Facebook has become quite a conundrum for many marketers. For years, companies of all sizes have invested in organic and paid efforts to grow their Facebook fans. The “like” served as an opt-in for consumers to receive brand messages sent “organically”.
But over the past few years, Facebook has diminished the organic reach of brand fan page messages to a thin percent of the total opt-in whole. Now the only option to reach fans is to pay for Facebook advertising which can be hit or miss and leaves organic reach all but non-existent.
For companies without large ad budgets, this is obviously a challenge. Luckily, there are options! Here are tips from our latest Social Media Marketing eBook featuring some of the top Facebook marketing experts. They offer insight that can help you regain and optimize some of your organic traction.
Andrea Vahl – @andreavahl
Social Media Coach, Author
The New Facebook Marketing
For marketers looking to adjust to Facebook’s new algorithm changes and decreased organic reach, a shift in mindset is needed.
Think of Facebook as a subscription-based marketing service vs. a free platform.
Facebook ads on an ongoing basis are inevitable. Divide your monthly Facebook ad spend between boosting posts for increased reach and ads to drive traffic directly to your website.
Spend a small amount on increasing your fan base as well. None of this ad spend needs to break the bank.
Work on effective ads so that you spend as little as possible for the biggest bang.
Mari Smith – @marismith
Social Media Consultant, Speaker, Trainer, Author
Amp Up Facebook Organic Reach
Consider increasing the frequency of your Facebook Page posts to boost your organic reach.
If you typically post 2x a day, try doubling that to 4x.
Make sure your posts are top QUALITY, relevant and timely. Include periodic invitations to sign up for offers, but craft the wording in a warm, personal way that your audience can connect with. Plus, engage at every opportunity.
Great examples to study include: Richard Branson, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, KLM, and Sprint.
Amy Porterfield – @amyporterfield
Social Media Consultant, Speaker
It’s All About the List
The energy of your business is directly tied to your email list.
Facebook ads are one of the most powerful lead generating platforms for small businesses today. Specifically, “Page Post ads” that drive traffic to a free, valuable giveaway (such as a free video training, eBook, or cheat sheet) are extremely effective.
These ads are inexpensive, highly-targeted and can be completely automated.
It may take a little trial and error, but once you find that sweet spot where your ads are consistently producing results, you’ll be hooked!
Dennis Yu – @dennisyu
CTO, BlitzMetrics
Social Media Force Multiplier
Social media marketing, email marketing, and website retargeting are all the same thing.
You’re following around users who have visited you, regardless of whether the tracking mechanism is a pixel, email address or Facebook user id.
Consider multiplying upon your strengths by getting your email subscribers to be fans, your fans to to visit your site, your web visitors to be fans, your web visitors to be email subscribers and so forth.
Try Facebook Website Custom Audiences and Google Remarketing and you’ll be on your way.
You can get even more Social Media Marketing tips from our SMMW14 eBook here.
As the organic approach in other areas from SEO to public relations to content marketing have undergone shifts, so too has Social Media Marketing and Facebook marketing in particular. Modern marketers must adapt and continuously refine and optimize their approach. Optimization isn’t just relevant for tactics, but for how you approach marketing as well. This is the core of how we approach social media at our agency and the blogging on the topic we do here.
How have you adapted to changes in Facebook’s news feed and treatment of brand fan page content? What tips and insights would you add?
Top Image: Shutterstock & CleanSocialIcons
