The New Facebook Algorithm: Owning the Newsfeed in 2014

Last Monday, we discussed in simple terms what the new Facebook Newsfeed algorithm did to brands and their content.  Now that you all have been used to the analytic fallout that occurred over the past few weeks, it is now time to get up and start doing something about it. Like before, less does not mean worse.  In fact, less is better.  A stronger more mature social media audience is only going to strengthen your brand.  It just takes a little bit of work.

Oops… There It Is Again

CONTENT, the magic word of 2013.  It will go nowhere in 2014.  In fact, it will be more irritating that hearing someone say LOL in real life.  With Facebook placing clear precedence over what they deem High Quality content, relevance, and engagement, brands can no longer go into the new fiscal year without a content strategy ready to tackle the new algorithm.

For the most part, many social marketers have been lazy and avoided spending large amounts of time and money developing their content strategy.  Shame on them as they will be the ones to fall behind in 2014.  Skating away with just the free advantages of Facebook not only threatened brands from adhering to social media best practices, but also placed them in danger of paying heavily in the analytics department over the past few weeks.

The Facts Don’t Lie

Diminished reach is still a diminished result.  Paying to grow influence within Facebook is now a mainstay, so brands should be prepared to allocate a healthy amount of spending to their paid social media budgets for 2014.

Let’s face it, Facebook is no longer going to be a free source of impressions.  As you may have already experienced, your reach and impression metrics, especially at the organic level, have diminished quite significantly.  The new emphasis on connected stories (those a user’s friends have interacted with) and links means that brands will no longer get by with minimal thought to their content strategy.

What you need to know

Here’s what you need to do in order to make waves this 2014:

Make it your mission to create content that is timely, relevant, creative, sharable, and valuable to fans and non-fans alike.

Facebook is no longer free.  Paid channels within Facebook exist because they work.  Strategically budget out your paid spend to amplify your most valuable content to your target audiences.

Set new expectations, because the Facebook metrics of old are out to window.  The days of crazy impression numbers are as outdated as talking to the hand, so make sure to set new expectations using the data you have gleaned over the past few weeks.

New Facebook algorithm or not, being a smart social media marketer will still be a valuable asset.  For those that are already using Facebook to create and share content with their target audience will have nothing to worry about, as they will bask in the “I Told You So” glory.  For those of you who haven’t given your social media content strategy much thought, STOP BEING LAZY.  2014 will be an important year for social media, so you do not want to miss out.