Facebook news feed and small business support
How can we support local business, especially in a busy online environment? You probably have seen all kinds of stories about Facebook making changes in the way the news feed operates. Most of these stories have been written for business owners and marketers to help them make sense of the changes. What about for you, the Facebook user? How do these changes affect you?
The changes are aimed at being positive. Facebook want to provide you, with more of what you love, and less spammy posts.
Part of the way they will be doing is this is by asking you, to let them know which Pages you love, what types of content you like and which sources you trust for information.
For many small businesses and local businesses, changes could mean that they appear less and less in our feeds and even more so they will need to pay a lot more in advertising to try and stay visible. It also means they need to work harder to provide you with the information you want to see.
How to be more visible
As a small business owner myself, I want to provide the best value and service I can to my clients and followers.
Conversely we can only do that if we get your support in helping us to shape our content and by sharing the message.
Facebook want to see that you really enjoy content and it will measure this by whether you merely “like” a post or whether you comment or engage with it directly.
Further to this Facebook are trying to decide which businesses provide relevant and trustworthy news, and to find this out, Facebook may ask you in a survey if you trust particular content.
So…
Here are 7 things you can do right now:
1. Make sure you mark your favourite pages as “see first” in your news feed. You can do this on a computer or laptop by going to the page, click the button that says “following” and then click on “in your news feed”. Select “see first” and save. On your mobile device, in the facebook app, click on the “hamburger’ triple line symbol for more, scroll down to settings, choose news fed preferences and set up.
2. Turn on notifications for your favourite brands and businesses so you know when they have given you more great value and information. 3. When you see a post you really like, make a comment, ask a question or share your opinion. 4. Share content you love with people who share your interests and ask them to comment or give their opinion on the content. 5. Ask them questions and let them know what information you would like them to provide. Businesses want to give you value and earn your trust and respect. 6. Show them the love and tell the world by leaving a review or testimonial. 7. If you are asked a survey question about a business, please do respond to the questions to provide your support.
Mark Zuckerberg said “ I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions”
7 things to support small business online
Why not share this video to help the small businesses you love, and tag them in your post!
If you want to read Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement on the changes, you can read it here on his personal page
I’m making sure that I keep in my feed my clients, my favourite local businesses and the people who inspire me and keep me informed.
Let us know your thoughts!
We would love to know what you think about Facebook currently, whether you are a Facebook user personally, for business or both. Have you noticed changes already? Will you make an effort to engage more with content or does it seem to be more of a chore?
Many people we spoke to this week said that they are busy, they like to read or watch content and they give it their approval by a like or share. Others said they just like everything to be nice 🙂 What is your view?
Fiona Lucas is the founder of iRespectOnline. She is passionate about helping small businesses to grow, thrive and build reputation online. Fiona is an ethical marketer providing bespoke online marketing strategies to enable businesses to leverage social media for growth. Underpinning everything she does, as Australia’s first online reputation evangelist she is passionate about driving social change towards a more respectful online environment.
She was named in Mamamia’s Top 50 women to watch online 2013, Finalist Geelong Small Business Awards 2017 – Social Media Influencer and is a virtual community manager for Social Media Marketing World. Fiona presents on digital futures, cybersafety and digital marketing.
Fiona is the author of Futureproof Your Kids – a parents guide to the social media playground.
