How the 2015 Facebook Algorithm Changes Affect You: Popular content rules while spam drools

Is Facebook marketing dead? Not yet.

While it is certain that the January 2015 Facebook algorithm update will force businesses to change their strategy, there's still value to be found on Facebook for brands.

While this popular Social Media channel still provides the potential to reach thousands of viewers, the challenge now is how to ensure your Facebook business page content appears in your fan's news feeds.

Why Facebook made the algorithm change

It seems Facebook hosted a survey a while back and asked users what they could do to improve. Many users complained about getting too much promotional content in their news feeds. (If you participated in this survey, leave a comment below to share what your take was!)

In response, Facebook implemented an algorithm change effective January 2015. The goal with this update was to show viewers more of what they want to see and less of what they didn't want.

What this means to you: The 3 things that are less likely to appear in news feeds now

Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an appr
Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real contextr
Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads

What Should Businesses Do Now To Get The Best News Feed Exposure on Facebook?

Here are 7 changes you can make now to boost your exposure due to Facebook's algorithm changes:

Post videos directly into Facebook. Facebook is favouring videos using their new Facebook video player over ones hosted at YouTube or Instagram.
Lead Facebook readers to subscribe to your newsletter. Since now you can't promote your products and services as much directly on Facebook, moving fans over to your newsletter will allow you to still share offers to them.
Post tried and true content. Test posts over at other social platforms to see which types of content get the best response. You want to share only the "best of the best" if you have a shot at getting it in the news feed.
Review Facebook Insights. Pay close attention to which types of content gets the best response. Use that as a guide for future posts. Remember that Facebook is favouring content from businesses who post popular types of content that users like to see.
Use Facebook Ads to ensure that promotional posts get seen. Since organic distribution in the Facebook news feed is decreasing, you should boost Facebook advertising for your business in order to maintain the same levels of engagement.

However be warned that Facebook penalizes you if you reuse the same ad. So don't just repost an old ad. Instead tweak your ad before posting it.
Keep your eye out on trending topics and stories of the day in the media and other social media topics. This type of content will rank with high relevancy for Facebook viewers as well. People can't resist sharing their thoughts on big news stories.
Engage with your own content and encourage your team to do the same. Leave a comment for your own posts, respond to other's replies, and like their responses. Encourage employees, team members, and other close colleagues to do the same. You may want to form a pact with high profile friends and agree to like/share each other's content.

Bottom Line: Give fans the best Facebook experience possible.

Facebook users have voted and now the news feed is rewarding them with more of what they want, less of what they don't.

Smart businesses that listen to their audience and post relevant content will get the highest visibility in the Facebook news feed.

To your success!