Last week Facebook announced a drastic change in the algorithm which determines what type of content shows on the top of users’ news feeds. The change comes as a response to the growing controversy over the social network’s role in peoples’ lives and aims at creating a more positive experience for its users.

In his post from last Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg explained what prompted the change:

“We built Facebook to help people stay connected and bring us closer together with the people that matter to us. That's why we've always put friends and family at the core of the experience. Research shows that strengthening our relationships improves our well-being and happiness”

The key word in this statement is “people” and not pages. Over the next few weeks, the new algorithm Facebook will start showing fewer brands content and less marketing content and ads. The priority will be given to content which spikes interaction between people and encourages conversations.

So what does that change mean to your social media marketing?

The first and most obvious consequence will be the limited organic reach that your content will receive. This means that you will have to rethink your digital marketing strategy and find new ways to reach out to your audience.

What can you do?

• You will need to be more creative about the type of content you share. You will have to develop and execute a content strategy which allows people to have a meaningful discussion. The focus should be on the experience that you provide for the user online and not on showcasing your brand.
• You will need to educate your loyal audience that they can still choose to see your content. The options under the News Feed tab on Facebook will allow users to prioritize the pages whose posts they are most interested in.
• You will have to find alternative ways within the Facebook platform to engage with the audience. A perfect way to reach the audience would be the Facebook groups as these will be highly prioritized on peoples’ feeds and will give you a much higher visibility.
• Share more live videos, events, and news that work for connecting with your community and which prompts meaningful discussions.
• Smart advertising. If you wish to reach out to your targeted customers as a brand, you can still do so using Facebook Ads. Mark Zuckerberg predicted that the change will result in people spending less time on the social network which means that the advertising is very likely to get more expensive due to the lower number of ad impressions that the platform will be able to provide. You can still, however, get the most out of your budget if you know how to structure your ad campaigns. Be very targeted in how you advertise on Facebook, and spend even more effort in crafting razor-sharp Facebook ads that cut through the clutter.

Need help with your hotel’s Facebook marketing? Don’t hesitate to contact us! Our experts will make sure that your Facebook ads strategy is on point and will allow you to reach the right people at the right time.