How to Avoid Facebook’s New Feed Spam Trap
Changes have been rolling out on the top social media networks: Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter. For Linkedin and Twitter, these changes are beneficial; for Facebook, they will help in the long run, but for many marketers it will be an adjustment.
As I write this, Facebook is changing its business pages to look and feel more like our personal news feeds. As part of this change, Facebook Pages is tweaking its feed algorithm.
Here are three ways to get in trouble with your Facebook business posts. Make sure all admins in your organization are aware of these ASAP:
1. Facebook feed spam: In an effort to create more relevance within its network, Facebook is changing its EdgeRank algorithm for business pages to downplay some types of posts.
Posts with "spammy links" (e.g., a link to a squeeze or sign-up page, a link to a page with little or no content, a link that has nothing to do with the posted content) will not get many eyeballs from fans.
2. Repeat postings also come under fire: We all have content we love to share over and again. Now Facebook will ding you on views if you post your favorites too often. Be careful with repeat content and, more importantly, keep finding (either curating or creating original content) information that's relevant to your target audience. Sounds a lot like direct marketing 101, right?
3. Viewers don't like "like bait." Posts with "Share This," "Like" or "Please Comment" will be downplayed by Facebook. Through research, Facebook found that while these kinds of posts get more eyeballs, they tend to be less relevant than other content.
Want more details? This article I found from Facebook goes deeper into its changes.
In the second part of this series, I'll go over Twitter's new profile page change (love it). And in part three, I'll examine how the new Linkedin publishing platform (also love it) will be a game changer for content publishing and thought leadership.
Your comments, ideas, criticisms, etc. are always accepted. Go ahead, I dare you to comment below …
Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.
