Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about Zuck’s announcement Thursday evening. Since then, I have received multiple texts, emails, and tags on Facebook asking me to chime in.
Before I even read it, I knew it was nothing to worry about.
Fortunately, a well-respected professional in the field – Mark Schaefer – didn’t panic, either.
He delivered a timely post on Friday, ending with, “Stay calm and carry on. Nothing has really changed. Your strategy today is the same as it was yesterday: Content has to matter.”
Thank you, Mark.
Anyone who works in this industry knows this is not news.
For everyone else, well, that’s a different story. Many are asking – what does this mean for me?
For consumers, it means Facebook will continue to filter the content you see in your Facebook feed.
For businesses, it means a continued shift in your Facebook marketing strategy.
For years, I’ve been trying to explain to my clients why they’ve had to pay for things that were once ‘free’ such as Facebook. It’s a natural evolution. Once something becomes popular enough, it’s time to monetize it.
As Mark pointed out, “…even if a business page was doing a super job with its content in 2011, only 26 percent of their followers would see the posts. Today, the organic reach for an average business is less than 1 percent.”
As this trend continues, and as evolution would have it, we now shift from paying to be seen to paying more to be seen.
This is not new(s). My clients must pay twice as much to reach the same amount of people as they did one year ago.
A Facebook business page is a marketing tool. It’s a way to distribute a message, just like any other medium. The only difference is that social media outlets, like Facebook, give consumers just as much – arguably more – power than the businesses distributing the message. We frequently need to pivot in this rapidly-changing, hyper-connected online world. It should be expected.
Businesses should not be concerned about this announcement. Frankly, it’s old news.
Rachel: I only read the headlines in the daily newspaper, in order to see that it is not anything to worry about. It is funny how the "cultural elite" and pundits with certain colored glasses, are screaming loud about this new Facebook announcement.
"Keep calm, and carry on" creating content... 😉
Zuckerberg's latest attempt to bite the hand that feeds him -- business/brands -- is not news; it just makes a bad situation worse. But, keep calm and carry on is right. What choice do we have really?
PS: The phrase "unless you've been living under a rock" strikes a dissonant chord each time I hear it. I feel it's demeaning to your readers, most of whom I would bet are pretty social media savvy.
Paul, thank you for your feedback. There is no other choice, really.