Over the past 6 months or so, there has been many business owners voicing their objections to the many changes that have been made by Facebook and in particular, the decrease in reach and visibility of page posts. When I say “many” business owners, I should probably say “most” business owners. Most businesses that have a Facebook Page and have invested their time and money into the Page are objecting loudly about the decrease in the reach of their posts and the overall visibility of their page. Less likers are seeing page posts – that is a fact!
Here is my take on it all.
1. Are you relying solely on Facebook? If your business has been greatly affected by the changes on Facebook then you need to change tactics. And do it straight away. If this is you, you are effectively placing the success of your business into something that you have no control over. What would happen if Facebook were to disappear tomorrow? Would your business survive? Do you have other options to market your business and reach new customers? Do you use other avenues to communicate with your current customers? The answer needs to be yes so start looking at alternatives. I am not saying stop using Facebook, I am saying use it as a part of your overall marketing strategy.
2. Facebook isn’t free. It will be costing you your time or the time of someone else you engage to manage your page for you. It may also be costing you to promote posts or run ads. You need to take this into account and treat Facebook the same as any other form of marketing. Are you getting a return on your investment by obtaining the desired results? Every business is different and each has its own objectives for using Facebook, which may include brand awareness, increasing your email database, increasing traffic to your website or blog, distribution of your content or increasing sales. If you aren’t achieving the results you want, then you may need to look at other options, spend less time on Facebook and channel your efforts elsewhere.
And the big one:
3. Facebook isn’t about the numbers. Now I may turn a few heads by claiming this but it is so true and I see more evidence of it every day. Here is the reasons why..
I look at hundreds of Facebook pages a week. I see page generic propecia merck owners claiming they are the best because they have a huge ‘talking about this figure’ – sometimes they are correct and they are doing a great job, but other times perhaps not. Instead of looking at the numbers, look at your page. When you post something are you getting likes and comments? It may be only a few here and there but if it is different likers each time then you are reaching more people. It just so happens that your likers are seeing different posts at different times. But even if they are only seeing one post a week then you are still getting information to them once a week..
The ‘talking about this’ figure also includes every Facebook user that has clicked like on your page. So page owners that participate in “liking ladders” or similar schemes will probably have a large ‘talking about this’ number if they are wasting their time doing this, but it won’t last. And what have they gained by that high number? Absolutely nothing, as they have a large fan base that isn’t one bit interested in their business. Are these likers going to participate on their page or turn into customers? Very unlikely!!
So here is my advice, monitor your usage and/or spend on Facebook. Ensure you are achieving the desired results. If you are it doesn’t matter what the numbers say. Continue to provide top quality content that your target market is interested in receiving.
If you aren’t achieving the results, either change the way you are using Facebook or scale it back and start looking at other options that are going to give you the results.
The numbers and figures can give you an insight into how your business and marketing efforts are going and definitely shouldn’t be ignored, but you need to look deeper.
If you would like me to do a review of your Facebook page and offer practical advice on what improvements could be made please get in touch.
Would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment below and let me know your take on it and please share if you think others would benefit from reading this.
And if you want to keep hearing from us with up to date online marketing news join our newsletter list above and click the like button to the right to join us on Facebook.
I would love to hear your thoughts...