New Facebook Algorithms
NEW FACEBOOK ALGORITHMS
So in mid-January, Mr Mark Zuckerberg announced that there would be some significant changes in what pops up in our Facebook news-feeds. In an effort to showcase more of our friends' and family members' posts, business pages & posts were getting yet another downgrade. And certain types of posts are getting downgraded even further & could even put business pages in the Facebook doghouse, so to speak. Want to know more? While we are all still watching to see how these changes take shape, here are a few things we do know and some tips to get the most out of your posts on Facebook.
AVOID OBVIOUS ENGAGEMENT TRICKS
While engagement is still considered a GREAT thing on Facebook, they have drawn a line between posts that encourage authentic comments & engagement and those that seem to trick people into responding. Facebook has said that they will penalize accounts and pages that are found using 'engagement baiting'. An example of this might be "Hey, drop an emoji if you are going to be attending our event later!". Now it's not that this post is illegal or will get removed or anything totally devastating. But it could get your page's value downgraded in their eyes, causing this & your future posts to be seen by less and less eyeballs.
Asking questions however is not 'engagement baiting' if it comes across as authentic. My personal take on this is that if your comments look alike, this is bad. If your comments are different and contain various words & text, they're good. So if you want to post a picture of 2 necklaces and ask "OK, which necklace do you like better?" You're going to get answers like "I love the blue one because it matches my eyes!" or "The green one!" This type of engagement is good and the more of it Facebook sees, this & your future posts will get up-graded. However if you post a picture with a necklace shown in both a gold & silver clasp and post "Hey! Gold or Silver?" You're going to get one-word comments that all look similar. "Silver!" "Silver!" "Gold, yo!" "Gold!" This likely won't be seen by Facebook as authentic engagement.
USE FACEBOOK LIVE
Zuckerberg specifically referenced Facebook live videos as a tool that gets good engagement & therefore good placement in users' newsfeeds. So be sure to do lots of it! Still feeling shy? It's like tearing off a band-aid: once you do it, you'll be so happy you did and think "Hey, that wasn't that bad!" Here are a few things to try that will engage your audience on your business page, or even on your personal page or in your groups. Pick one of these and your challenge this week is to press 'Live' and give it a try!
1. Host a Facebook Live Trunk Show! Call it a Sample Sale, call it a Leetie Sale, call it whatever you'd like. Show off your latest jewelry pieces! Give them pricing and numbers. Post your shipping and payment terms in the description of the video before you go live. You'll be surprised that you might get some easy sales! Or just show things off & point your watchers to where they can pick up your pretty baubles.
2. Tease an Upcoming Event! Go live to show off what will be at your upcoming Open House. Show off the trays of jewelry that are headed to your next in-home Jewelry Party. Or show off your booth set up at your next show or market. People love to see what's going on behind the scenes in your business & they feel a part of your brand.
3. Just say hi! Don't over-think this! Slap on your favorite earrings & lipstick. Or not: I'm known to go live in my workout clothes without make-up. Let's just be real here. Turn that thing on and say hello. Tell people what your day looks like. Show them some pretty baubles or the computer work you're doing. Keep it under 2 minutes & you're done. Your customers know you all that much more. Your engagement in your biz page just went up. Your band-aid just got ripped off.
POST IN FACEBOOK GROUPS
Facebook Groups are about the most literal definition of building and bringing together a community that there is. Most Groups are created with one common theme that brings people together. It could be a Local Community Group, it could be a Group of people who all share a common interest such as oh, I don't know, Jewelry, or even Dungeons and Dragons. Whatever common thread, the fact that the members have come together confirms that they have something to talk about. So posts in Groups are considered relevant and valuable. You might have your own VIP Group or you might be part of other Groups. Whichever the case is, be sure to post relevant content that encourages authentic engagement & your posts will be upgraded to those members' news feeds. And if you don't have your own Leetie Love VIP Group, I highly recommend starting one. It's a great place to let your potential clientele' and shoppers get to know you & what you do on a more personal level and in a more one-on-one tone than can be set on a business page.
I hope that these thoughts & ideas have helped you think about how you're engaging in the new Facebook world. Of course we are all just watching & waiting to see how these changes take shape, so if you have any tips or ideas to share, please let us know & we might just feature them in our next article! Thanks for being here! -Heather