With a Shorter Organic Reach, Small Business Needs to Rethink Their Facebook Strategy

“What happens on Facebook, stays on Facebook”

Okay, this isn’t actually Facebook’s new motto, but it is more true than it used to be. With new rollouts such as Facebook Live, the days of typing up a blurb on your business’s Facebook page in order to link to your real business may be a thing of the past. In short, organic traffic on Facebook is dead…or at least pretty close to it. And for small businesses that are attached to the old way of working their social marketing plan, the phrase “adapt or die” may be a better description of the rule of the day.

Why Organic Traffic For Facebook Business Pages Dissapeared

If you have been using Facebook as a tool to drive traffic to your small business website via leaving links in your post, it is time to face the fact that this will not cut it anymore, and trying to make it so could mean the deflation of your business. Where Facebook once seemed to have a primary goal to get small businesses and individuals to their site, it would appear that the bigger goal is to keep them there.

Facebook has rolled out changes to their website and app that will decrease organic reach to pages, giving priority to those who pay for advertising

There are two main sections in the new design:

In the old news feed there is content from your friends, but most of the content from pages you like is in the Explore Feed section. Periodically, Facebook may invite you to check out the “Explore Feed” section, but unless friends are sharing your content, there is a good chance that most people are not going to see it. If you do see content from a business, chances are someone has paid to show it.

What Small Businesses Can Do

Balance Ads and Live Video

Buying some Facebook ads can help expand the reach of small businesses, but of course businesses also need to track their spending to see if what they are spending is cost effective. Another thing they can do is try to be more engaging with video content, and not just regular video – live video. According to Facebook, using Facebook Live creates an experience six times more engaging than just posting a regular video. There is also the added bonus of having those who viewed your live video uploaded to your custom engagement audience to better target future ads as well.

Tread Water With Clients and Customers on Facebook

Once someone goes onto Facebook, Facebook doesn’t want them to leave too soon. If they are clicking on a link to explore your website, they are leaving Facebook. So by creating content designed to keep visitors on Facebook, as they learn more about what you have to offer, your business’s visibility will increase, and visitors will be more likely to engage on your own page independently. The longer customers stick around Facebook, the more targeted your ads can become.

Read the whole post with Mark Zuckerberg’s Announcement HERE