A large-scale change may be coming to Facebook and judging by the overview in this Medium.com piece, these changes could completely upend how brands interact with users on Facebook. So if any part of your business strategy is budgeted toward Facebook, you should be preparing strategies to address these changes. But what’s the cause of this? It’s something Facebook calls the Explore Feed and it has the potential to drastically decrease the organic reach brands have on their site.
With the Explore Feed, Facebook is essentially splitting their platform in two. On one side you have the new feed, which will be made up of pages vying for likes, shares, and engagement from Facebook users–all in the same spot. And that’s only if the user clicks over to that feed. And on the other side, you’ve got the new, and “improved” newsfeed. Here users will only see content from friends and posts that are sponsored.
The introduction of the Explore Feed will likely not hurt the big brands since they’ll be fine paying for what would now be a more exclusive space. But what if you’re a smaller business that relies on organic views and interactions to get people interested in your product? Probably nothing good. Here’s a graph displaying the difference in page interactions before and after the Explore Feed launch.
(Scary Graph Courtesy of Medium)
You don’t need to be a social media guru to see that is a steep, steep drop. So what should you do? First–
DON’T PANIC
The Facebook Explore Feed is something that’s only being tested in a select number of countries and regions. For instance, the graph displayed above is taken from the sixty biggest media pages in Slovakia. Also, Adam Mosseri, who’s the Head of News Feed at Facebook, has said the company has no plans to launch the new feed globally. He also stated that this is just a test and it’s something they’re still tinkering with.
But even if it’s launched, interactions on Facebook could go back to business as usual before you know it. Ziad Ramley, from Medium, discussed that possibility:
“Facebook changes their algorithm, publishers adapt, and 3 months later they’re back where they were before. If users flock to the Explore Feed and use it as much as the familiar News Feed, there’s a chance that this may actually happen.”
So take a deep breath. Rome isn’t on fire just yet. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t..
Get Ready
In truth, it doesn’t really matter whether or not Facebook launches the Explore Feed. Because sooner or later they will launch something. And if your business relies on Facebook you have to be cognizant of the fact that the platform could essentially change overnight. Sure, it could change in a way that vastly improves your prospects, but it could also change in a way that leaves your marketing plan in shambles. Hope for the former but you absolutely must plan for the latter.
Here at 3PRIME we ensure that your business stays at the forefront of your industry–right where potential clients can find it. We do this by taking a holistic and diversified approach to design and marketing that doesn’t rely too heavily on any one platform. The internet is always changing and you’ve got to work hard to change with it. That’s where we come in.