The 2014 Facebook Algorithm Changes and their effect on Brand Pages
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2014 Facebook Changes and How this Effects Inbound Marketing Strategies Jay Bowen, Director of Digital Content
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2014 Facebook Changes and How this Effects Inbound Marketing Strategies, specifically related to Facebook Brand Pages and how this change has seen a decline in engagement by up to 80% for some brands. As a Content Developer one of my most successful platforms for distribution has always been Facebook. It has been a place to grow like minded and engaging followers and is a visually pleasing application to get content out in front of people who are focused on one thing, and one thing only – scrolling through their Friends, Families or Photos, uninterrupted and completely engaged. What more could a marketer ask for? Well thanks to the new Facebook Algorithm, all this has now changed. Not only do our posts no longer appear between wedding photos and birth announcements, we now need to work harder and smarter to get the same amount of “Free” advertising we once had. This presentation looks at these changes and also supplies recommendations on how to strategically work around them.
Transcript of The 2014 Facebook Algorithm Changes and their effect on Brand Pages
2014 Facebook Changes and How this Effects Inbound Marketing StrategiesJay Bowen, Director of Digital Content
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
Jay’s marketing and advertising career began 17 years ago in her home of South Africa. She went on to graduate with her marketing degree from the London School of Marketing, and proceeded to manage and grow clients such as British Telecom, yell.com BMW & HSBC in the UK and throughout Europe. Since arriving in the States four years ago she has worked with brands such as Nike, CenturyLink, Schlage and DHL. Jay is highly adept in developing digital content to generate interaction and grow traffic and engagement online.
Jay Bowen, Digital Content Director
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• How Does Social Media Determine Buying Behavior?
• What Does the Research Say?
• Social Media Usage Statistics
• Facebook – The Writing is (no longer) on the Wall…
• The 2014 Facebook Changes - How Brands got a Raw Deal
• Advice from Facebook
• Recommendations for Brands
• Content
• To Sum Up – Its Not ALL Bad News!
Contents2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
• 81% of US respondents indicated that friends' social media posts directly influenced their purchase decision (Forbes)
• Facebook is the #1 online channel for influencing the purchase of baby products (Mashable)
• 38% of consumers say they will consult social media in making their next car purchase
• 23% of car buyers say they use social media to communicate their purchase experience
• 44% of social media savvy women said their trusted/favorite blogger influences their purchasing decision (Business2Community)
• Clicks on Facebook auto ads climbed from 16% to 39% between October 2012 and April 2013
• Up to a 1/3 of all car buyers consult online reviews sites before choosing a dealer
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How Does Social Media Determine Buying Behavior?
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
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What Does The Research Say?
Source: MarketForce
Source: Forbes
78% of Respondents said Posts by Companies they followed on Social Media impacted their Purchases.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
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Social Media Usage Statistics
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn & Google+ Social Media Global Stats for 2014:
• Facebook = 1 Billion
• Twitter = 560 Million
• Pinterest = 70 Million
• Instagram = 150 Million
• Google+ = 400 Million
• LinkedIn = 240 MillionSource: Leverage
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
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Social Media Usage Statistics
Inbound Marketing
• In December 2013 Facebook admits: “Expect organic reach for Pages to continue to decline.” ~ source
• They went on to say: “We’re getting to a place where because more people are sharing more things, the best way to get your stuff seen if you’re a business is to pay for it.” ~ source
• Facebook January 2014 Blog Announcement: “Page admins can expect a decrease in the distribution of their text status updates, but they may see some increases in engagement and distribution for other story types.” ~ source
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Facebook – The Writing is (No Longer) On the Wall…
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
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A week after Facebook made its change agencies and brands were seeing a decline in Post engagement:
The 2014 Facebook Changes – How Brands Got a Raw Deal
44% drop on average for Page Posts with some reporting up to
88%Source: Ignite
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
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What Happened with Some of Our Clients?Client A – November 2013
Client A – March 2014
60% decline on average.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
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What Happened with Some of Our Clients?Client B – November 2013
Client B – March 2014
80% decline on average.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
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What Happened with Some of Our Clients?Client C – November 2013
Client C – March 2014
55% decline on average.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
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What Happened with Some of Our Clients?Client D – October 2013
Client D – March 2014
60% decline on average.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
• “Brands should bring valuable content to consumers and Facebook is a great channel to do that.” ~ source
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Advice Directly From Facebook:
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
• The amount of Likes don’t matter – if you don’t have engaging content or pay for sponsored posts no one is going to see it.
• Make sure what we post is Engaging and Interesting to Followers.
• Manage your Facebook ads/Promoted Posts like you do your SEM.
• Define a budget and allocate it accordingly.
• Grow your Email lists – why not control what your customer sees instead of Facebook…
• Use other Social Media platforms who are still performing for Brands such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter.
• Create OUTSTANDING Content!
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Recommendations For Brands:
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
SEO
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Content
White Papers
Social Mentions
News Sites
Word of MouthDirect Links
Forums
Social Bookmarking
eBooks
Video
News/Media/PR
Case Studies
Mobile Apps
Blogs/Articles
Research
Solution Guides
Memes/Images
Infographics
Podcasts
FAQs
Reviews
Webinars
Syndication
Partners/Affiliates
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• Blogging: easiest way to start your content machine
• Companies that blog more regularly have…
Content – Where do I start?
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• Create a content strategy – not just a blog.
• Offer different types of content that will appeal to different preferences (webinars, white papers, infographics, video e.g.)
• Put all of your content on ONE domain. Don’t make the microsite mistake. http://www.seomoz.org/blog/understanding-root-domains-subdomains-vs-subfolders-microsites
• Distribute your content via ALL Social Media channels.
Content: Best Practices
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Facebook's algorithm is going to favor posts that have links to content, specifically ones that use the link tool in Facebook to generate the post. So, a post that links to a YouTube video of a song about the weekend, with text that says "Happy Friday," will work far better than just the text itself.
Facebook has told us very clearly what it thinks good marketing is: Content. Fresh, relevant, unique content. If you create and post content, they will reward you with exposure. Create a content strategy!
To Sum Up – It’s Not ALL Bad News!
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
Thank YouJay Bowen [email protected]
