2018 Changes in Facebook Interaction

Welcome to the year of the Facebook chat room. Facebook has intently changed they way they want users to interact on their platform. Originally Facebook was developed as a peer-to-peer social sharing medium. Businesses rapidly responded to realize the eye of the consumer was staring into free advertising space. Accounts were quickly opened and Facebook advertising was born now crowding out peer-to-peer sharing.
Many years later (Facebook initial launch as thefacebook.com was 2004), Facebook explains it is running out of space and mainly because of ads.
What does this mean for you, the social user?

Mark Zuckerburg shared in an open forum that Facebook was developed to help you have more meaningful social interactions. So farewell to the emoji, single word responses, “congrats!”, or just the Facebook stalker who is your friend and never comments or likes. Space in the newsfeed is limited. Facebook will limit public posts and videos from publishers and businesses.
You can still be a silent stalker, use emoji’s, and short word comments; however, Facebook will no longer give special rank to those actions. Algorithms are programmed to auto demote posts that do not engage in a community chat forum style interaction. This doesn’t necessarily require paragraphs of prose but rather 5 words or more would help promote content.

Here is a shortcut that will ease your algorithmic mind…

You can select users you want to see first, so Facebook does not have to guess what you prefer to see. The see the first feature, in your news feed preferences, will still show you single word responses from those 30 friends of few words. The rest of your liked and followed pages will have to earn top placement in your feed by jumping through the algorithmic hoops…have conversations. See first is limited currently to 30 pages you like or follow.

How to…

Click Home > Top left you will see News Feed and … to the right click the … > Edit Preferences > Prioritize who you see > select up to 30 of your favorites and move on with your day. (hope you add me!)

Who is doing it right?

Have a friend who knows how to ignite a political or religious fire, one who can really tee off about neighborhood crime, or somehow generate a stir about dogs defecating on their lawn? Facebook will rank these posts as something people want to engage in and show those in the top of your feed. Now, nothing is stopping you from being creative. Try posting something thought-provoking outside of controversy…as long as it generates a conversation your friends will see it because “Facebook says so”.

What about my business?

Out with the old and in with the new, now. Beginning in February Facebook will be implementing algorithms that start changing the way posts are ranked. Businesses will have no choice but to increase paid advertising. Are you paying someone to just post something cute to keep your feed live? Well, better have a planning meeting Monday morning to develop your new strategic plan and budget for Facebook. Posting with greater frequency will no longer give you exposure. Think about how to create content that will get people talking to each other not just you.
Facebook is also giving preference to video posts and live feeds, all with the goal in mind to generate engaging, educational and inspiring content while spurring community interaction.

Facebook Messenger Chabot’s are favored for businesses that will carry a conversation with consumers into the messenger aspect of the tool. This meets the goal of engaging directly with peers who are interested in your brand.

Post content that will inspire conversation with those who follow your brand. Oh, and don’t post engagement bait such as, “comment below please” because Facebook will recognize this and de-rank your attempt.

Feeling like you have been given blank paper and asked to pen Othello II just to use social media? It’s not too late to recharge your social engagement; we are pioneers who are paving the way of social media interaction.

So what to expect moving forward…

Expect to start seeing posts that resonate with you and less generic content, quote graphics, quizzes, a friend’s result of their celebrity quiz, and paid ads not relevant to you. The changes Facebook is making are with a goal in mind to get peers back to sharing meaningful content with peers, like a chat room.

This, of course, isn’t a complete list of changes however it’s a good start for you to understand the changes you will see and the changes you can make. Connect with me via Facebook and let’s map out a plan to elevate your brand.