If your Facebook marketing strategy includes asking fans to like, share or comment on a post to win a prize, tag friends, or vote on something–you will want to stop. Over the next several weeks, Facebook will begin demoting (make less visible) posts like these in its members’ news feeds.

That’s not a bad thing, really. It discourages spammy posts. It encourages brands to interact more with their audiences through more creative and relevant content creation. For some businesses that offer free items through weekly contests and giveaways, it’s going to put a damper on gaining a large amount of exposure without paid ads.

“People have told us that they dislike spammy posts on Facebook that goad them into interacting with likes, shares, comments, and other actions. For example, “LIKE this if you’re an Aries!” This tactic, known as “engagement bait,” seeks to take advantage of our News Feed algorithm by boosting engagement in order to get greater reach. So, starting this week, we will begin demoting individual posts from people and Pages that use engagement bait,” the company said in a blog post. “Posts that use this tactic will be shown less in News Feed.”

Earlier this year, the Facebook announced that it would demote “clickbait headlines” and “low-quality” web pages that have too many ads or not enough original text or images. Also, if a site’s ads are “disruptive, shocking, or malicious,” Facebook will make sure fewer users can see and click it. These pages will not be able to buy ads on Facebook.

It should be noted that types of posts that won’t be subject to demotion include posts that ask for advice or recommendations, circulations of missing child reports or money raising efforts.

So outside of paying for ads, how do you grow a fan base?

content-marketing-planChange Your Game Strategy – Plant Some Evergreen

Evergreen content is content that is always relevant—similar to how evergreen trees retain their foliage all year around. The best practice is creating evergreen content is to create informative content around keywords that relate to your business/service (this also increases SEO). Make sure your content is useful, well-outlined, highlights additional references where applicable, and has share-ability to other online platforms.  In doing this, you are establishing yourself as an authority within your market, providing your readers with useful and creative material that they can use.

 

Good Examples of Evergreen Content

  • FAQ’s
  • Industry Tips & Instructional How-To’s
  • Product Reviews
  • Videos

Not Evergreen Content

  • News Articles
  • Holiday/Seasonal Content
  • Pop Culture Fads, Trends, Memes

For more info, facebook offers a useful Newsfeed Publisher Guideline that covers best practice when using its platform to post.

Ready to grow your social media marketing? Schedule a consultation today! 

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