Declining organic reach on Facebook: 6 ways to adapt
Image credit: "facebook-mobile-app-640x340" by Maria Elena on Flickr
As Facebook has grown, brand page organic reach—the percentage of your “fans” that see your posts—has dropped off precipitously. According to research by Ogilvy, average organic reach is now approximately 6 percent, down from 8.7 percent in late 2013 and 16 percent in 2012. And many experts predict that the natural extension of this trend is that Facebook organic reach will soon be zero.
This has obviously been distressing to Facebook community managers, and some have responded by posting more frequently, believing that the quality of their collective reach will improve accordingly. In fact, the opposite is true, as I’ll discuss in more detail below. What, then, should you do to improve results on Facebook in response to declining organic reach? Here are some tactics that may help:
Post better content. Facebook determines what users see based on several factors, but the bottom line is this: the more likely your content is to serve users’ needs, and the more often they interact with your content, the more likely they’ll see it. Facebook changed its algorithm, in part, to deemphasize overtly promotional brand page posts. In addition, history matters. If your posts are consistently ignored by your fans, you’ll have less organic reach. Quality, then, is more important than quantity.
Post at non-peak times. There’s some evidence that posts shared at “non-peak” times (approximately 10 p.m. – 3 a.m.) reach a significantly higher percentage of users than those shared at “peak” times (6 a.m. – 3 p.m.). This is simply a result of there being less competition for attention at those times. To discern whether this is likely to work for your audience…
Study Facebook Insights. Facebook Insights, the free analytics tool provided to every page admin, reveals everything from when your fans are most frequently online to what content your users value. It takes quite a bit of guesswork out of page management and provides some great guidance about what may and may not be worth repeating.
Boost posts. While the strategies above can help, many pages no longer can rely on organic content alone. This is definitely the bottom line for Facebook: less organic reach means pages will need to “pay to play,” and that leads to more revenue. In truth, this isn’t a lot different than other media, where you either earn the rare opportunity to be seen—via a news outlet, for example—or pay for it via advertising. The good news is it doesn’t have to be incredibly expensive. Boosting a post, for example, is a low-cost option—depending on how many people you want to reach. To test it, choose one of your posts and click “Boost Post.” In the box below “Total Budget,” choose a preset option or click “Choose Your Own.” After establishing a budget, look at “Est. People Reached” to get a sense of how many of fans you’ll reach. Then, of course, it’s time to decide whether it’s worth the expense.
Advertise. Advertising on Facebook is similar to advertising in other media, with the advantage of great targetability. In addition, Facebook advertising can put your brand in front of people who don’t yet like your page, leading to more likes and the prospect of better organic reach. As is the case with boosting posts, the best way to know if it’s right for you is to experiment.
Switch platforms. Facebook has long been a harbinger of the future of social media as a whole, so algorithm changes leading to declining organic reach are likely on other major platforms, too. In addition, we’re already seeing significantly more paid content and new options for advertisers on sites like Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter. However, there’s still a better opportunity for more organic content to be discovered on these platforms, so it may be time to shift resources away from Facebook—especially if you haven’t had much success there in the past.
It’s worth remembering that Facebook—like the other social media platforms—is in business to make money. When a revenue-generating opportunity presents itself, then, the users’ needs are often a secondary concern. The best way to respond is to pay close attention to how these changes will affect your business and be ready to adapt accordingly. You might not be able to predict these changes, but you should be prepared shift your approach when they’re implemented.
