Facebook announced recently that they were launching a series of new tools that would allow users to alter their news feeds to filter out “boring” content.” That is, Facebook is making it easier for people to see content they like and block content they don’t. This makes users’ experience on Facebook more pleasant which leads them to spend more time on Facebook.
Should Marketers Worry About These Changes?
At first blush, marketers may worry about this news. After all why should a brand invest time, money, and effort on Facebook if your intended audience can simply press a button and block all of your posts, or even block you based on posts that may resemble yours? There is some reason for marketers to worry. Yes, Facebook’s new tools will make it easier for potential customers to ignore you or to miss you entirely. But don’t panic.
Get Back to Best Practices
What the most recent changes to news feed (and the direction Facebook has been moving in for some time) means is you need to focus on best practices. Specifically, if you are going to have a presence on Facebook, you need to invest in it. You need to create great, compelling content that potential customers will WANT to see and hopefully share. You need to make sure that your content is optimized for maximum efficacy on Facebook. These new changes mean you cannot afford to be lazy on Facebook.
…And as an Added Bonus…
These changes mean that, if Facebook has its druthers, users will spend more time on the site. More time spent staring at newsfeed means more time staring at the ads that have been placed there. Theoretically, for brands running good content, this will mean more time looking at that content which makes Facebook ads more valuable.
Speaking of Facebook changes, are you up-to-date on all of their recent algorithm updates?
