How Facebook’s 2015 Timeline Changes will Affect Businesses

Your Facebook timeline is about to change in 2015 – and if you advertise on Facebook, it could affect you.

In November, Facebook announced that starting in January, 2015 there will be changes to what Facebook users see on their timeline in order to address some of the feedback they have received. Facebook’s goal is to show people what they want to see, and satisfy advertisers of Facebook at the same time.

Facebook Timeline Changes 2015

People told facebook that they want to see more stories about what they care about, and less promotional content. If you are an advertiser, you might be scared by this fact – but don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds. In actuality, posts from pages that people view as “too promotional” are not ads from pages they like, but rather posts that they aren’t interested in. To further explain, boosted posts or ads on Facebook, if properly targeted, will show up to those most likely interested in the post or ad, where posts that show up organically do not always reach a proper target.

Facebook has learned that people are not happy with seeing organic posts that push people to buy a product or install an app, enter a sweepstakes with no real context or posts that reuse the same content from ads.

So what will change for Facebook advertisers in 2015?

In 2015, advertisers will see their organic post view drop to increase the relevancy of stories that people see.
Facebook has ensured that this will not affect facebook ads, and the majority of pages will not be impacted by this change.

What can business do to increase post views?

We recommend the following:

• Laster targeting promoted posts to those interested in your content, remember – just because people follow you doesn’t mean they are always interested in the content of every post. Aren’t sure how? Let one of our expert social media marketing specialists help.
• Create interesting content that people care about. Remember, your post may very well land in between a photo of someone’s niece and their best friends wedding – so your content better be relevant.
• Post frequent relevant content that is not call-to-action heavy
• Sound organic and light, rather than always sales oriented.
• Don’t overdo the stock photos and graphic design. Post real-life photos, even if the quality isn’t the best, people respond high to natural imagery

Source:
“News Feed FYI: Reducing Overly Promotional Page Posts in News Feed | Facebook Newsroom.” Facebook Newsroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.