Feeling like your Facebook engagement has taken a nosedive? You’re not alone. With algorithm changes and shifting user behaviour, it’s easy for business owners to feel overwhelmed.
These changes are impacting us as small business owners, and understanding these changes is crucial – so I’ve done a bit of homework to try and get to the bottom of this without frying my own brain (or yours) with a load of marketing type jargon that I don’t understand….
What’s Happening and Why It Matters
Let’s start with algorithm changes. Those mystical spider robots that live in Facebook land and who seem determined to make sure they bugger everything up.
Facebook’s algorithm determines what content appears in users' news feeds. Over the years, Facebook has made significant changes to its algorithm, prioritizing certain types of content over others. These changes are designed to enhance the overall user experience but can have unintended consequences for small business owners.
- **Prioritizing Personal Connections:** Recent algorithm updates have focused on prioritizing posts from friends and family over those from brands and businesses. This means that organic reach—the number of people who see your unpaid posts—has significantly decreased for business pages. Small business owners now find it harder to reach their audience without investing in paid advertisements.
Which is what Facebook want you to do. Remember that. The days of unlimited access to a free & engaged audience just waiting to buy from you are LONG GONE. Sorry. But there it is.
- **Engagement-Based Ranking:** The algorithm favours content that generates meaningful interactions. Posts that receive likes, comments, and shares are more likely to appear in users' feeds. For small business owners, this means that simply posting content isn’t enough; it must be engaging and encourage interaction.
Because that’s good for Facebook too. They are unlikely to want to shout about content creators who just ‘post & run’. This is why visibility & engagement groups can help if you are part of a supportive community prepared to do this for each other. This isn’t a ‘tit for tat’ exercise. You don’t have to comment on everyone’s posts, but by jiggery it really helps if you do.
- **Content-Type Preferences:** Facebook has also shown a preference for certain types of content, such as videos and live streams, over static images or text-based posts. Small businesses that haven’t adapted to these preferences may see their reach and engagement decline.
Yep. Yuk. It’s camera time. Although, actually, this doesn’t need to be your fizzog on screen if you are really allergic to that – you can create video content that doesn’t have you in it, although it’s not brilliant for your personal brand, it’s better than nothing.
**Shifting User Behaviour:**
User behaviour on Facebook has evolved, influenced by changes in technology, culture, and platform features. Understanding these shifts can help small business owners adapt their strategies. There’s a theme here folks. If you haven’t adapted your social media strategy in the last few years, then you really do need to take a look at it. Think about how you use social media now compared to how you used it before lockdown for example. Your audience will have done the same.
- **Mobile Usage:** A significant portion of Facebook users access the platform via mobile devices. This shift means that content needs to be mobile-friendly. Videos, images, and posts should be optimized for mobile viewing to ensure they engage users effectively.
If you want them to see it, create it in a form they are more likely to consume. Save the long ‘article’ type posts for LinkedIn.
- **Short Attention Spans:** Users today have shorter attention spans and prefer quick, easily digestible content. Long, text-heavy posts are less likely to hold attention compared to short videos, images, or bite-sized text snippets. Small businesses need to create content that captures attention quickly and delivers value fast.
See above. Think about your own online behaviour – if you are skipping & scrolling because the longer content is boring you rigid, it’s highly probable that your audience are doing the same with your stuff.
- **Increased Competition:** As more businesses use Facebook for marketing, the competition for users' attention has intensified. Users are inundated with content, making it harder for any single post to stand out. Small business owners must find creative ways to differentiate their content to capture their audience’s interest.
And now we start to get to the nub of it all. It’s a GREAT, BIG, ENORMOUS POND out there. You need to be talking to your audience & giving them content that resonates with them. Think about the pain points they are experiencing. Talk about how you fix them. Do more of that. Do LOTS more of that.
- **Community and Interaction:** Users are increasingly drawn to content that fosters a sense of community and interaction. They engage more with posts that encourage discussion, shareable content, and community involvement. Small businesses that focus on building a community and engaging with their audience are more likely to see higher engagement rates.
And this is the second nubby bit. You need to balance this with the time you have available to build & engage with a community. If you can do it, then you need to go all in. There is nothing worse than joining a ‘community’ and finding that it’s tumbleweed. I don’t have one. I realise that this is an element of my marketing strategy that could improve my reach, & get more eyes on things like IGNITE!, Supercharge Your Business Power Pack, Customer Audit etc – but right now, I don’t have the time to create one & sustain it. I’m choosing to spend that time nurturing my coaching clients. Swings & roundabouts. You need to choose.
Why It Matters for Small Business Owners.
Put simply? You need to adapt.
Adapt to survive, plan to thrive.
Apply that thinking to your Facebook content marketing & you might just start to see a difference. There is no magic bullet. If there was, we’d all be firing them. But if you take a look at your current strategy & make some changes, then you can start to change the direction of the oil tanker.
I’ve got a tip sheet that gives you 5 ideas to do just that. Grab your copy here https://heroes.kapowme.com/facebookengagement