Question: We have read a lot lately about the rapidly diminishing organic reach of Facebook pages and we are wondering if we should start doing paid campaigns to get more visibility on Facebook?
With nearly a billion active users, I’m never surprised by the love affair that exists between marketers and this specific platform.
Generally speaking more people spend more personal time on Facebook so I think there is just an inherent comfort with the platform that makes it easy for most marketers to spend more time on it.
With regards to the heresy about plunging organic reach, this seems to be more than just a rumor. So if your business has been dependent on connecting to users organically, then it may be time to pivot.
Before making great changes to your strategy I recommend first that you ask yourself this question:
Before the change that caused Facebook to reach less people organically, were you having success on the platform?
The reason I suggest asking yourself this question is because many people have habitually used the platform to share and maybe create some engagement, but if you are a business the more important question should likely be, “Did we move opportunities through the sales process because of Facebook?”
If there wasn’t much success to speak of prior to the changes then it is probably a natural (and easy) decision to spend less time there. Of course there are other factors than the Facebook algorithms to your success (or lack thereof) but if you hold the way you use Facebook constant then you should definitely look at your past track record in decided what is next.
For my clients I always try to turn their attention to where the action is. Meaning that their greatest level of attention should be on the platforms where they are having the most success. Having said that, it is always good to put some energy into diversifying and attracting attention elsewhere.
I think it is safe to say that Facebook is going to be different going forward and for small business it isn’t nearly the opportunity it once was. However, if you have found success in the past through the messaging and content you shared on the platform then maybe spending a little bit to get your stuff in front of more people is worthwhile.
The good news is you can experiment and use their paid services inexpensively and try it without much risk. But as always, focus on spending time where you are having the most success and use Social to enhance your business as it isn’t the end all be all for any organization.
Following the changes to Facebook’s organic reach what has been your approach to the platform?
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Daniel Newman is the co-founder of V3*Broadsuite and is an experienced C-level executive, serving as a strategy consultant for small and mid-sized businesses. He’s also an insight/analyst partner to four Fortune 50 enterprises and previously served as the co-founder and CEO of EC3, a hosted IT and communications services provider. Prior to that, he served as the CEO of United Visual, Inc. in Chicago Illinois.
He is a widely published writer who contributes weekly to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post and industry publications such as Commercial Integrator, Sound & Communication and Corporate Tech Decisions. He’s also author of three best-selling business books including The New Rules of Customer Engagement, The Millennial CEO, and just recently Evolve: Marketing (^as we know it) is Doomed.
Daniel has established a reputation as a leading thinker in topics such as Social, Big Data, Cloud and Mobile. He has been named to many top influencer lists in all of these areas, including recognition by the Huffington Post as one of the 100 business and leadership accounts to follow on Twitter. He is also an adjunct professor of management at North Central College.