Facebook has announced an update of its news feed leading to a reduced visibility of overly promotional page posts. This change will take effect in January 2015.
With “promotional posts” Facebook does not mean paid advertising but regular posts that contain promotional content such as:
Status updates aiming to push people to buy a product or install an app.
Posts encouraging users to participate in promotions or sweepstakes.
Status updates with the exact same content as ads.
The following images are examples from Facebook for such promotional posts:
With this update it will become more challenging for companies in the future to achieve a high organic reach in Facebook. Follow the best practice guidelines for Facebook pages to support your reach:
Consistency in the quality and types of posts.
Targeting appropriate audiences with the targeting function.
Posting fresh content and images and timely reaction to comments.
Use of meaningful and appealing pictures as well as engaging and informative texts. The post-copy should consist of short sentences and promotional language should be avoided (such as “Buy now”).
In addition keep in mind that updates in the typical link format are favored over links that are embedded in pictures or status updates by the Facebook algorithm.
Contact us if you have any questions regarding the social media visibility of your website.