For the past couple of years, Facebook has been telling brands that engagement (having people interact with your content) really doesn’t matter, it is all about frequency and reach – or how often and how many people are seeing your paid Facebook ads.
The company even put out a whitepaper in 2014: Engagement on Facebook – When It Matters that let brands know that “in many cases, click based forms of engagement do not align with the desired outcomes of your content.”
The messaging began to work. Many of our clients began asking if there was any value in engagement or if they should only think of Facebook as an advertising channel. The question just killed me.
But it was certainly effective messaging at the time for Facebook. In fact, the company recently reported that second quarter revenue skyrocketed 63% to $6.24 billion and eMarketer highlighted that more than two –thirds of net ad revenues at social sites goes to Facebook, estimating that the company will bring in $22.37 billion in net ad revenue this year, up from $17.08 billion in 2015.
Wait, Engagement Really Does Matter!
In reporting its second quarter earnings, Facebook noted that its “ad load,” the volume of ads its users usually see is “in a good zone.” This basically means that the company believes it has saturated the advertising they show current users and now needs to either attract more users or get current users to spend even more time on the site.
So, perhaps it is not surprising that over the past few months, Facebook users have been increasingly complaining that they’re missing personal updates due to a steadily rising tide of posts from publishers and advertisers.
However, just a few weeks ago, Facebook made a material announcement: they were updating the NewsFeed to ensure that people saw more posts from their friends and family.
As Facebook VP Adam Mosserti noted when making the change, “if the ranking is off, people don’t engage and leave dissatisfied. That’s why, if it’s from your friends, it’s in your feed, period.”
Mr. Mosserti went on to remind Facebook users (and likely to remind Facebook itself…) that “Facebook was built on the idea of connecting people with their friends and family.”
Very likely, Facebook, warned, reach and referral traffic to pages held by businesses, public figures, publishers and organizations will decline. On the other hand, if a good amount of traffic comes from users sharing content, pages will have less of a dip and likely an increase.
What If I Bought Into the Facebook is Only an Ad Channel Thinking?
Don’t get me wrong. I am an unbridled proponent of the quantifiable value and benefits of Facebook and Instagram advertising, particularly the extraordinary ability to target exactly those people we want to reach.
Whether a brand is looking to drive awareness, understanding, engagement, reach or demand, Facebook and Instagram are must haves.
However, where brands and agencies often fall short is believing that they can simply re-purpose advertising that isn’t tailored to social – without inherently understanding the true benefits of being engaged in social media.
So, if you are a brand who started operating as if Facebook was simply an advertising vs engagement channel, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
Numerous studies and our own experience has shown that more than 92% of consumers report that a recommendation from a friend, family member or “someone they trust” has the greatest influence on their purchase behavior.
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We’ve also learned that when a consumer “likes” or shares content, he/she is telling the world, “I recommend this company, brand, product, candidate or cause.” And, thankfully, with Facebook’s algorithm change, that liked or shared content is even likely to show up in your customer’s or prospects feeds.
Creating compelling, likeable and sharable content doesn’t come accidently – it is equal parts “art” and “science.” Some thoughts to keep in mind:
- Be clear about how you want your customers/consumers to recommend your brand – and be sure your messaging and content is set up to help them do that
- Understand what kind of content your target likes and shares – and how that compares to your biggest competitors. Fortunately, we now have incredibly refined digital and social tools that give us incredibly detail and insight into all aspects of your audience’s behavior online
- Recognize that social content is different that advertising content. Simply repurposing your print ads onto a social post or banner never worked to any meaningful degree, and now it will work even less
- Listen, measure and learn. Every day, your customers and prospects are telling you what they like, don’t like and respond to – both about your content and your products and services. It’s a 24/7/365 focus group
- Commit to becoming the most talked about, recommend and purchased brand in your category. It will help drive and shape your entire strategy
Facebook and Instagram will, of course, continue to explore and push the boundaries of where and how they can drive advertising revenue from their ever evolving platforms. But those brands and marketers who remember that engagement is just as important as frequency and reach will truly reap that full impact that social media can deliver.
