For
the last three or four years I have utilized Facebook several times each week
to promote various community and business activities. With several thousand
followers for our community Facebook page, we usually do well in terms of
responses, as long as I post weeknights between 7:00 and 10:30 P.M., and
include some type of graphic or photo (pictures of kids do the best). However,
it seems that during the last year or so that views and responses have been
more difficult to come by. I wondered if it was because most Facebook users
have a growing number of friends that they are following, so it is easier to miss
my posts – or if something else had changed. A growing number of followers have
even told me that they have tried unsuccessfully to find my posts on their news
feed. Upon further research/reading, it appears that a big part of the decline is
due to changes at Facebook.
As
many Facebook users have noticed, Facebook frequently changes its
interface/format, under the guise of usability enhancements – usually generating
complaints from faithful users forced to learn the how to navigate the new
format. However, in addition, Facebook has also apparently been changing their
algorithms for how posts are distributed. Originally, posts would arrive in the
news feed for each Facebook page follower, and then Facebook changed the algorithm
to select distribution based on user interests and so on. The percentage of
distribution for organic posts is reportedly now down to only about three
percent of fans in some cases (Rosenblatt, 2014).
The key word in the last sentence is “organic.” It seems the motivation behind
Facebook’s changes, like any other business, is to increase profits. Therefore,
no longer do organic posts, meaning free posts, make it to all fans. Instead,
if a marketer now wants to reach all Facebook followers, money must be paid to
Facebook.
Paid
posts on Facebook do work. In an effort to increase the results of several
recent posts, I have recently succumbed to the new Facebook business model and
purchased additional “reach.” Additionally, I have even purchased an ad to
promote my page to increase the number of “likes.” It is interesting to watch
the process as the reach/responses go up, as my contributed dollars go up. Of
course, it is up to me to determine how much to spend for the resulting
responses – and decide if the increased costs are worth it – just like any
other marketing activity.
Facebook
still works for business e-marketing and communications. However, the new costs
associated with communicating on the social media network certainly place
Facebook in a new (or traditional) category of marketing, where budgets need to
be planned and results measured, and compared to other marketing activities in
order to select the best return on investment. Facebook is no longer just a social
media site, it is also a business focused on profits. Understanding the
transition is important for e-marketers, especially for those currently dependent
on the network. The changing demographics of Facebook users also need to be
watched (younger users leaving, etc.). Additional options must be considered as
the costs for communicating via Facebook continue to rise and results continue
to decline.
Reference
Rosenblatt, A. (2014, April 1). Social Advocacy & Politics:
Breaking Up with Facebook Is Hard to Do... Or Is It? Retrieved from Social
Media Today:
http://socialmediatoday.com/social_advocacy_politics/breaking-facebook-hard?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=hootsuite_tweets
Facebook is a wonderful tool for exposing and growing your business but it does have its limitations like any other marketing strategy and should be used as a mix with other forms of social media or classified ads to drive traffic where you want it to go.
ReplyDeletePaid "likes" seems to give a false sense of recognition. I've read where buying likes can increase your 'likes' very fast but they are almost robo likes rather than real people viewing the content of your FB page. People are fickle so one day your FB blog or notification migh be interesting and then the next time it's not. You could also manually distributre your information via your FB groups of people you think would be most interested.
As I mentioned earlier you can use many other social media and free classified ad sites to drive traffic to your FB page or other website. In total that should accomplish your goal wothout breaking the bank!
Good feedback JJepsen! I agree that it is important to utilize a mix of e-marketing activities. One certainly cannot depend just on one source -- such as Facebook.
ReplyDeleteFacebook use to be a great place to communicate and stay in touch with family and friends, but now it is so much more that. Now many people use Facebook to promote their businesses and products. I found this post very interesting because my fiance and I were just talking about Facebook the other day (which we rarely are ever on) but we asked eachother, "How does Facebook make their money when everything my friends or myself do on there is free?" But now that they changed it to where, like what you were saying, you have to pay to expand your reach number. I just get confused on it because I see a lot of my family and friends on Facebook selling items for their business and trying to get others to "like" their page so more and more people will see it, but I know they do not have to pay for it. I guess I'm just confused on the part at when and how do you have to start paying for it?
ReplyDeleteSheana -- I think the bottom line is that you can still get generic (free) reach via Facebook to promote events/products, etc. However, if one wants to get beyond the existing followers, or otherwise increase the exposure, there are ways to provide a budgeted amount to Facebook and they will provide extra exposure for your featured communication up to a pre-set dollar amount. If current private or business Facebook users are happy with the results they are currently getting, they don't have to change or pay anything.
ReplyDeleteI would break down facebook into two large differerent categories. The first and largest category is that facebook is used by many that already know others such as family and friends. Does not seem to be where can meet new people well unless meet in person offline, work with, have class with. Given that raises questions to meet if facebook is used for those one knows then why not instead just email, call or mail a letter to?
ReplyDeleteThe second part is as I understand from David's post and comment replies that can post free advertising and post but is limited. As I understand David is writing that reach a larger audience to pay for advertisement. The paid advertisement if is matched to users intersts can be effective. However, if the ad does not fit in the users interest of say one that collects coins and a ad to collect dolls then that have not be a good use of market budget if not reach the intended possible audience. The question is to determine what would be the right amount to spend on facebook budget. Would the amount be 10%, 15% or start at 5% and increase slowly as more sales or clicks come in? One would need to closely keep track of the number of followers, number of clicks on ad and other details to ensure a good ROi return on investment.