The Monster that is Facebook

Many businesses have long regarded Facebook as a ‘necessary evil’. It is, after all, a massive drain on time and energy, detracting us from real life. A tide of ‘Facebook leavers’ see no added value to their busy lives. Facebook had to act, and not before time.

Facebook for Business

In the past, we kept up the momentum of engagement by releasing regular, relevant posts, adding value to the audience. Over time, Facebook showed fewer people, I understand why.  So, clever Facebook promised to show more of your audience, as long as you paid them. Businesses ploughed more and more money into reaching the audience they had worked hard for, with a diminishing return.  At a Facebook bootcamp I attended they explained, there is simply too much information out there.

What Facebook Say

“The research shows that when we use social media to connect with people we care about, it can be good for our well-being. We can feel more connected and less lonely, and that correlates with long term measures of happiness and health. On the other hand, passively reading articles or watching videos — even if they’re entertaining or informative — may not be as good.” ~ Mark Zuckerburg

Frankly, Zuckerburg’s rationale here is hard to argue with.

How Can Businesses Make it Work?

The short answer is, it will never be the same as it was. Facebook is not a great way for businesses to reach an audience anymore. Don’t give up entirely. The rules of engagement haven’t necessarily changed. Your posts should be:

• Relevant
• Regular
• Engaging
• Purposeful
• Add value to your audience

What’s the Future?

We are all inundated with input from an ever-increasing number of sources. How much time do you waste trying to find ‘that message’ on a variety of threads? Twitter seems to struggle to keep people entertained. As I write, the place to be is Instagram, people of all ages are loving it. Pictures need to be good and content needs to snappy. You need to be worthy of followers. Enjoy yourself, social media can be a fun place to be, just not all the time.

Place your eggs in more than one basket