Does your Facebook feed seem a little less noisy to you? Sure, you’re still seeing your best friend from elementary school’s engagement announcement and the 16th album of baby photos uploaded by your cousin on the other side of the country, but what about that useful business page you liked a while back?
Who’s Being Affected?
Every business on Facebook large or small is being affected by these sweeping content policies. The organic presence of a company as big as Lifelock on Facebook nor a mom and pop convenience shop on Facebook are safe from these changes. Facebook has overhauled the news feed algorithm to cater to businesses that pay for ads and sponsored posts.
Only 1-2% of their audience will be reached organically now, according to Biz Journals, which could prove to be detrimental for small businesses or startups.
It seems like viral sites are being hit the hardest, with Upworthy declining 51 percent and Distractify down 77 percent in just a few months, as Ad Week highlights. This also heavily affects nonprofits and charity organizations, as many don’t have the budget for a Facebook marketing campaign (among any others they may have at the moment).
Are There Any Workarounds?
That’s the question of the week. The only known workaround at the moment is to tag another business in your post. That method only makes sense if you’ve built rapport with another brand and you can both profit off of a partnership of sorts.
However, workarounds aren’t something people should bank on. These, just like the frequent algorithm and layout changes that Facebook is known for, can change overnight as well.
The best advice in general is to not rely on third parties to keep your business alive. Whether or not you choose to leave Facebook altogether or Google-proof your business is up to you. If you build a brand that’s strong enough, loyal customers will still come to you and will still spread the word to their friends about the great service that they received with you.
Will Facebook Stay Relevant for Businesses With Small Budgets?
Only time will tell, but at the current moment, it doesn’t seem like it. This shouldn’t worry people all too much though. Facebook isn’t the be-all end-all advertising platform out there. Instead of focusing solely on one platform or all the social media platforms, figure out what social media platforms will work best for your business.
Having a clear objective in mind over what type of demographic you’re marketing to and the types of media you will be sharing can help your business not lose any money by advertising on sites such as Tumblr, according to a post on Mashable.
If you’re a media rich platform, advertising on Tumblr may be more beneficial than Twitter, for example.
Social media platforms are constantly changing. What works today may not work tomorrow, so it’s up to your business to keep evolving as well. It’s doubtful that Facebook will see a mass exodus of businesses anytime soon, so they’ll be relevant for a while longer.
Ultimately, whether or not you choose to participate is your choice.
Jon Rognerud and Chaosmap work with Fortune 500 companies, small business and entrepreneurs to create digital traffic strategies that scale up customers, leads and sales with profitable returns. Mr. Rognerud wrote a best-selling book (Buy On Amazon), “The Ultimate Guide To Optimizing Your Website” (Entrepreneur). Connect directly here.
