Month: February 2018

Recently, Facebook has made a significant change to its algorithm to prioritize posts that encourage meaningful connections between individuals. This means more posts from friends and family will appear on users’ timelines and fewer from businesses, brands, and organizations. This attempt to cut down corporate clutter on users’ newsfeeds has small businesses seeing a decline in viewership. Even before this change, businesses found it challenging to appear on their target audience’s radar; now it’s only going to get harder.

This change doesn’t mean Facebook is any less important for s犀利士
mall businesses. It still attracts a large audience with 2.13 billion monthly users, and it would be ill-advised for businesses to neglect maintaining and growing their social media presence. But while it has become more difficult for small businesses, it’s not impossible. It just requires a different approach.

1. Prioritize Connection Over Sales:

It’s tempting to post sales pitch after sales pitch, but you’re not doing yourself any favors. Facebook is a place to build a connection and a relationship with your audience that will translate into sales. With Facebook now prioritizing meaningful connections over commercial clutter, this is more important than ever.

2. Use Ads:

One commercial aspect that won’t be affected by this update is ads. Paying for ads is a great way to get your business in front of your target audience. Facebook allows businesses to be very specific in who they target, narrowing down their audience by age, location, gender, and even interests. Depending on how long you want the ad to run, it doesn’t have to be expensive.

3. Create or Join a Community:

Businesses can create or join groups on Facebook that focus on their industry or expertise. By creating or joining a group, businesses can attract their target audience. For example, if you own a photography studio, you can join a group for local couples planning weddings. There, you can share your photography ideas and expertise. Just remember to stay away from ‘salesy’ language. Genuine participation will garner better results.

4. Create Events:

Is your business hosting an event? In additional to traditional advertising, create an event on Facebook. Local events will appear prominently in users’ timelines and you can invite followers to attend. When users respond that they are either attending or interested, their response may appear in their friends’ timelines as well, further spreading news of your event.

5. Engage With Your Followers:

It’s easy to think of Facebook as just another place to advertise your business, but at its heart, it’s social. It’s a great opportunity to interact with your audience, building a relationship and brand loyalty. When users comment on your posts, leave you reviews, or send you a message, you need to respond. This won’t only make an impression on the user you’re responding to, but will also make your business look good in the eyes of those who see it.

In the end, Facebook’s update is meant to benefit users. Small businesses that can appeal to this change will benefit, not only from improving their presence on Facebook, but also by better appealing to their audience.

Are you looking to improve your social media presence or update your social media strategy? Contact the digital marketing experts at MLT Group at sales@mltgroup.com or 507.281.3490 to schedule your FREE consultation today!