Facebook news feed ranking change and the impact to Pages…

Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that the Facebook News Feed will be changing in 2018, realigning the social network with ‘personal connections’ and ‘bringing people closer together’. But what does this mean for your Page?

what is the update and why?

Based on feedback from the Facebook community, public content such as ‘posts from businesses, brands and media’ are crowding out personal moments. The change will prioritise posts that ‘spark conversations and meaningful interactions’, but also prioritise posts from friends and family over public content, consistent with Facebook’s News Feed values.

but what does this mean for brand Pages?

‘Public content’ such as messages from business and brand Pages can expect to see reach, video watch time and referral traffic decrease. However, the impact from Page to Page will vary, based on the content they produce and how people interact with it. So, while Page posts will still appear in the News Feed, we can expect to see fewer instances if Pages don’t meet these new guidelines.

what should brand Page owners do to show higher in the News Feed?

Ultimately, Page owners should continue listening to their audiences and data, in order to create content that is likely to spark meaningful (organic) interactions; a great example is live video, which Facebook says receives 6 times the engagement of non-live videos. Be sure to stay away from ‘engagement-bait’ to coerce an engagement from someone i.e. content that uses language such as ‘Tag a friend’, as these posts will continue to be penalised in terms of News Feed ranking.

what about sponsored content or Facebook Ads?

While there was no mention of any direct impact on paid activities in the official Facebook announcement, promoting your Page and content through one of many amplification methods is highly recommended. It is now as important as ever that your audience targeting, creative and messaging is on point, has cut through and facilitates meaningful interactions within your Facebook community.

Need help with your social strategy? Call 02 8969 5128 or email mitch@em.com.au and start a conversation about how we can support your business.