Member Article

This Is A Brand’s World (Or Is It?)

In mid-January 2018, Mark Zuckerberg announced new changes to the ever-changing Facebook algorithm, confirming that user timelines would start to prioritise content from friends and family rather than brands. As Zuckerberg put it: “As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard—it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.”

While these changes may be welcomed by consumers who crave a more meaningful and relevant Facebook experience, what about the brands that have spent huge sums of money building their presence and community on the platform over the years, only to be shunned?

Here, Ted Nash, partner at One True View [http://www.onetrueview.co.uk/] takes a look at the best ways for brands to maintain and grow consumer engagement on Facebook in light of these changes…

Video least affected by changes Videos are still favoured under the new algorithm, so brands should focus on using this kind of content to maintain and grow consumer engagement. Live videos will be favoured even more, with Zuckerberg saying “live videos often lead to discussion among viewers on Facebook—in fact, live videos on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos.” This presents several opportunities for brands to dial-up the volume of video they produce to showcase their products and services, for example live broadcasting a product unboxing and demonstration. 360 degree video also presents lots of scope for brands, particularly those selling experiences - such as travel companies - and enables consumers to immerse themselves in all manner of locations such as hotels and theme parks, encouraging them to book.

Learn from other brands Several brands have been using Facebook Live to good effect and have driven impressive levels of consumer engagement, often leading to sales. Cosmetic brand, Benefit, has hosted Facebook live sessions with hosts showcasing various products and showing how best to apply them, inspiring consumers on their own skincare and makeup routine. Leading fashion publication, Grazia, has previously partnered with Facebook to host a live debate on Brexit which proved to be hugely popular; as editor of Grazia, Natasha Pearlman, put it: “This is a fantastic opportunity to bring Grazia to life for our readers, and at the same time launch our real-life community, in partnership with the biggest social media network in the world. The Grazia audience aren’t just readers, they are part of the brand – their views and opinions shape our content and really matter.”

Avoid ’engagement bait’ Driving engagement is more important than ever for brands, so content that compels people to comment and share is essential. However, ‘engagement bait’ should be avoided entirely as savvy consumers will see right through this, so brands encouraging ‘Comment to tell us your favourite flavour of crisp’ are destined to fall flat. Instead, brands must focus on their changing audience, understand what really makes them tick and what they care about, and create content that appeals to these desires.

’See it first’ = crucial Getting consumers to follow your page is now more important than ever; better still, ask them to select ‘See it first’ to prioritise your posts in their news feed. This request could even be included at the end of video content as a final call to action, potentially including a brief step-by-step on how to do this.

Facebook will continue to evolve its algorithm, so it’s down to brands to roll with the punches to ensure they adapt their approach to keep audiences engaged and growing.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ted Nash .