be purchased}. Do you have a favourite place to buy yours?

Reflect

Regularly look at what posts have worked and what hasn't, and don't be afraid to repeat them. Not everyone sees everything, so if it worked once, throw it out again.

Summary:

• Engage the audience
• Encourage interaction by asking questions
• Create more collaborations

Before I go... I've noticed a lot of business owners complain about Facebook's constant changes to the 'algorithm' and how it'll affect their business, but we must not forget Facebook’s ethos is to create a social community, so while it's a wonderful free platform for promotion it shouldn't be relied upon but hey, we're humans, we're the masters of adapting.

What's working for you right now?