3 Workarounds for Facebook’s Pay to Play Platform
It didn’t take long for our first Social Media Predictions of 2015 to come true. In an announcement to business page owners, Facebook announced that they would crack down on organic (non-paid) posts. They will institute new content and volume controls for organic posts that are promotional in nature. They suggest the reason is due to a higher level of dissatisfaction of end-users. Basically, according to Facebook, Facebook users are getting tired of being sold something on their personal news feed. The added benefit to Facebook is they can now charge for posts that are promotional in nature.
Regardless if Facebook is trying to improve the user experience or creating an incentive model to buy advertising on their platform, there is still a way to promote your brand and build your audience. Here are three simple ways to avoid the crack-down on your organic posts for business.
1. Don’t Try and Sell Anything
Facebook was never a great tool to sell stuff in the first place, it is a tool for awareness. If you want to sell something, do it on your website. Your facebook post should establish you as an authority in your industry, product, or service. Your product should be similar to a tasty steak that your consumer only get’s to taste once they get to your website. Facebook is just sizzle and the smell that get’s their attention.
2. Ask For Engagement
If your fans and customers like, comment or share your post, you don’t have to rely on Facbook to “serve” your post to different news feeds. So don’t be afraid to end your post with a call to action to share your post–better yet create comment that is worth engaging. If you begin a post with the word “would” you are already asking your customers to engage in thought, and most likely they will answer your question in the comments.
3. Go Ahead and Pay Facebook
There’s no reason why you can’t do both. You can have organic frequent posts that engage your audience and have a small (or large) budget for less-frequent paid posts to increase exposure and reach. For example, you may want to offer tips and advice on a blog and use Facebook to announce each new post (organic), and spend money to increase page likes (paid).
Overall, the fundamentals of online social media marketing are still the same. You want to bring people to your website where you have complete control over the message and brand. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and are to create pathways to your message. They are invitations to help your customers learn about you on your website.
About Brainjar Media
Brainjar Media offers daily social media marketing tips to help you with your brand. We have worked with some of the largest corporations and have a passion for small-businesses. You can even hire us to increase your phone calls, foot traffic, brand awareness, and search engine optimization. Contact Brainjar Media for a free competitive analysis of your website.
