Hi, I’m back from my holidays and am straight back to work this morning giving you the headlines you need to know about the Facebook changes that were announced by Mark Zuckerberg last week.
And coming up I have 5 CHANGES I think you should make to get FB buzzing again.
So as I lay sunning myself in Tenerife last week I could see on my mobile lots of people going into “meltdown” about the news but I for one was really blooming happy. Why? Because Facebook had got BORING and people were moving away. NOW I think we could get into it again and freshen things up for 2018.
But first here’s some of the top headlines you need to be aware of from the announcement last week.
1: Hoorah!! We are going to be seeing way less of all that stupid fake news and click bait that fills our feed everyday and that means….
2: You will start seeing way MORE of your actual friends and family – about time Facebook!
3: Facebook is concentrating BIG time on COMMUNITY and POSITIVE CONVERSATIONS.
4: You will still see ads and your ads will still get seen by your targeted audience, providing you are targeting them correctly.
This is all good news guys. Especially for the little guys like you and me. It’s not so good news for professional agencies and marketers who have just mapped out all their “viral” video ads and click bait features for the year as they are going to have to go back to the drawing board and rethink their strategy.
They may even have to create some original content of their own (yes this is said in a sarcastic tone with a slight smile) They have had it easy for way too long regurgitating crap content and feeding off the success of others by sharing those videos with BIG hits, that stuff aint gonna work no more!
So, what does this mean for us – the little guys – the one-man bands and small businesses? It’s freaking amazing as it means the playing field has been levelled again and we are in with a chance of getting seen again.
Facebook got SO BIG with 2.5 billion of us logging on around 14 times a day for nearly an hour.
We got drown out there for a while. But now. Now we are back on the diving board about to do somersaults in the air and get the attention we deserve and here’s 5 of my top tips for getting your booty noticed.
1: Create valuable daily content that people want to hear and engage with. I know I sound like I’m on repeat here as I’ve been saying the same thing repeatedly even when times were tough out there. But this is the fastest way to get seen. Every day we post The Story of the Day on our Business Page, we have done for years. Why? Because we know that our audience is short of time, but they need content they can share with their audience quickly and easily. We are a one stop shop where they come in a morning, grab their content and share it into their groups or on their pages or profiles.
We have put ourselves in our audience’s shoes and given them what they want. What does your client need every day? What is she struggling with? What does she want to know about? How can you help? Give her that.
2: Don’t talk about yourself – This is a common mistake. Most people talk about themselves on Facebook and sometimes we need to do that to ask about “them” but don’t be fooled. It’s always about them. Even on your personal profile. They are constantly watching you and are guided by you so even when you post something innocent about a night out you are influencing your audience. It’s a big responsibility so use it wisely.
Mark Zuckerberg is keen to get meaningful conversations going so ask questions when you post – get the chit chat going and your post will travel further. Don’t go asking for shares and likes though, that is asking for trouble and your post won’t go anywhere. Just talk to people and get some meaningful conversations started.
3: Be three dimensional. Yes, it’s easy to talk about things you like but what about the things you don’t like? What do stand for and what do you stand against. Talk about both in a positive framework. Everyone knows I love travel and business but also, they hopefully know that I can’t stand copycats or any form of paid for advertising. I am against any oppression of women and domestic violence.
4: Brand yourself. This one is huge. People often ask me if they should concentrate on their Facebook Page or their profile and the answer is BOTH. In fact, if you are in business there is no such thing as a personal profile in my opinion. You are the brand and your personal profile is your shop window. People are looking in to see if they like what they see. Use this to your advantage. I’m not talking about selling here or talking shop, I’m talking about using it as a platform to educate and inspire. Side note here: People are often prissy about letting clients be their “friends” on Facebook and try to keep things separate. Get over it is what I say. Make friends with all your potential clients It opens up a whole new world and you’ll see the difference in your bank balance. Make sure you have your post set to public so everyone can see you and if you have a pic of your kids that you only want family to see then switch the setting.
5: Use the SEE FIRST feature to see your favourite people first. You know the 3 little dots in the top right of any post click the dropdown menu and choose that option. That way you will always get to see your favourites first. It would be nice if you click on mine so you see my updates on business, media and life in general.
It doesn’t really matter what kind of content you put out whether it’s articles, pictures, your blog posts. The key is to make it positive and meaningful to engage people.
Facebook still favours video and live broadcasts so you may want to have a go at those. Lives get watched the most so maybe it’s time to show up once a week or on a daily show.
So there you have it – my thoughts on the recent Facebook changes and how it can help you to crush it in 2018 – have fun and I look forward to seeing what happens with it this year.
What do you think to the changes Facebook have made? Let us know in the comments and feel free to share x
Great post. I like it 🙂
Just makes sense
Thanks for posting
Thanks I’m glad you liked it.