You're going to see a whole lot less Grumpy Cat in your Facebook feed.
The social networking giant recently announced it has changed its News Feed algorithm to display more news articles and fewer memes in users' feeds. In the past, images in links shared on Facebook were small, generating little engagement from users. Therefore, community managers typically shared an image with a link to an article or blog post to generate more interest and engagement to appear in more feeds.
So, Facebook has changed the game again. What should your social media manager know about the change? Here are some questions to ask.
What does it mean for us?
It's a general question, but a great place to start. Are you a photographer? Then you'll want to share blog posts to your work instead of uploading it straight to Facebook. If you're frequently sharing articles and media clips like many of SM&'s clients, you'll want to plug the link from the source directly into Facebook. (Don't worry-any tracked links you post should still allow the images to display nicely.)
How does it change our digital strategy?
If your organization somehow built a fan base without strong content, you're in big trouble. Posting a controversial or funny picture won't be enough to make you stand out-you'll need to get people talking too. It underscores the importance of having a strong stream of content your customers or clients find useful-across all your social platforms.
So we just toss up the link and let people talk, right?
Wrong. As always, you'll need to give users a reason to click and engage. Add a compelling statistic. Share a quote from your blog post or article. Context is key.
Why is Facebook doing this?
One-third of Americans use Facebook as a news source. The network wants to compete with Twitter as a breaking news hub, and it will have to display news items in the feed to do so. (Interestingly, the network says more news posts will appear in feeds viewed on a mobile device. Again, capturing the breaking news crowd.)
Should I be concerned?
Not to the point of panic. Keep your social media goals in mind as you adapt to the new News Feed. Social media is always evolving, but the main goal remains the same: To be a resource for your clients or customers.