The organic reach pool on Facebook is steadily drying up as the company shifts its focus to creating a tighter-knit community rather than a brand podium.
Now, more than ever, marketers need to step up their game to shift away from product-based messaging and toward consumer-centric engagement.
Being liked is no longer a guarantee that your posts will show up customers’ news feeds. So how can you wrangle these latest changes to wring every drop of conversion goodness out of your campaigns? Let’s take a closer look.
[tweet_box design=”box_05″]#amreading “See First” Marketing: How to Earn Facebook’s New Blue Star (& Why You Need To)[/tweet_box]
What Does The New Update Do?
The new update helps you better manage your news feed by allowing you to prioritize whose updates show first.
This relieves a lot of clutter on the news feed by letting you be more in control of what you see and when. Each time a prioritized person or Page posts something, it will appear at the top of the page. Scroll down to see the rest of your feed as usual.
The See-First Option
The “See First” feature is one of the newest additions, and it affects not just the people you get updates from, but the pages (and brands) as well.
Choosing who to “See First” is as simple as clicking on their name
Just as websites encourage you to subscribe to their newsletter so you’ll never miss an update, [tweet_dis]don’t be surprised to see brands clamoring to be added to your “See First” list. [/tweet_dis]
Old newsletter posts won’t exactly be relegated to the bottom of the pile, but those you’ve chosen to see first will be denoted by the blue star in the upper right corner of their posts.
An example of a post from a friend or brand that is “Seen First”
It used to be that Facebook encouraged people to buy page likes, even though now, page likes have been getting significantly diminishing returns.
The organic reach of Facebook posts becomes less and less
The Discovery Option
Tied in with the new update is the Discovery option, which tailors which new pages appear in your feed based on what you’ve liked already.
Discovery helps you find more options similar to what you’ve already liked
[tweet_dis]It’s too early to know what sort of role Discovery will play in Facebook[/tweet_dis], but by putting users in greater control of what gets seen and when, Facebook has left marketers with a heavy burden.
We’re back to fighting to get our messages noticed.
So How Can You Use This New Info to Increase Conversion Rates?
If you’ve been neglecting Facebook because you weren’t happy with the level of interaction or if you have thousands of followers but little interaction, now’s the time to kick your Facebook engagement into high gear.
Use OpenGraph
OpenGraph is a system that’s used by Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Facebook. It works similarly to meta tags for website.
OpenGraph allows you to set a title, description and keywords, as well as a relevant image for your post. These items come into play when users share your post. Here’s an example from QuickSprout of an image that was shared without using OpenGraph:
And one made with using OpenGraph
Essentially, OpenGraph pulls specific information where possible using certain tags. These tags can include details like sports figures, social causes, TV shows and much more. You can use OpenGraph on your posts by setting it up manually, or if you’re using WordPress, a single plugin is all you need.
Combine Audiences and Gurus in Your Copy
This unique Facebook copy strategy comes from Social Media Today, where a campaign went from a paltry 7% to an enviable 40% increase in conversion rates just by making two simple changes — one of which was to boost credibility by leveraging gurus or events your audience likes, respects or admires.
The article mentions that the easiest way to do this is with TV shows, but depending on copyrights and how the name can be used (ask for permission if you’re not sure), you could do this with musicians, celebrities and other icons. For example, if you’re trying to reach new puppy owners with your dog training course, how many more conversions could you get by promoting a landing page that offers
“The Dog Whisperer’s Guide to Preventing Chewing, Barking and Jumping in Just 3 Days”
In order to find out who these people (or what these shows) are, you’ll need to leverage Audience Insights, which only requires around 200 followers to leverage effectively.
Continue Creating and Curating Great Content
[tweet_dis]People primarily engage with Facebook brands and pages because they have good content[/tweet_dis], they’re personable and they share recommendations. A formula that combines a good mix of these points is known as the 5/3/2 rule, which states that for every 10 posts you make:
- 5 should be content from others – industry news, infographics, case studies, etc. This doesn’t mean directly linking to your competition, but it does mean highlighting the work of others. Don’t forget the element of networking in social networking, after all.
- 3 should be posts directly from you – Not direct advertising, but rather your thoughts and ideas as the face behind the brand. For example, back to our dog training example, you could share your thoughts on the pros and cons of rewarding with treats versus clicker.
- 2 should be just for fun – You’ve always wanted to unleash that hilarious cat video, so here’s your chance. Share something totally unrelated to your company: great videos, funny images, inspiration, you name it. Entertainment is the key here.
Notice how none of the posts have to do with regularly announcing sales, discounts, rewards, and so on. That’s not to say you can’t showcase a product or offer. Just remember that customers don’t come to social media primarily to buy. They come to be social.
[tweet_box design=”default”]The more social, personable and fun your FB page, the more likely you’ll earn a blue star![/tweet_box]
How Are Facebook’s Changes Affecting Your Business Page?
Are you seeing a greater response from customers and followers? It’s worth noting that the program director behind the See First movement has mentioned that it shouldn’t have much of an impact on Facebook, but we want to hear what you think! Share your comments and feedback below!
Read other great Crazy Egg articles by Sherice Jacob.
