Goodbye Facebook Pages?

The New Facebook Newsfeed, How Will It Affect Pages & What Your Business Can Do About It. 

I'm sure by now, you've all heard the buzz on Social Media about the BIG Facebook Newsfeed changes coming in 2018.  Here is the post from Mr. Zuckerberg himself, explaining his vision for Facebook this year. 
​FACEBOOK NEWSFEED VISION

Basically what Mr. Zuckerberg is saying is that Facebook is going to start catering your newsfeeds to mostly show post from your family and friends and that's a good thing if you love using Facebook on a personal level.  But for businesses that use Facebook for marketing and advertising purposes, it's not such good news.  As we have seen over the years, changes with the Facebook Algorithm Formula has caused Page Post Reach to be drastically reduced on the organic level and the only way to really ensure that your post reaches the masses is to create exceptional, mind blowing content, paid advertising or both.  

Now, from what I can tell, even with paid advertising, post reach is still going to be very low since post from Business Pages, Advertisers, Brands and Media is no longer the focus and goal for Facebook.  Do I think you should ditch Facebook Marketing?  NO WAY.  Why?  Facebook is still the #1 Social Media Marketing platform in the World and there are still ways to reach the masses using Facebook but what this really means to you is that you are now going to have to adapt to the new Facebook changes and shift your mindset on different ways to market your business on Facebook.  Below is some suggestions I think will help you out with that.  

1. Facebook Groups:  Creating a group page connected to your Facebook business page will be the main way to market your business to your preferred audience.  I would suggest that you create a few groups, one that is open to the public for your fans and anyone else looking for your product/service.  Another group should be a private group for your customers/clients and if you are in direct sales, multi-level marketing or affiliate marketing, you may want to create another secret group for your team or downline, this can also be done for businesses with employees.  
2. Paid Advertising: I've always liked using Facebook Ads but my suggestion to you is to do an Ad for specific things such as an event, a book release, to introduce a new product or service or to announce a special sale or offer. 
3. Eggs/Baskets:  I've always said this.  "Don't Put All Of Your Marketing Eggs Into The Facebook Basket." ~Valarie Harris/VarrisMarketing  Basically what I mean by that is Facebook isn't the only game in town when looking for ways to market your business.  Try other social media platforms.  Depending on your business, product or service there are a myriad of online platforms to explore and test.  Email Marketing is not dead.  Connecting with your audience via email is a great way to grow your business. Create a Blog and/or website, I think those two are a must have for online presence today and don't forget about video marketing.  Going live and creating videos is the way to go in today's market no matter what business you are in.   

In conclusion, don't rule out Facebook just yet.  I think what Mr. Zuckerber is trying to do is a good thing and I know that they have some Big Plans for Facebook overall.  Try my suggestions, I'm pretty sure you will see that there are ways to still increase audience engagement and bring awareness to your brand without just relying on Facebook.  If you need help coming up with a strategic Digital Marketing Plan to include the new Facebook Newsfeed, set up a complimentary Exploration Consultation with me by clicking on this Book Now Link and let me share with you how my business can help your business.  Thanks for reading. 
​Take Care All.  

Valarie Harris
Founder/President